Hawai'i state department changes crosswalk law

By Elizabeth Daniels

The Hawai’i State Department of Transportation has recently made revisions to the crosswalk law due to a rash of pedestrian deaths that have occurred over the past three years. Public service announcements will air next month to alert Hawaii’s drivers of the new law, according to Scott Ishikawa, spokesperson for the DOT.

“We are actually looking at revising the law again this legislative session to create different penalties for drivers who violate it,” Ishikawa said.

Prior to the start of the new year, the crosswalk law, or pedestrian safety law, stated that drivers are required to yield before driving through crosswalks. The new and revised law says that drivers must come to a complete stop at crosswalks and shall not proceed until all pedestrians are finished crossing out of the designated crosswalk area. Drivers in violation will receive a $92 fine.

“There has been a gray area in the crosswalk law,” Ishikawa said.

Photo by Diana Kim

Hundreds of students cross Dole Street everyday to get on to the Manoa campus.

While drivers are required to yield at a crosswalk, Ishikawa explained that few drivers know what it means to yield.

“We wanted to reword the law so that drivers know to actually stop. Some people only slow to 25 mph when they are supposed to yield,” he said.

According to statistics taken by DOT, there were 36 pedestrian fatalities in Hawai’i in 2005, 26 of which occurred on O’ahu. In 2004, there were 31 statewide fatalities, 24 occurring on O’ahu. The 2004 and 2005 statistics have shown a tremendous increase from 2003. That year there were 23 pedestrian fatalities statewide and 14 on O’ahu.

Though pedestrians have the right of way, Ishikawa said that they also need to remain conscious of the pedestrian laws when crossing streets.

“Just because we are enforcing the crosswalk law does not mean that the crosswalk is a force field,” he said. “Both pedestrians and drivers need to follow the laws. Pedestrians should not walk against the light.”

Some pedestrians walk against the light, thinking that the law will protect them, Ishikawa said. However, that is not true. According to Ishikawa, DOT intends to prevent pedestrian deaths by implementing the new crosswalk law and by urging pedestrians to be more careful while crossing the street.