Gov. Signs New Hawai‘i Highway Safety Measures
Gov. Ige and traffic safety stakeholders with the signed laws. PC: State of Hawai‘i
The Hawai‘i Department of Transportation (HDOT) reports that the following bills passed in the 2019 Legislature have been signed into law by Gov. David Ige, according to a HDOT press release issued on June 26, 2019:
Senate Bill 663 – Adds a new chapter to the Hawai‘i Revised Statutes on Photo Red Light Imaging Detector Systems effective on July 1, 2050; directs the department of transportation to establish a red light running committee to review the act and present recommendations to the legislature.
Senate Bill 98 – Clarifies that vehicles must stop for pedestrians when any part or extension of the pedestrian is beyond the curb or edges of a traversable roadway or when the pedestrian moves onto the roadway within an intersection or crosswalk.
Senate Bill 693 – Adds language on countdown timers to HRS §291C-33. Per the new language “…no pedestrian shall start to cross the roadway in the direction of such signal [i.e., a signal equipped with a countdown timer] once the countdown begins, but any pedestrian who has partially completed … crossing when the countdown begins shall complete the crossing to a sidewalk or safety island before the countdown timer ends.”
House Bill 757 – Requires HDOT and the county transportation departments to adopt a Vision Zero policy that seeks to prevent and ultimately eliminate traffic fatalities through a combination of engineering, enforcement, education, and emergency response strategies with a focus on equity.
“The bills signed into law by Gov. Ige today are a tremendous boost to our highway safety programs,” said Hawai‘i Department of Transportation Deputy Director for Highways Ed Sniffen. “We thank the governor, the state legislature and our Transportation Committee chairs for their guidance and support this past session and for having the vision to get these bills passed.”
For the full text of the new laws, visit:
Clarification of when a vehicle must yield to a pedestrian planning to or crossing
Clarification of what a pedestrian must do when crossing with pedestrian signals
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