STAND. COM. REP. 1031

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2003

RE: S.B. No. 689

 

 

 

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. 689 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:

(1) Define the term "golf cart" in both chapter 286, Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS), the highway safety law, and chapter 291C, HRS, the Statewide Traffic Code;

(2) Require a permanent notice of operational restrictions under the law to be attached to a golf cart;

(3) Amend chapter 291C, HRS, to regulate the operation of golf carts on state roads on islands with a population of 5,000 persons or less by:

(A) Providing that golf carts shall not be driven at speeds in excess of 15 miles per hour or on a highway with a speed limit of more than 20 miles per hour;

(B) Prohibiting the operation of a golf cart during the hours between sunset and sunrise unless the golf cart is equipped with headlights, brake lights, turn signals, and a windshield;

(C) Requiring golf carts to be equipped with efficient brakes, reliable steering apparatus, safe tires, a rear view mirror, and red reflectorized warning devices in both the front and rear; and

(D) Requiring that a golf cart be operated by a driver licensed to drive a motor vehicle or a driver sixteen years-of-age or older;

(4) Amend chapter 291C, HRS, to clarify that:

(A) Persons are prohibited from operating a golf cart on any controlled-access roadway or highway; and

(B) A triangular slow moving vehicle emblem must be displayed on a golf cart traveling on a public highway, except when guarded by a flagperson or flare;

and

(5) Allow the Director of Transportation to adopt rules under chapter 91, HRS, to regulate the use of golf carts.

Currently, under National Highway Traffic Safety Administration regulations, golf carts incapable of exceeding 20 miles per hour are subject only to state and local requirements. Your Committee finds that in sparsely populated areas of the State, such as the island of Lanai, golf carts provide a safe, viable means of transportation. However, current state law does not allow for the operation of these vehicles on state highways and needs to be amended to allow for their operation in this context.

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. 689 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary.

 

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

 

____________________________

JOSEPH M. SOUKI, Chair