‘Speed trap’ on the Saddle

Police issued almost 700 more speeding tickets on the Daniel K. Inouye Memorial Highway, also known as Saddle Road, in 2015 than in the previous year.

According to the Hawaii Police Department, officers wrote 2,219 speeding citations last year on the Saddle (Highway 200), the island’s main east-west artery, compared to 1,535 in 2014 and 1,586 in 2013.

And on Puainako Street extension — which runs from Komohana Street in Hilo to the Saddle — ticket numbers also have increased sharply over the past two years.

Officers wrote 38 citations on the extension in 2013, 88 in 2014 and 120 last year.

And while members of the public sometimes complain about police operating a “speed trap” on the Saddle — defined in Webster’s New World Dictionary as “a stretch of road where speeders are frequently apprehended, as by concealed police or through radar” — police say the enforcement is necessary to minimize collisions and prevent fatalities.

“Speeding is a national issue which claims the lives of thousands of persons every year, and one of a police officer’s most difficult duties is informing a family that their loved one has died in a car crash. The Hawaii Police Department enforces speeding islandwide to deter violators and attempt to reduce tragic traffic fatalities,” Chief Harry Kubojiri wrote in a Jan. 28 letter to the Tribune-Herald.

Since the last improved segment of the highway was opened on Sept. 7, 2013, official traffic fatality numbers have plummeted on Hawaii Island. There were 38 fatalities in 2012, 25 in 2013 and 11 in 2014.

Although islandwide fatalities increased to 19 last year, that’s still half the 2012 total.

In addition, there have been no fatal collisions on the Saddle in the past two years.

The last traffic death on Saddle Road was Nov. 29, 2013, when 31-year-old Troy K. Pattioay of Keaau lost the brakes on the tractor-trailer he was driving on a steep downhill grade near the 51-mile marker in West Hawaii. Police say Pattioay lost control, crossed the median and rolled over on an unimproved shoulder. He was ejected from the cab and died at the scene.

It’s also been more than 20 months since a fatality occurred on the Puainako extension. Palani B. Cobb-Adams, a 30-year-old Hilo man, died May 25, 2014, in a one-car crash between the 4- and 5-mile markers.

Sgt. Robert Pauole of Traffic Services said Friday police continue to make a concerted effort to enforce speeding, impaired driving and other traffic laws on the Saddle.

“With the highway being the main commute route for the east and west side, there are going to be more vehicles on the road, and it’s going to increase the dangers, the possibility of accidents, fatalities and so forth,” he said. “So, yes, our efforts are to concentrate enforcement in that area.”

When the newest segment of the Saddle opened, police wrote 517 speeding tickets on that segment alone in a little more than two months.

“We would get a lot of complaints of vehicles driving recklessly and speeding,” Pauole said. “We’re still getting them, but I think with our presence up there, it has helped with the chances of reducing accidents and fatalities.”

He said so-called “excessive speeding” — drivers exceeding the speed limit by more than 30 mph — continues to be a concern.

“It’s difficult for officers to be up there, covering all areas all the time. And we still get complaints when officers are not up there, and we’re working on trying to get more enforcement up there,” he said.

Asked how drivers can minimize or eliminate “highway hypnosis,” a psychological phenomenon that causes drivers to not realize how fast they are driving on long, straight stretches of highway, Pauole’s answer was simple: “Set your cruise control.”

Pauole said he thinks enforcement is an important factor in the low fatality rate on the Saddle, which was improved mostly by federal funding for military purposes. But he added, “The police can’t take all the credit for the low rate of accidents and fatalities up there.”

“A lot of it has to do with the construction of the highway. It’s well-designed, and I think that contributes a lot to it,” he said.

“When (the old) Saddle Road was hardly used, I remember there were a lot of fatalities on Highway 19 (Hawaii Belt Road) because it was an older design,” he said. “When the population increased and more vehicles started using it, it was a really dangerous highway. Now, with less people using it and more people using the Saddle Road, I think it’s contributed to the lowering of the fatality rate islandwide.

“You know, 11 is great and 19 is great, but Chief Kubojiri’s not going to be satisfied until that number is zero, so we’re going to continue to work for that goal.”

Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.