STAND. COM. REP. 997

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2003

RE: S.B. No. 1051

H.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2003

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Transportation, to which was referred S.B. No. 1051 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO PERSONAL TRANSPORTATION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to support innovative transportation by amending the Statewide Traffic Code to define and provide for the operation of electric personal assistive mobility devices (mobility devices).

Segway LLC (Segway), testified in support of this measure. The Department of Transportation (DOT) opposed this measure.

Segway manufactured and marketed the first mobility device under the name of the Segway Human Transporter (Transporter). The Transporter offers an entirely new option for short distance travel and is currently being used by the United States Postal Service and the National Park Service in select locations. The Transporter is also presently being used by Ko Olina Resort and has been, and continues to be, tested in numerous cities across the country. In fact, thirty-three states have adopted legislation to allow for the operation of the Transporter on sidewalks. Your Committee finds that the use of the Transporter could be beneficial to those needing a mode of short-distance transportation and will definitely benefit the environment and lessen traffic congestion by reducing the need for cars.

However, your Committee understands the safety concerns raised by DOT regarding the use of the Transporter on sidewalks. Accordingly, your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Requiring mobility devices to be operated at a speed of eight miles per hour or less when operated on a sidewalk;

(2) Allowing the use of mobility devices on the shoulder of a roadway whose speed does not exceed 25 miles per hour if a sidewalk does not exist or is under repair or construction;

(3) Requiring the operator of a mobility device to be 16 years of age or older regardless of whether the operator of the mobility device has a mobility-related disability;

(4) Requiring the operator of a mobility device, when operating on a sidewalk, bike path, or roadway at a speed no greater than 25 miles per hour, to yield the right-of-way to persons using mobility aids, as well as to those traveling on foot;

(5) Requiring the assessment of penalties for operating a mobility device in a reckless manner in disregard of the safety of persons or property; and

(6) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.

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 S.B. No. 1051, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1051, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Transportation,

 

____________________________

JOSEPH M. SOUKI, Chair