Isle traffic death
rate declines

A crackdown on Oahu speeders
may have helped reduce fatalities

By Jaymes K. Song
Star-Bulletin

Police wrote a record number of speeding tickets last year, and the number of traffic fatalities fell to a decade low.

Last year, there were 45 traffic deaths on Oahu -- down from 63 traffic deaths the year before, 78 in 1997 and the lowest number since at least 1987, when that type of statistic began being compiled.

The drop comes as police cracked down on speeders last year, issuing a record number of citations.

Police and transportation officials say it is hard to determine precisely what caused the decline in deaths, but they believe increased enforcement did play a role.

"I would like to take the credit, but I can't," said Honolulu Police Capt. Bryan Wauke of the Traffic Division. "I don't know what it is, but I hope it's because we're addressing speeding."

Wauke and transportation experts say other factors may have contributed to the decline: better emergency room services at hospitals, road- and vehicle-safety improvements, more people wearing seat belts and enforcement.

Kazu Hayashida, state transportation director, said "every little thing helps. There's not one cause or savior."

But increased enforcement, seat-belt use, public education and the installation of more traffic signals were significant, Hayashida said.

Braking speeders

Last year on Oahu, 101 speeding tickets were issued, on average, every day. That is up significantly from the average of 62 tickets a day in 1998 and 1997.

The number of tickets issued in December hasn't been tallied yet, but last year's total for the first 11 months of 33,867 easily surpassed 1998's total of 22,735 and 1997's total of 22,491.

"It's a big difference," Wauke said. "That's drastic."

The Honolulu Police Department decided to crack down on heavy-footed drivers after finding that speeding played a role in 59 percent of the fatal crashes in 1998. It was even higher than alcohol, which accounted for 36 percent of fatalities.

Last year, speeding accounted for 45 percent of the traffic deaths and alcohol 21 percent.

"They (speeders) have to realize, speed makes it dangerous for everyone on the roadway," Wauke said.

When a driver speeds, he said, reaction time is decreased, the impact of the crash is greatly increased and motorists get "tunnel vision."

Drunken-driving arrests remained flat last year compared with 1998.

HPD made 2,341 arrests for drunken driving in 1999, Wauke said, 10 fewer than the 2,351 arrests made a year before.

DUI arrests

In November, Mothers Against Drunk Driving gave Hawaii a B-minus grade for the state's fight against drunken driving.

Drunken driving always will be a priority, Wauke said, and HPD will continue to concentrate on speeding, motorists running red lights and not having the proper child-restraint seats.

A survey found that more than 80 percent of motorists in Hawaii use seat belts, state transportation officials said. The relatively high number of seat belt users secured federal incentive funding for the state.

A lot of fatalities occur when a person not wearing a seat belt is thrown out of the car, Hayashida said.

Last year, 25 people died in crashes involving just vehicles -- excluding motorcycles, bicycles and pedestrians, according to police statistics. Of the 25 people who died, 19 were not wearing seat belts.

Wauke said he has seen first-hand how seat belts make a difference: one-car crashes in which one occupant, not wearing a seat belt, was killed after being ejected and the other occupant, wearing a seat belt, was not injured.