STAND. COM. REP. NO. 66-00

                                 Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                   , 2000

                                 RE: H.B. No. 1899
                                     H.D. 1




Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say
Speaker, House of Representatives
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 2000
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Transportation, to which was referred H.B.
No. 1899 entitled: 

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

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to provide greater safety for
pedestrians while they are crossing roadways.

     Your Committee finds that pedestrians need greater
protection while crossing roadways, since 13 pedestrians were
killed while crossing roadways in 1999, 6 of whom were in marked
crosswalks.  Clarification is needed relative to the
responsibility of drivers and rights of pedestrians at crosswalks
on multilane roadways with center raised medials.

     This bill would require drivers to slow down or stop to a
pedestrian crossing the roadway within a crosswalk, whether the
pedestrian is upon the half of the roadway upon which the vehicle
is traveling or upon the other half of the roadway upon which the
vehicle is not traveling.

     Testimonies in support of this measure were received from
the Honolulu Police Department, the Hawaii Nurses Association,
and an interested citizen.

 
 
 
 
 
 
                                 STAND. COM. REP. NO. 66-00
                                 Page 2

 
     Your Committee has amended this bill by:

     (1)  Requiring drivers approaching from both directions to
          slow down and stop to yield to pedestrians when they
          enter crosswalks; 

     (2)  Providing that the driver shall slow down and stop for
          a pedestrian within a crosswalk on a multilane roadway
          with a raised center medial only when the pedestrian is
          upon the half of the roadway upon which the vehicle is
          traveling; and

     (3)  Making other technical, nonsubstantive amendments for
          style and clarity.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your
Committee on Transportation that is attached to this report, your
Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No.
1899, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second
Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1899, H.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,



                                   ______________________________
                                   KENNETH T. HIRAKI, Chair