Key points
Safety belts must be worn at all times when driving or riding in a vehicle.
Source: Handbook p. 61
“They must be worn at all times when driving or riding in a vehicle.”
Hawaii Driver's Manual, Handbook p. 61Your chances of being killed are five times greater if you are thrown from your car.
Source: Handbook p. 61
“Your chances of being killed are five times greater if you are thrown from your car.”
Hawaii Driver's Manual, Handbook p. 61With lap and shoulder belts, you can survive a crash at up to 60 miles per hour.
Source: Handbook p. 61
“You can survive a crash at speeds up to 60 miles per hour (97 km/h) if using lap and shoulder belts.”
Hawaii Driver's Manual, Handbook p. 61Unbuckled, you can be killed in a crash at speeds as low as 12 miles per hour.
Source: Handbook p. 61
“If not buckled up, it is possible to be killed in a crash at speeds as low as 12 miles per hour (19 km/h).”
Hawaii Driver's Manual, Handbook p. 61In a crash the car takes 1/10 of a second to stop, but the human collision takes only 1/100 of a second.
Source: Handbook p. 62
“In the car's collision it takes 1/10 of a second to stop; in the human collision it takes only 1/100 of a second.”
Hawaii Driver's Manual, Handbook p. 62Children under 4 must ride in a child restraint, and children under 8 in a booster seat if under four feet and forty pounds.
Source: Handbook p. 20
“Children under age 4 must be in a child restraint; children under age 8 must be belted on a booster seat if the child is under four feet and less than forty pounds.”
Hawaii Driver's Manual, Handbook p. 20Never let a child ride in someone's lap or stand on a seat.
Source: Handbook p. 61
“NEVER ALLOW A CHILD TO RIDE IN SOMEONE'S LAP or STANDING ON A SEAT.”
Hawaii Driver's Manual, Handbook p. 61It is illegal to leave a child under 9 unattended in a vehicle for 5 minutes or longer.
Source: Handbook p. 64
“Hawaii law prohibits you or any adult passenger from leaving a child, under nine years of age, unattended in a motor vehicle for five minutes or longer.”
Hawaii Driver's Manual, Handbook p. 64
Numbers to know
| Number | What it means | Manual |
|---|---|---|
| 5 times | greater chance of death if thrown from the car | Handbook p. 61 |
| 60 mph | crash speed you can survive with lap and shoulder belts | Handbook p. 61 |
| 12 mph | crash speed that can kill an unbuckled occupant | Handbook p. 61 |
| 1/10 and 1/100 of a second | stopping time of the car versus the human collision | Handbook p. 62 |
| 4 and 8 | ages below which children need a child restraint or booster seat | Handbook p. 20 |
| 9 years, 5 minutes | a child under this age may not be left alone in a vehicle this long | Handbook p. 64 |
3 questions from the Hawaii practice test
1. What is the primary safety benefit of wearing a seat belt in a crash?
- It guarantees that no crash injuries will occur
- It helps prevent occupants from being thrown from the vehicle
- It lets passengers ride safely on a seat back
- It removes the need for child safety seats
Show answer
It helps prevent occupants from being thrown from the vehicle. The manual identifies preventing an occupant from being thrown from the vehicle as a major safety function of a seat belt. Ejection greatly increases the chance of death, and the belt also helps keep a person from striking the vehicle interior or another occupant. It cannot guarantee that injuries will never occur, and it does not make an unsafe seat position acceptable. Child safety seats remain necessary for children too small for regular belts. Fasten the lap and shoulder belt before moving, then make sure every passenger is restrained.
2. Up to what speed can a belted occupant survive a crash, according to the Hawaii manual?
- Up to 60 miles per hour with lap and shoulder belts
- Up to 20 mph
- Up to 100 mph
- Belts make no difference
Show answer
Up to 60 miles per hour with lap and shoulder belts. You can survive a crash at speeds up to 60 miles per hour if using lap and shoulder belts, while an unbelted person can be killed at speeds as low as 12 mph. Belts keep you from being thrown from the car, where the chance of death is many times greater, and from striking the windshield and interior. In a crash the car stops in a tenth of a second and an unbelted body in a hundredth.
3. Under current Hawaii law, how must a driver restrain a child who is 4 years old but not yet 10?
- In a harnessed child restraint or booster seat, unless the child is at least 7 and over 4 feet 9 inches in a lap and shoulder belt
- In a rear-facing seat only, until the child turns 10
- With an adult lap belt alone, at any height
- No special restraint once the child turns 4
Show answer
In a harnessed child restraint or booster seat, unless the child is at least 7 and over 4 feet 9 inches in a lap and shoulder belt. Hawaii Revised Statutes section 291-11.5 now covers children under ten. A child from age four up to ten must ride in a harnessed child passenger restraint or a booster seat. The only relief is for a child who is at least seven and taller than four feet nine inches, who may use a lap and shoulder belt that fits correctly. Rear-facing seats are required only under age two, and a lap belt alone never satisfies the rule. The older handbook figure of under four and under eight no longer reflects the statute.
Practice this topic
Lock it in with safe driving questions from the free Hawaii practice test. Every answer comes with a plain English explanation.
Source: the Hawaii Driver's Manual, Chapter X: Safe Driving Techniques. This lesson is a plain English summary, not the law itself; where it differs, the manual and the statute govern. Last checked 2026-09-27.