There were 915 instances in which pedestrians were hit by motor vehicles on the Big Island between 2007 and May 31 this year, according to figures provided by the Hawaii Police Department.
There were 915 instances in which pedestrians were hit by motor vehicles on the Big Island between 2007 and May 31 this year, according to figures provided by the Hawaii Police Department.
Thirty-one pedestrians were killed by vehicles in Hawaii County in that time frame — although police count only 23 of those as official traffic fatalities. Of the remainder, seven occurred on property other than a public roadway, while one is officially classified as a suicide.
Three of those years have triple-digit numbers of pedestrians hit: 106 in 2009, 111 in 2013 and 104 last year. As of May 31 this year, police logged 46 pedestrian collisions, which could lead to another year of more than 100 incidences, if the collision rate remains constant.
Three of this year’s pedestrian crashes have been fatal, but the latest, which killed 78-year-old Gary Ambrose on May 27, occurred at the Keaau Transfer Station, so it isn’t counted as an official traffic fatality.
The driver of a van that police say pinned Ambrose to a trash chute, 66-year-old Perla Whitehawk-Taylor of Hilo, was booked on suspicion of first-degree negligent homicide and DUI. She remains uncharged while police investigate.
Sgt. Robert Pauole of the police Traffic Services Section said pedestrians and drivers “need to be more aware of their surroundings and what they’re doing when they’re crossing the street or driving up an area where you have crosswalks.” He added that pedestrians shoulder an extra burden of responsibility for their own safety.
“As a pedestrian, you’re going to be the loser,” Pauole said. “So the pedestrian should take the extra step to ensure that the vehicle is going to stop when you are crossing the street. Even though you have the right of way, you should never take your eyes off the vehicles that are coming.”
Pauole said jaywalking remains a problem on the island’s streets. He said jaywalkers are “causing a hazard to themselves.”
Jaywalkers can be cited and are subject to a $100 fine upon conviction.
In addition to the jaywalking law, Hawaii Revised Statutes 291C-76 deals with pedestrians on roadways. It states: Where sidewalks are provided it shall be unlawful for any pedestrian to walk along and upon an adjacent roadway, bicycle lane, or bicycle path. Where sidewalks are not provided any pedestrian walking along and upon a highway shall, when practicable, walk only on the left side of the roadway or its shoulder facing traffic which may approach from the opposite direction.
As chief of Traffic Services, Pauole is also supervisor of the island’s school crossing guards.
“Almost on a daily basis, one crossing guard will call and tell me that they almost got struck by a vehicle. And this is in a school zone,” he said. “Why are we speeding in school zones? Why are we not paying attention to school zones?”
Have any of those near misses become an actual school zone collision?
“No, thank goodness,” Pauole replied. “Nothing at positions where the school crossing guards are. Knock on wood. In the five years I’ve been here, that has not occurred. I can’t speak for the ones where there are not because we don’t have school crossing guards at every single school and every intersection.”
Speeding in a school zone is a traffic violation with a fine of $307 upon conviction, while a conviction of failure to yield to pedestrians in a crosswalk incurs a $150 fine.
While driving under the influence of an intoxicant is illegal, the legal threshold for alcohol intoxication is a blood-alcohol level of 0.08. While law enforcers strive to keep drunken drivers off the road, Pauole said it appears a clear head is also an advantage for a pedestrian.
“From the experience I have in the past as a (Traffic Enforcement Unit) investigator, and that was from 2004 to 2011, I noticed that a lot of (fatalities) were due to impaired pedestrians,” he said.
Pauole said it’s up to the pedestrian to decide when, where and how he or she is going to cross a street or road, right of way notwithstanding.
“Make sure the vehicles are going to stop. Sometimes, they don’t,” he said. “Sometimes they could be looking down at the phone, or paying attention to the children in the car, or some other distraction. Take that additional 1 or 2 seconds to make sure the vehicle is going to stop (before crossing). I think we could reduce a lot of pedestrian accidents just on that alone.”
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.