RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Hawaii's traffic problems encompass a wide range of issues, including road design, road repair and maintenance, traffic congestion, traffic safety, and pedestrian safety, to name a few; and

WHEREAS, in 2003, 13 percent of Hawaii's roads were rated in poor condition with an additional 53 percent rated in mediocre condition; and

WHEREAS, driving on roads in need of repair is estimated to cost Hawaii drivers $312 million per year in extra vehicle operating costs, including vehicle depreciation, additional vehicle repair and maintenance costs, and increased fuel consumption; and

WHEREAS, motor vehicle crashes cost Hawaii motorists approximately $218 million annually, including medical costs, lost economic and household productivity, property damage, and travel delays; and

WHEREAS, there were an estimated 10,660 motor vehicle crashes involving $3,000 or more in damages or causing injury or death in the State in 2002; and

WHEREAS, Hawaii County has experienced the highest motor vehicle fatality rate in the state accounting for nearly 30 percent of all automobile deaths recorded statewide between 1996 and 2003; and

WHEREAS, between 2000 and 2003, drivers on the Big Island experienced motor vehicle fatalities at a rate that when adjusted for population, was nearly nearly twice that of Maui and Kauai counties, and was three times the rate of Oahu drivers; and

WHEREAS, both Mamalahoa Highway and Queen Kaahumanu Highway on the Big Island experience many of the problems that contribute to motor vehicle accidents such as long transit distances, non-divided roadways, and wind and other natural elements;

WHEREAS, drivers on the Kona side of the Big Island have access to emergency care only at North Hawaii Community Hospital and Kona Hospital and are subjected to greater transit times to hospital emergent care than drivers on Hawaii's other islands; and

WHEREAS, while several factors are associated with vehicle accidents resulting in fatalities, including driver behavior, vehicle characteristics, and roadway design, installation of signs, other safety warning devices, and divided highways can have an impact on highway safety; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2006, the Senate concurring, that the Department of Transportation (DOT) is urged to install warning signs along Mamalahoa and Queen Kaahumanu Highways on the Big Island of Hawaii warning drivers of high winds and other potentially dangerous driving conditions; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that DOT is also urged to expedite the creation of a divided highway from Kailua-Kona to Kawaihae on the Big Island of Hawaii; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that DOT submit a report to the Legislature each year between now and 2010 on:

no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Sessions of 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Transportation.

Report Title:

Urging the Department of Transportation to increase the number of safety signs along Mamalahoa Highway and Queen Kaahumanu Highway and to expedite the creation of a divided highway from Kailua-Kona to Kawaihae.