HI HR51

Requests the State Department of Transportation and City and County of Honolulu Department of Transportation Services to replace all crosswalk countdown timers with conventional pedestrian-control signals as referenced in Hawaii Revised Statutes section 291C-33.

Cites 43 pedestrian deaths statewide in 2018, the highest total in at least 15 years, with pedestrian deaths exceeding vehicle occupant deaths for the first time since at least 2003.

Notes that academic studies have found crosswalk countdown timers increase vehicle collisions as drivers speed through intersections as the timer counts down and the traffic light changes.

Identifies that countdown timers create unsafe situations when pedestrians illegally enter crosswalks when the blinking red hand begins, causing vehicles to stack up and make dangerous turns after the light turns red.

Directs transmission of certified copies to the Governor, Director of Transportation, Mayor of Honolulu, and Director of Transportation Services.