About 400 motorists took advantage of a cheap gasoline promotion at the Makiki 76 station at South King and Piikoi yesterday afternoon.

From 1 to 3 p.m., all grades of gasoline were put on sale for $3.95 a gallon, a discount from the $4.24 a gallon for regular, $4.34 for medium and $4.44 for premium the station was charging the rest of the day, said Jim Yates, chief executive officer for Mid Pac Petroleum, which owns Makiki 76.

The promotion was held with First Insurance Co., which is offering new auto insurance products in an effort to make a bigger foray into the personal consumer market after years of concentrating on business accounts.

The companies wanted to provide consumers some relief from skyrocketing gasoline prices while showing off their new products, said Allen Uyeda, First Insurance chief executive officer.

Two off-duty police officers were hired to keep traffic manageable.

“One of the things we don’t want is to cause a traffic accident,” Uyeda said.

Gasoline stations typically get 400 customers on an average day, Yates said.

The price break was a welcome relief for Debby Tokuhara of Aiea, who said she paid $4.19 a gallon for regular unleaded a week ago to feed her 2009 Honda Element. Tokuhara said she and friends look online for Internet specials.