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Pedestrians share duties
for safety when crossing

Question: Under current laws, drivers have to stop only when a pedestrian is on the same side of the street as the car. Could you explain this law? If the pedestrian is standing on the curb at a crosswalk does this mean drivers have to stop or stop only when the pedestrian enters the street? If there is more than one lane, must all drivers stop regardless of which lane they are in or must the pedestrian enter the clear lane closest to curb before the drivers in the next lane over have to stop? When drivers stop on the same side of the street, when do the drivers in the opposite direction have to stop? Is it when the pedestrian crosses the center line? What about a driver making a left turn into the path of a pedestrian walking in a cross walk? If the pedestrian has not reached the same side of the lane into which the left turn is being made must the driver stop? Also, if a walk signal is only activated by pressing the button, can the pedestrian ignore the wait signal if the light is green?

Answer: Sgt. Clyde Yamashiro of the Honolulu Police Department's Traffic Division took us through the laws that cover a pedestrian's rights.

But the laws delineating those rights also come under the heading of "duties" -- meaning it's not just motorists that have a responsibility for a pedestrian's safety.

Those rights and duties are spelled out in the Hawaii Revised Statutes, Chapter 291C, Part VII, as well as in the Revised Ordinances of Honolulu, Section 15-17.

We should note that Gov. Linda Lingle has announced plans to introduce a bill at this year's state Legislature to strengthen a pedestrian's right of way in a marked crosswalk.

As you mentioned, a driver now must yield the right of way when a pedestrian is "upon the half of the crosswalk upon which the vehicle is traveling."

But Lingle said the language is "unclear," allowing the driver to decide when the pedestrian is half way in a crosswalk.

The Lingle administration is proposing that, on undivided streets, such as Kapahulu Avenue or Keeaumoku Street, vehicles moving in either direction must stop as soon as a person steps into a crosswalk and until he or she has completely crossed and is safely on the other side.

On divided streets, such as Vineyard Boulevard, the proposal is to require vehicles on that side of the street to stop as soon as a person enters a crosswalk. When that person reaches the median and starts to cross the other half of the street, vehicles on that side must stop until the person is safely on the curb.

Those proposals give you an idea of where pedestrians, literally, stand when it comes to crosswalks.

Sgt. Yamashiro said your questions aren't easy to respond to without placing them in the context of specific circumstances because of how the laws are written. He recommended that you get a copy of Chapter 291C, Part VII to more clearly understand the different situations.

(You can check the HRS at public libraries; by going online at www.capitol.hawaii.gov/site1/docs/docs.asp?press1=docs; or by visiting the state Legislature's Public Access Room, Room 401 at the State Capitol, open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., weekdays, and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays.)

In the meantime, Yamashiro offered these general answers, emphasizing that they may not apply to all situations:

We reviewed HRS 291C, Part VII and offer some more specifics:

Mahalo

I left my black handbag in the ladies room at Neiman Marcus on Monday, Jan. 17. I had a shopping bag, plus the handbag, but left the room with only the shopping bag. A Good Samaritan found my handbag and was so kind to turn it in to Customer Service. I was able to get my bag shortly thereafter. I'm very grateful and much obliged to both the finder and to the staff at Customer Service. -- Thankful Senior Citizen

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