HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	51
THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2019
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE RESOLUTION

REQUESTING CROSSWALK COUNTDOWN TIMERS be replaced with conventional Pedestrian-control signals REFERRED TO IN section 291c-33, Hawaii revised statutes, to improve pedestrian and vehicular safetY.

WHEREAS, forty-three pedestrians were killed statewide in 2018, the highest total in at least fifteen years; and

WHEREAS, despite increased safety awareness campaigns and traffic enforcement, pedestrian deaths outnumbered vehicle occupant deaths statewide in 2018 for the first time since at least 2003, according to Department of Transportation data; and

WHEREAS, although well-intentioned and successful as a pedestrian aid, crosswalk countdown timers have been found to have adverse, unintended effects on vehicular traffic, according to recent academic journals and studies; and

WHEREAS, some intersections with countdown timers recorded an increase in vehicle collisions because drivers increasingly sped up through intersections as the timers counted down to zero and the traffic signal changed; and

WHEREAS, crosswalk timers often create unsafe situations as pedestrians frequently enter crosswalks illegally when the blinking red hand and countdown timer begins which causes vehicles to stack up and make dangerous turns after the traffic light has turned red; and

WHEREAS, the Legislature finds that replacing crosswalk countdown timers with conventional pedestrian-control signals will improve pedestrian and vehicular safety; and

WHEREAS, section 291C-33, Hawaii Revised Statutes, which mandates when a pedestrian may proceed across a roadway and be given the right-of-way by vehicles, only refers to conventional pedestrian-control signals with either a "Walk" or walking person designation with no mention of countdown timers; and

WHEREAS, section 291C-33, Hawaii Revised Statutes, only refers to conventional pedestrian-control signals of "Don't Walk" or an upraised palm designation to prohibit pedestrians from crossing and does not refer to countdown timers; and

WHEREAS, the Legislature fully supports conforming with the conventional pedestrian-control signals referred to in the Hawaii Revised Statutes and making crosswalks safer for pedestrians and vehicles; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirtieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2019, that the State Department of Transportation and the City and County of Honolulu Department of Transportation Services are requested to replace all crosswalk countdown timers with conventional pedestrian-control signals referred to in section 291C-33, Hawaii Revised Statutes, to improve pedestrian and vehicular safety in Hawaii; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, the Director of Transportation, the Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu, and the Director of Transportation Services of the City and County of Honolulu.

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title:

Crosswalk Countdown Timers