Survey: ‘Road rage’
in isles is widespread

A state survey has some
surprises: Only 56 percent
believe pedestrians always
have the right of way

By Treena Shapiro
Star-Bulletin

"Road rage" is so common that three out of every four Hawaii drivers have witnessed an incident within the past month, according to a new survey.

And nearly one in three drivers has been consumed with rage while driving.

The statewide survey, commissioned in October by the state Department of Transportation, was used to pinpoint weaknesses in Hawaii's driving population for a yearlong educational program "Drive Safely, Arrive Alive," beginning this month.

Aggressive driving, which includes road rage and unnecessarily risky behaviors, has become so widespread that 77 percent of drivers witnessed incidents within the past 30 days, and 29 percent said they engaged in it themselves.

A total of 700 people were surveyed, 400 on Oahu, and 100 each in Hawaii, Maui and Kauai counties.

Honolulu police Sgt. Richard Lung said survey responses mostly confirm what he has seen on the job in the traffic division.

Surprising results

Even so, some answers surprised him. "It's amazing what the people's concept is," he said. For example:

While 80 percent of the respondents said they would slow down to let a bicycle pass them, only 56 percent believe that a pedestrian always has the right of way.

According to Lung, the only time pedestrians do not have the right of way is if they step into the street when the drivers are too close to avoid them.

As far as the bicycles go, there's nothing in the law dictating what to do when driving next to a bicycle, but if both are traveling straight, drivers tend to speed up and pass the bicycle, Lung said. "I kind of doubt they'll wait for that bicyclist who's traveling 2 to 3 miles per hour," he said.

It's dangerous to work in the road. In 1998, 269 collisions occurred in highway work zones, up from 151 the year before. While 64 percent of the respondents said they always slow down when approaching a highway work zone, 61 percent said a fine would make them slow down more often.

The survey asked about children under 12, and 85 percent of respondents felt they should be buckled up in back. Also, 67 percent believe everyone in the car should wear a seat belt.

Only 40 percent of respondents know that blood-alcohol standards were stricter for those under 21, although 78 percent knew that an intoxicated driver under 21 could lose his or her license for several months under the "zero tolerance" law.

Almost half of the survey respondents said that someone in their household age 16 to 20 went to parties where alcohol was served and 30 percent said people in that age group drank. However, only 5 percent said people in that age group in their household drink and drive.

Of those of legal drinking age, 57 percent said they occasionally drove after a drink or two, and 11 percent drink and drive several times a month. Drivers who drink were asked further questions about police sobriety checkpoints and 55 percent said they had driven through one -- 12 percent were concerned about being arrested -- while 10 percent had taken a different route to avoid the roadblock.

Yearlong learning process

The state's educational program will focus on a different issue each month throughout the year, starting this month with aggressive driving and road rage, including speeding, tailgating and weaving through traffic.

The program is funded in part by a federal-incentive grant the state received for lowering its legal blood-alcohol tolerance level from 0.10 to 0.08.

Perry Manthos, highways administrator, was unable to give an exact amount the state will spend on the program, but he did say it's in the "hundreds of thousands of dollars, between the workshops and advertising."

State Sen. Calvin Kawamoto, Transportation and Intergovernmental Affairs chairman, said no legislation concerning this survey has passed his desk. He said, however, he spent the last legislative session working with the Youth in Action group to promote safer driving for young people.

"When the young people come out and lobby you and they're trying to save their fellow teen-agers, you have to listen," he said.

Youth in Action is pushing for graduated licenses, restrictions on night driving for teen-agers and laws requiring back-seat passengers under 18 to wear a seat belt.

Last session, Kawamoto's committee tried to pass a bill lowering the blood-alcohol limit from 0.8 to 0.4, which for many people would mean one drink in an hour would make it illegal to drive.

The bill was killed by the Judiciary Committee, Kawamoto said.