STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1109

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    H.B. No. 362

       H.D. 1

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2007

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Transportation and International Affairs, to which was referred H.B. No. 362, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENTS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to require the driver of a motor vehicle involved in an accident that results only in damage to the vehicle, to move the vehicle to a safe location off the roadway, including a shoulder lane or median, as close to the accident scene as possible.

     This measure also clarifies that a driver is not liable or at fault for the accident for having removed the vehicle by sole reason of moving the vehicle.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Honolulu Police Department. 

     Your Committee finds that motor vehicle accidents that do not result in bodily injuries could pose significant traffic hazards when vehicles are left on the roadway to await the arrival of police.  The intent of this measure is to minimize that risk by requiring the drivers to remove their vehicles from the road but near enough to the accident scene.

     Your Committee further finds that existing law is silent about the duties of a driver to move the vehicle to a safe location at the scene of an accident.  According to the testimony of the Honolulu Police Department, drivers continue to feel compelled to refuse to move the vehicle even if it causes a traffic backup.  This measure would clarify that the vehicle should be moved, and would serve as a device to educate the public on what to do with the vehicle at the scene of the accident. 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Transportation and International Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 362, H.D. 1, and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary and Labor.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Transportation and International Affairs,

____________________________

J. KALANI ENGLISH, Chair