Seat-belt law should extend to truck beds
It is time we consider requiring pickup trucks sold in Hawaii to be equipped with seat belts in pickup truck beds. In light of the recent fatalities where passengers were thrown from the bed of a pickup truck this would seem to be common sense (
"4 die, 8 hurt in Kunia crash," April 25).
We've had similar deaths occur here on Maui. It is indecent that dogs are required restraint when riding in pickup truck beds but humans are not.
Gilbert Emata
Wailuku, Maui
Ban on truck bed riding would be overreaction
I appreciate Sen. Will Espero's efforts to do his job as a legislator (
Letters, April 26), but a pickup truck bed rider ban is another example of the knee-jerk legislation that clogs our statutes. People die in pickup trucks no matter where they are sitting. The problem is really the driver behind the wheel who passes illegally or falls asleep at the wheel.
People need to learn responsibility before they are allowed to drive.
That's the best way to prevent all tragedies.
Kristi Sue-Ako
Kakaako
Impatience takes its toll in Kunia accident
I agree that riding in the back of a pick-up truck is unsafe. I see it all the time along the Waianae Coast. The pickup truck in the
accident on Kunia Road had a protective cover over the bed so that the only opening was at the rear.
While still not a safe way to travel, it's safer than a completely exposed bed. I can only imagine how much worse this accident would have been without that enclosure.
My purpose in writing is to address the cause of this accident; an unknown idiot, caught in morning traffic on a two-lane road, who seemed to be in too much of a hurry to abide by the law. S/he took his/her own life, along with the lives of everyone who were in vehicles in the immediate vicinity, into his/her own hands by being too impatient to practice safe driving. To make matters worse, the unknown driver fled the scene. Once found, may the laws address this person's behavior as harshly as the laws allow.
My heart goes out to the families of the deceased. One selfish, impatient, impulsive driver cost each of four families a loved one.
Sue Larkin
Makaha
Tort reform would help isle patients
I'm writing about a bill that Rep. Sylvia Luke is holding in her Judiciary Committee, which would provide tort reform for trauma care and ob/gyn physicians --
Senate Bill 3279, SD2, HD1. This bill is critical due to the physician shortage in Hawaii. The bill cuts the lawyer reimbursement of settlements by half in large awards; this increases the amount the patient receives.
How can trial lawyers be allowed to control bills that are in conflict of interest concerning tort reform?
As a mother, with two high-risk pregnancies, one of which ended up in my child suffering an intrauterine stroke and living with cerebral palsy these last 19 years, I'm glad that I can have honest conversations with my physician to figure out problems and needs, and then quickly move on with the process of supporting my handicapped daughter.
Money can never make a certain set of events in time disappear. We would be wise to put in place tort reforms that will attract and keep physicians in high-risk, high-demand specialties and take the time to make relationships with our providers; we can try to work together for the best health of the patient, and not for the wallet of any interested party.
Nancy Shannon
Kailua
Gas cap robs Hawaii of highest-price title
While we have been watching gasoline prices rise all across the nation, for the past several weeks Honolulu has not been announced as the city with the highest prices at the pump. My strongest suspicions are that our loss of this notoriety is due to the way our gas cap law is restricting the wholesale pricing of gasoline.
Hawaii should repeal this gas price cap law immediately so that Honolulu can again reclaim the title of "city with the highest gas prices in the USA."
Jerry Mershon
Mililani