STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3595

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: H.B. No. 2589

H.D. 2

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Ninth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2018

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred H.B. No. 2589, H.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO MOTORCYCLES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to authorize the Department of Transportation to designate shoulder lanes upon which motorcycles are allowed to drive under certain conditions.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Transportation; Street Bikers United Hawaii; Street Bikers United Maui; Moped Doctors, Inc.; and thirty-nine individuals. Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Honolulu Police Department and AAA Hawaii.

Your Committee finds that motorcycles have an increased risk of collision with automobiles because of their small size and difficulty to see. When collisions occur, motorcycle drivers and its passengers are at a substantially increased risk of serious injury or death because of the open and exposed nature of motorcycles. Your Committee further finds that many motorcycles rely on airflow to cool their engines and traffic congestion may result in overheating because of the stop-and-go traffic conditions. This measure will alleviate these increased risks to motorcycles and motorcycle drivers and passengers by allowing them to travel on roadway shoulders that have been designated by the Department of Transportation.

Your Committee has amended this measure by inserting an effective date of January 1, 2019, and a repeal date of June 30, 2020.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2589, H.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2589, H.D. 2, S.D. 1.

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

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BRIAN T. TANIGUCHI, Chair