Report Title:

Highway Safety; Accident Investigation

 

Description:

Establishes a multidisciplinary accident investigation team in the police department of each county for the purpose of investigating major accidents on major roadways in a manner designed to minimize lane and roadway closures during the investigation.  Appropriates $1.

 


HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

1549

TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2007

H.D. 2

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

 

A BILL FOR AN ACT


 

 

RELATING TO motor vehicle ACCIDENT investigation.

 

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 


     SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that traffic accident management is of utmost public importance, especially when a fatality occurs.  Although the evidence collected at traffic accident scenes may be crucial to determining the cause of the accident, these accident investigations proceed at a slower rate in Hawaii than in comparable metropolitan areas in the United States.  The average length of time for lane closures in Hawaii ranges from two to four hours for major traffic accidents to over eight hours when a fatality occurs.  In contrast, the California highway patrol average for lane closures ranges from thirty minutes for major collisions to sixty minutes for fatal accidents.

     The legislature also finds that these prolonged closures of traffic lanes adversely affect the public and our economy because students cannot reach school and school activities or return home afterwards; employees cannot reach their place of work or attend meetings at remote locations; and businesses cannot receive or deliver products necessary to do business.  These traffic jams also bode ill for the economy because tourists cannot reach their destinations and spend money and may leave Hawaii without feeling that they have been on vacation at all.  Moreover, these prolonged investigative delays may result in secondary accidents that cause further delays.

     The legislature also finds that the county police departments currently conduct on-site measurements of accidents using surveying equipment to collect data, which is then used to complete accident investigations.  In contrast, the California highway patrol, the Oregon state police, the Washington state patrol, the Utah highway patrol, and the Arizona department of public safety use what is known as a multidisciplinary accident investigation team system that employs digital photography and other equipment that has reduced the duration of lane and road closures.

     The legislature also finds that the Washington state patrol multidisciplinary accident investigation team comprises two detective investigators who are certified collision reconstructionists specializing in digital and print-based photography as well as occupant kinematics, vehicle dynamics, and interviewing and interrogation.  The multidisciplinary accident investigation team also consists of other investigators with specialized training in traffic and automotive engineering and other disciplines that improve focus and data collection times at accident scenes.

     The legislature also finds that multidisciplinary accident investigation teams use total station survey systems that employ laser technology to record specific reference points that are recorded in an on-board data collector.  Total station survey systems significantly accelerate data collection, thereby minimizing the time the roadway is closed and reducing the exposure of officers and civilian personnel to the inherent hazards of traffic congestion caused by roadway closures.  The data can then be downloaded into a computer-aided drawing program and printed in a large format.

     The legislature further finds that the use of total station survey systems has proven to be more efficient than other generally accepted methods but requires the use of two team members to operate the equipment and to document measurements.  One member locates points of evidence with a reflector while the second member aims and "shoots" the laser beam and records the information.  Data collection can be accelerated even further by use of a robotic total station survey system that can be managed effectively with one member.  The robotic total station survey system is faster, more efficient, and more accurate, because the system uses state-of-the-art technology to "follow" the movements of the investigator as the investigator moves about the scene of the incident locating evidence and recording the information.  This approach frees the second investigator to assist in expediting the investigation in other ways.

     The purpose of this Act is to require the police department of any county to establish a multidisciplinary accident investigation team that will be composed of skilled, trained investigators equipped to conduct expeditious investigations of serious accidents on major roadways and thereby alleviate the harm caused by extended road closures currently caused by investigations of major accidents.

     SECTION 2.  The police department of each county shall establish a multidisciplinary accident investigation team for the purpose of investigating major accidents on roadways in the county in a manner that limits the length of time road closures are necessary for the data collection phase of the investigation.  The multidisciplinary accident investigation team shall consist of personnel with specialized training in traffic collision reconstruction, traffic engineering, automotive engineering, vehicle dynamics, occupant kinematics, interviewing and interrogation, and other appropriate investigation techniques.  Multidisciplinary accident investigation team personnel may be drawn from the ranks of state and county employees as well as from the private sector.  The police department shall also develop a program of training to enhance and maintain the skills of multidisciplinary accident investigation team members.  The police department shall also acquire the equipment necessary to accomplish the purposes of this Act, including robotic total station survey systems, digital cameras and related equipment, computer-aided drawing software, and printers and equipment necessary to transport the multidisciplinary accident investigation team equipment to accident scenes.

     SECTION 3.  (a)  For purposes of establishing the multidisciplinary accident investigation team program under this Act, the police department of any county shall:

     (1)  Identify the personnel necessary to establish the multidisciplinary accident investigation team and, where those personnel are not found within the ranks of the police department, enter into contracts with other state or county departments or the private sector as necessary to obtain the services of personnel required by this Act;

     (2)  Identify and acquire, by purchase, lease, or usage agreement, the equipment necessary to accomplish the purposes of this Act;

     (3)  Identify and arrange for the training of multidisciplinary accident investigation team personnel necessary to acquire and maintain the expertise required for the purposes of this Act whereby those trained may be retained in such positions by direction of the chief of police;

     (4)  Identify the roadways, or class of roadways, that are most critical to the free movement of persons and commerce and that will be the focus of multidisciplinary accident investigation team investigations when a major accident occurs on those roadways;

     (5)  Identify what constitutes a "major accident" for purposes of a multidisciplinary accident investigation team investigation, considering factors such as whether a fatality is involved, hazardous waste has been spilled, or the roadway has been substantially blocked by the accident itself;

     (6)  Establish such protocol as necessary to coordinate major accident investigations with law enforcement and other authorities having jurisdiction over the location of a major accident, including:

         (A)  Minimizing the duration of lane closures in the case of a fatality by immediately notifying the medical examiner so that the medical examiner can conduct the medical examiner's investigation simultaneously with the police, to the extent practical;

         (B)  Preservation of evidence;

         (C)  Documentation of the investigation; and

         (D)  Testimony in any subsequent court proceedings;

          and

     (7)  Develop a mechanism for collecting, measuring, and reporting data to determine the effectiveness of the multidisciplinary accident investigation team program, including reduction in the duration and extent of road closures during major accident investigations, findings relating to highway or vehicle design, and the outcome of any criminal prosecutions arising from multidisciplinary accident investigation team investigations.

     (b)  This Act shall not be construed to restrict the police department's authority to enforce any of the powers otherwise granted to it by law.

     (c)  Not later than twenty days prior to the convening of each regular session, each police department shall submit a report to the legislature setting forth the number of major accidents to which it responded, the length of time it took each responder to arrive at the scene, and the length of any lane closures.

     SECTION 4.  The police department shall report to the legislature not later than twenty days prior to the convening of the regular sessions of 2008, 2009, and 2010 on the progress of the program.

     SECTION 5.  There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $1 or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2007-2008 as a grant-in-aid to each county for the multidisciplinary accident investigation team program.

     The sum appropriated shall be expended by the department of transportation as a grant-in-aid to the counties for the purposes of this Act.

     SECTION 6.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2015.