Learn how to use and choose the safest seat for your keiki during National Child Passenger Safety Week

The Hawai‘i Department of Transportation will be educating caregivers Sunday on how to use and choose the proper car seat for their keiki during National Child Safety Passenger Safety Week.

Two events are scheduled on the Big Island where the state and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will partner with communities in Hilo and Kona to conduct seat checks as part of the safety week.

Technicians on Sunday will help determine if children are in the right seats for their ages and sizes and explain the importance of registering car seats with the manufacturers to be notified of any recalls. 

Hawai‘i’s Child Passenger Safety Law states infants under 2 years old must be properly restrained in a rear-facing car seat with harness. Keiki from 2-4 years old must be properly restrained in a rear-facing or forward-facing car seat with harness.

All keiki under 10 years old must be in a child passenger safety seat or booster seat unless the child is over 4 feet 9 inches tall. Details: https://hidot.hawaii.gov/blog/2022/07/06/updated-child-passenger-safety-law/.

According to a press release from the Hawai‘i Department of Transportation, proper seat belt use for children over 10 years old and 4 feet 9 inches tall requires them to be seated all the way back in their seat, back flat against the back rest, knees bent comfortably over the seat cushion, with the lap belt worn low across the hips, and shoulder belt worn comfortably across the shoulder and chest.

The safest place for all keiki under 13 is buckled up in the back seat. State officials caution that if the child’s seat belt doesn’t fit correctly, it won’t offer optimal protection in a crash.

National Child Passenger Safety Week runs Sept. 17 through 23 and is observed in Hawai‘i every year in partnership with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Upcoming Child Passenger Safety Week Events: 

Hawaiʻi Island

• Sept. 17 from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m., Car Seat Check Event, Hawai‘i Island in the Target parking lot, 74-5455 Makala Blvd., Kailua-Kona. For more information, contact Torey Keltner, Hawai‘i Police Department, phone: 808-961-2226. 

• Sept. 17 from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m., Car Seat Check Event, Hawai‘i Island in front of the old Walgreens Store, 307 E.  Makaʻala Street, Hilo. For more information, contact Torey Keltner, Hawai‘i Police Department, phone: 808-961-2226. 

To make an appointment anytime for a car seat check, call the Keiki Injury Prevention Coalition at 808-527-2588. For more information on child car seat safety and Hawaii’s updated child safety seat laws, visit: http://kipchawaii.org/car-seat-safety/  

For more child passenger safety information and brochures, visit: https://hidot.hawaii.gov/highways/safe-communites/child-passenger-safety/