Committee advances resolutions asking state to test drivers at renewal and add multimodal education

The Committee on Government Efficiency and Customer Services advanced two related resolutions on Jan. 15 urging the State Department of Transportation to study requiring a knowledge test at driver-license renewal and to add pedestrian, bicyclist and multimodal roadway content to the license exam and school driver-education materials.

Council member Cordero, the introducer, said the resolutions recall a pre-1997 practice and were prompted by a rise in traffic fatalities in 2025. "So once again, the goal is education," Cordero said, arguing that renewal testing would refresh drivers on current laws and shared responsibilities.

Kim Hashiro, director of the Department of Customer Services, told the committee the department supports safer roads but cautioned that implementation at the city level would require time and capacity planning to avoid creating backlogs in customer-service locations. "We're still at about 75% online versus in office, so we'd like to see even higher percentages online," Hashiro said, noting online testing could help manage demand.

An in-person testifier, Dalen Kam, said he had not reviewed the rules of the road since receiving his license and supported the resolutions: "I think most drivers on the road can say the same," Kam said. The testifier said a renewal test would prompt drivers to update themselves on rules such as the three-feet passing guideline for bicyclists.

The committee chair recommended Resolution 26-1 be reported out for adoption; with no objections, the committee so ordered the recommendation. The chair made a similar recommendation for Resolution 26-2, and that recommendation was likewise ordered.

Next steps: both resolutions were reported out of committee for adoption; any state-level action would require the State DOT and the Hawai‘i Department of Education to consider and implement the requested changes.