Kokua Line

By June Watanabe

Saturday, February 21, 1998

Pizza Hut makes sure
its drivers are insured

I live in Makakilo and see drivers from Pizza Hut speeding up and down the hill. I saw a driver speed up to about 50 mph to go through the light at Makakilo Drive/Farrington Highway intersection.

The speed limit is 35 mph. I called the Barbers Point Pizza Hut to complain and was told they would warn drivers again.

But if the drivers get speeding tickets, is that their responsibility? If someone gets hurt, is that the driver's responsibility or Pizza Hut's responsibility? I think the problem is that they are trying to deliver as many pizzas as possible. This is a bad situation and it's just a matter of time before a bad accident occurs.

All Pizza Hut drivers are required to prove they have their own insurance "and we track that that doesn't expire," said Henry Katsuda, president of the local chain.

Also, safety is emphasized during driver orientations, and a driver-safety conference is held yearly for all drivers, he said.

Katsuda said drivers are not pressured to make fast deliveries or as many deliveries as possible.

A lawsuit against Domino's Pizza "pretty much brought (the issue) to the forefront," he said. In that case, Domino's dropped its 30-minute delivery guarantee in 1993, after losing a multimillion-dollar lawsuit to a woman whose car was hit by a Domino's driver.

"It raised a serious issue that we are all concerned about and we internally initiated our own efforts, locally, with the emphasis on in-store times."

A store is evaluated on the time between when an order is called in and when it is dispatched to the customer or driver. The evaluation is on "speed in the unit, not in the car," Katsuda said.

Also, unless it's an "extreme circumstance," drivers usually handle only one or two deliveries per run, Katsuda said.

"One of the ways we ensure speedy service to the customer is to staff properly, project properly and limit delivery drops to two on a run. It really works," he said.

However, if you see a driver speeding, call the store manager or the main office, 421-3276.

"We will follow up to make sure that the driver is counseled and disciplinary action is taken, if necessary," Katsuda said. "We always respond with urgency when we hear of speeding. Safety is a major issue with us."

Why isn't there a class reunion notice for people in Waianae, Nanakuli or Waipahu? We all graduated from high school. Notice of military reunions belong in military papers. Notice of reunions for Chaminade University, Kappa Epsilon, Honolulu Boy Choir and Pearl City Elementary School belong in their own school papers. That's why there is no space for our schools!

If you want a reunion announcement to run in the Star-Bulletin, just fax the information (523-8509), mail it (To: Reunions, Star-Bulletin, P.O. Box 3080, Honolulu 96802) or e-mail it (features@starbulletin.com), said Today Section editor Cynthia Oi.

Include a name and daytime phone number. Announcements run on Tuesdays on a space-available basis.

"We try to publish every announcement we receive at least once in the weekly reunion calendar," Oi said. "We give preference to local reunions, but do not exclude military or other types of announcements unless they have little to do with Hawaii."

Call Oi at 525-8668 or Michelle Ramos at 525-8660.

Concert traffic alert

Go early, Mariah Carey fans. That's the word from promoter Tom Moffatt, who said night work on the H-1 freeway, near Aloha Stadium, may further slow traffic. Carey performs at 7:30 tonight at the stadium.