STAND. COM. REP. NO. 63

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2005

RE: S.B. No. 846

S.D. 1

 

 

Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2005

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Transportation and Government Operations, to which was referred S.B. No. 846 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO STATEWIDE TRAFFIC CODE,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to require the driver of a vehicle to yield the right of way to a pedestrian by stopping for the pedestrian crossing the roadway within a crosswalk when the pedestrian:

(1) Is on a non-divided highway; or

(2) Is on a divided highway if the pedestrian is on either half of the roadway upon which the driver is traversing.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Transportation (DOT) and Honolulu Police Department.

Your Committee finds that pedestrian fatalities and injuries continue to be a problem in Hawaii. The DOT commissioned a study to conduct market research on senior pedestrian habits, and found that:

(1) Forty-eight percent of the people in Hawaii do not feel that our roads are pedestrian friendly;

(2) Seniors age sixty-five and older constitute a significant percent of pedestrian fatalities and make up a large segment of the population; and

(3) Ninety percent of the population believes that pedestrians should use crosswalks and ninety-three percent believes that drivers should not proceed when pedestrians are in crosswalks.

Your Committee finds that the law on pedestrians' rights in crosswalks needs clarification to prevent confusion over when a driver must stop for a pedestrian. This measure requires a driver to stop when a pedestrian is in a crosswalk. Current law provides for "slowing down" as well as stopping. This measure deletes the slowing down and requires a complete stop.

Your Committee has amended this measure by making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for clarity and style.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Transportation and Government Operations that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 846, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 846, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Transportation and Government Operations,

____________________________

LORRAINE R. INOUYE, Chair