Hawai'i leads the nation in seat-belt use, the federal Transportation Department has announced.

Hawai'i's 95.3 percent compliance rate nudged out Washington state (95.2 percent) to give it the No. 1 position for the first time, according to statistics released by the National Highway Transportation Safety administration last week.

The state's seat-belt use, measured in an annual survey of drivers and passengers, has been steadily improving.

It was 90.4 percent in 2002, 91.8 percent in 2003, 95.1 percent last year and 95.3 percent this year.

Hawai'i compared favorably to the national average, which reached a high of 80 percent in 2004 (the 2005 national average was not available).

State Transportation Director Rod Haraga said the seat-belt news was welcome, especially at a time when the number of speeding-related auto fatalities is on the rise. "Thank goodness for the seat belts. Without them, our fatality numbers would be even worse," he said.

State and federal officials credit a strong "primary" law, which allows officers to stop vehicles when they notice a driver not wearing a seat belt, and increased awareness generated by the continuing federally funded Click-It-or-Ticket education and enforcement campaigns.

Hawai'i issued nearly 2,500 seat-belt citations during the two-week Click-It-or-Ticket campaign May 23 to June 5, focusing on 18- to 25-year-olds — the largest group of unbuckled passengers and drivers, according to the DOT.

"You definitely have to credit the work done by all our county police departments. They've stepped up their enforcement and that really helps," Haraga said.

"Next year, we're going for 97 percent."

Haraga need only look to Maui to get an idea how that's done. The Valley Isle's seat-belt compliance rate topped the charts with a whopping 97.2 percent.

Reach Mike Leidemann at mleidemann@honoluluadvertiser.com.