INCREASING SAFETY ON OUR HIGHWAYS

The safety of our highways affects all of us equally: young and old, resident or visitor.  The Lingle-Aiona Administration remains committed to ensuring that our motorists and pedestrians are safe by strengthening laws that target high-risk behavior and by providing adequate funding for the upkeep and operations of our State highway system.

Personal Responsibility

When a person sues for injuries caused in an automobile or motorcycle accident, judges and juries in Hawaii are prohibited from considering whether or not the individual failed to protect him or herself by wearing a helmet or seatbelt.  This is true even when there is evidence that wearing a seatbelt or helmet would have prevented or decreased the injuries in question. 

Monetary damages awarded in these cases drive up health care and insurance costs for all of us.  The Administration is proposing legislation that would take into consideration the fact of whether a person was wearing a helmet or seatbelt as evidence of negligence.

Highway System Operation and Maintenance

Hawaii’s highway system is comprised of 2,423 lane miles around the State, built and maintained using moneys in the State Highway Fund.  These moneys are used for construction, maintenance, operation, and improvement projects for roadways that many of us travel on daily.  Use of this fund includes repair and maintenance of pavement, bridges, drainage systems, sidewalks and guardrails.  The State Highway Fund also pays for emergency and unforeseen projects such storm clean up and responds to catastrophic events.  Operations include traffic management and monitoring and fire control systems in tunnels.  Inadequate funding will jeopardize future projects and threaten federal funding streams that are contingent upon the State’s proportionate match for projects that were paid for with federal dollars. 

To ensure sufficient funds to continue basic highway maintenance, the Lingle-Aiona Administration is proposing to extend the current $1 per day rental car surcharge beyond its expiration date of September 1, 2008.  The surcharge is predominately paid by visitors who rent vehicles during their stay in Hawaii.  This extension will continue to generate approximately $14 million each year for deposit into the State Highway Fund.

Additionally, the Administration is proposing legislation that would allow the Department of Transportation to expend $21.3 million of moneys in the State Highway Fund to cover rising costs associated with statewide road operations and maintenance projects in 2008.  

 
Reckless Driving

Reckless driving continues to be a problem in Hawaii.  In fact, the most recent data available reveals that fatalities connected to reckless driving are rising.  The Fatality Analysis Reporting System concluded that for 2004-2005, reckless driving was responsible for 33% of traffic fatalities.  Current Hawaii law assigns penalties for first-time offenders who are convicted of reckless driving but does not address repeat and habitual violators.  The Administration is proposing legislation that would enhance the State's reckless driving law by establishing penalties for individuals who have been convicted of two or more violations under specific provisions of Hawaii's Statewide Traffic Code.  Under the Administration’s proposal, the courts would be able to impose the following:

First Offense
• $500-$1,000 fine
• 15-30 day license revocation
• 2-5 day imprisonment

Second Offense within 5 years 
• $750-$1,500 fine
• 45-90 day license revocation
• 5-14 day imprisonment

Third and Subsequent Offense
• $1,000-$2,500 fine
• 90 day-1 year license revocation
• 10-30 day imprisonment

More expensive penalties and longer periods of imprisonment are designed to warn repeat offenders that their actions have consequences.

Driving Under the Influence of an Intoxicant – Ignition Interlock Systems

In 2006, there were 67 fatalities related to drunk driving, approximately 48% of the state’s total traffic fatalities.  Over the last 5 years, the incidence of driving while intoxicated has steadily increased in Hawaii.  In 2007, over 3,500 individuals on Oahu were arrested under the suspicion of drunk driving.  Ignition interlock systems offer a solution to this problem. 

Interlock devices measure the driver's blood alcohol concentration before starting the vehicle.  If after blowing into the device the individual’s breath sample registers over the prescribed limit, the vehicle will not start and the device will record the failed attempt.  This prevents drunk drivers from operating their vehicles and keeps our streets safe.  Hawaii is one of only five states that does not require individuals convicted of driving under the influence of an intoxicant to install an ignition interlock system in their vehicles. 

 
The Lingle-Aiona Administration has been working closely with MADD and other stakeholders to implement the use of ignition interlock in our state.  In addition to other penalties, the Administration's proposal allows judges to impose ignition interlock sanctions.  Offenders who are permitted to drive for work-related or hardship purposes are required to install an ignition interlock system in their vehicle and are prohibited from operating any vehicle that is not equipped with this system.  If the offender's privilege to drive has been revoked, once the offender's license is reinstated, he or she must drive with an interlock on their vehicle for a prescribed period of time.

Commercial Driver Licenses

The public needs to be confident that individuals who operate commercial motor vehicles adhere to the highest standards.  Hawaii law allows the judge to restore revoked driving privileges for work-related purposes even if a person has been convicted of driving under the influence of an intoxicant.  As a result, Hawaii law conflicts with federal law that prohibits any person with an intoxicant-related conviction from operating a vehicle for which a commercial driver’s license is required, such as a truck or passenger bus.

We believe to improve highway safety this loophole should be closed by stipulating that if a judge allows an individual convicted of driving under the influence to drive for work purposes, the individual should be prohibited from driving a vehicle that requires a commercial driver’s license.  This will make sure Hawaii laws conform to federal requirements, increase the consequences for driving intoxicated, and better protect those who use or streets and highways.