Hawaii Gov. Josh Green has signed off on a series of bills aimed at increasing safety on the state's highways after at least 43 people were killed in traffic accidents over the first six-months of the year, according to a report.
“In just the first six months of 2023, we have already seen 43 traffic fatalities,” Green said in a release by the Governor's Office. “This is unacceptable and should not be occurring. We need these numbers to go down so our communities will be safer and we can prevent losing more lives to preventable tragedies.”
According to the release, two new laws went into effect July 1, one of which renames the State Highway Safety Council the State Highway Safety and Modernization Council, and it also changes the duties of the of the State Highway Safety and Modernization Council. The new law also paves the way for motorists to be able to renew their driver licenses by mail or online.
Another measure that began July 1 established the Safe Routes to School Advisory Committee, which is tasked with "creating a comprehensive, statewide Safe Routes to School Plan," and updates the Department of Transportation’s Safe Routes to School Program to deposit and appropriate state highway funds into the Safe Routes to School Program special fund, the release stated.
Sen. Chris Lee, who also serves as chair of the Senate Committee on Transportation and Culture and the Arts, said the state needs a plan that will change the minds of motorists from road designs that "assume people will obey road laws" to designs that assume drivers are fallible and will protect the most vulnerable drivers, the release stated.
“These bills double down on prioritizing safety first, and step up investment in protected transit infrastructure that will save our keiki and kūpuna when drivers speed, aren’t paying attention, and lose control,” he said.