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Committee advances a package of pedestrian- and roadway-safety bills, inserts pickup-bed rider limits
Summary
Lawmakers advanced a suite of pedestrian-safety and traffic-code bills (including move-over, leading pedestrian intervals and stronger driver duties) and added a provision limiting passengers in pickup-truck beds on certain high-speed or multi-lane roads; several measures were deferred for decision-making next week.
The House Transportation Committee on Feb. 12 moved a broad set of pedestrian and traffic-safety measures forward, adopting technical amendments, inserting new language and deferring some decisions to later committee sessions.
Key actions included a vote to pass with amendments on HB 1692 (driver obligations when approaching stationary vehicles with flashing emergency lights). The Attorney General recommended broader, enforceable language — for example deleting the requirement that a stationary vehicle be "on the shoulder" and removing precise-cause language (collision or mechanical problem) to make enforcement clearer; the committee adopted AG-recommended edits.
Separately, committee members debated HB 1884 (requiring leading pedestrian intervals and accessible pedestrian signals). Advocates such as the Hawaii Association of the Blind and Hawaii Appleseed emphasized LPIs' low cost and an APS’ benefits for blind and low-vision pedestrians. "Leading pedestrian intervals...give pedestrians a few extra seconds to start crossing the street before the light turns green," said a Hawaii Appleseed representative, noting evidence of reduced pedestrian injuries in other cities.
The committee also inserted a new section limiting riding in pickup-truck beds: the chair proposed prohibiting passengers in truck beds on roads with posted speed limits exceeding 46 mph or on roadways with three or more lanes in the same direction, while carving out exemptions (agricultural transport, emergency and official vehicles). Members asked for the finalized language to be circulated.
The committee passed several of the measures with amendments, deferred others for decision-making on Feb. 17, and asked agencies to supply implementation detail and cost estimates (for example, APS installation costs were noted as material per-intersection expenditures). Several witnesses and public commenters urged stronger penalties when pedestrians are injured and highlighted a recent fatality and survivor accounts to underline urgency.
Next steps: The measures will continue through committee reports and floor consideration; the committee requested data from DOT on intersections and from stakeholders on installation costs.
