Police hope increases
in hit-run cases slow

More drivers fear the consequences
of stopping to help victims of crashes

In 2000 just 16 people on Oahu were charged with a felony hit-and-run. Last year, that number had nearly tripled to 46 -- a result, officials say, of more drivers failing to render aid in serious crashes and more being brought to justice.

"The police are doing a more thorough investigation," said Jim Fulton, executive assistant to the city prosecutor. "That leads to more charges."

Still, police say, many cases go unsolved.

If there are no witnesses, especially in hit-and-run fatalities, investigators have little more than physical evidence to go on.

And no arrests often means no closure for victims or, in the case of fatalities, their family members, according to Leon James, a University of Hawaii psychology professor who studies driving habits and road rage.

"Families who are involved with victims of crime always seek to receive some sort of punishment for the person who committed the crime," he said. "That allows them to feel that they were not totally without recourse, that they did get some sort of compensation."

Statewide this year, six people -- most of whom were pedestrians and half of whom were in their 50s -- have died in hit-and-run crashes. Arrests have been made in three of the cases.

Police could not give a total for serious hit-and-runs this year, and so could not say whether they are increasing. But according to statistics provided by the prosecutor's office, the number of people charged on Oahu with a felony hit-and-run has steadily gone up since 2000.

In 2001, 21 people were charged -- up by five from the previous year. Thirty-seven were charged in 2002, and 43 in 2003.

The Hawaii data comes as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports hit-and-runs involving injuries have been increasing across the nation in the last decade.

Between 1998 and 2003 the number of hit-and-runs rose by 15 percent.

Meanwhile, there were an estimated 36,100 serious hit-and-runs in the Western states, which include Hawaii, in 2003. That is up by about 4,000 from five years earlier.

James said the motives behind those who fail to render aid are not easily -- or often -- studied. Sometimes, it is an inability to comprehend the situation because of blurred reasoning, either by intoxication or drugs.

At other times it is simply a natural reaction to fear.

"If somebody's not prepared for emergencies, then they go into a mode of thinking that is not effective in meeting the needs of the situation," James said. "They don't want to get involved because they are afraid of the consequences.

"But whatever they're afraid of, they're much worse off if they don't render assistance."

James suggested drivers go through a crash scenario in their minds to prepare for and, potentially, overcome the urge to flee.

He also said driver's education classes should include a discussion on rendering aid and that the state should take a more active role in educating the public about hit-and-runs.

"It's like drunk driving," he said. "It requires state and community participation. People need to remind themselves, 'What if I were in that situation?' I would want somebody to help me. I think that's why we have such a law. It requires us as citizens to feel compassion for others."