Leavitt Yamane & Soldner

Make Avoiding Pedestrian Accidents a Walk in the Park

With the state’s balmy weather and the close proximity of shopping and dining for many residents, Hawaii should be a pedestrian’s paradise.

But in 2009 there were 109 traffic-related fatalities in Hawaii with pedestrian accidents coming in third only to passenger and motorcycle crashes. To help raise awareness for this increasingly pressing issue, in August of this year, Lieutenant Governor Brian Schatz proclaimed the month “Pedestrian Safety Month” – currently the only statewide pedestrian safety month in the country.

The sad truth is that unfortunately pedestrian incidents happen too frequently in Hawaii. On November 21 a 19-year-old Hawaii Pacific University student was struck and killed crossing Kamehameha Highway heading to her campus dorm. The incident took place after dark, on a notoriously dangerous portion of the highway, where just two years earlier another HPU student was injured in the same spot. In response to concerns, last month, the state installed solar flashing lights at this crosswalk which alert approaching drivers that someone is crossing.

And just two days later, on November 23, a female pedestrian was critically injured while crossing North School Street in Kalihi.  The 49-year-old woman was in a marked crosswalk when she was struck by a four-door sedan driven by a police sergeant on the way to work. The woman was wearing dark clothing and the street light above the crosswalk was not functioning at the time of the incident.

To help keep our island’s roads safe for drivers and pedestrians alike, Hawaii’s Department of Transportation’s Walk Wise Hawaii program offers the following pedestrian safety tips:

• Always cross at a crosswalk or at the corner.
• Look for oncoming vehicles before stepping down from sidewalk.
• When possible, establish eye contact with drivers and continue looking left-right-left while crossing.
• Remember that oncoming vehicles may approach quicker than anticipated.
• Make sure you are seen: wear bright or light colored clothing and use retro-reflective materials when dark outside.

And for drivers, follow these recommendations to help keep everyone in – and around – your car safe:

• Stay focused and alert for sudden pedestrian movement in your car’s direction when driving.
• Remember that pedestrians crossing multi-lane streets may be hidden from your view by a stopped car until they cross in front of you.
• Be extra vigilant when it is dark outside as most pedestrians fatalities occur at dawn or dusk.
• Anticipate crossing difficulties by seniors to help prevent senseless accidents.

If you’ve been involved in pedestrian accident, let the Hawaii pedestrian accident lawyers at our firm help you with your case and ensure that you don’t have to face the insurance companies on your own.