If Mayor Caldwell Has His Way You Couldn’t Turn Right On A Red Light Anymore
The Honolulu mayor says the change — on Oahu only — would make it safer for pedestrians and bicyclists.
Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell is pushing for a state law to ban right-hand turns at red lights in an effort to increase pedestrian safety and slow down traffic.
Two bills before the Legislature would amend the state traffic code, but only for Oahu. Neither has been scheduled for a hearing so far.
鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to increase safety on the roadway, and that has become a priority over traffic flow,鈥 said Jon Nouchi, Honolulu’s deputy director of transportation services.
Nouchi said the mayor鈥檚 administration has been pushing for safer conditions for pedestrians and cyclists.
Without amending the , the only way Honolulu could prohibit right turns at red lights would be to put a sign at every intersection, according to the .
Nouchi acknowledges that the proposal may not be popular with drivers.
鈥淲hen people look at it, they鈥檒l focus on the fact that they won鈥檛 be able to make a right turn on red,鈥 he said. 鈥淏ut what other safety opportunities could this bring?鈥
Senate Transportation Chair Lorraine InouyeContact Key Lawmakers
seninouye@capitol.hawaii.gov
808-586-7335
House Transportation Chair Henry Aquino
repaquino@capitol.hawaii.gov
808-586-6520
Last year, 27 people died in pedestrian fatalities on Oahu. It鈥檚 not clear if any of those were caused by drivers making right-hand turns.
The effort is part of Caldwell鈥檚 initiative that seeks to make streets safer and more accessible for all modes of transportation.
The two measures, and , have been referred to their respective chamber鈥檚 transportation committee.
Rep. Henry Aquino, chair of the House Transportation Committee, wasn鈥檛 available for comment.聽Sen. Lorraine Inouye, chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, said she鈥檚 still deciding whether or not to give the bill a hearing.
Inouye said it doesn鈥檛 seem necessary to change state law since counties already have authority over their roadways.
鈥淚f they want to, they can ban those right turns,鈥 she said. 鈥淚鈥檓 pleased, though, that the city recognizes that something has to be done for fatalities and accidents on their streets.鈥
The state Department of Transportation did not respond to a request for data on pedestrians hit by cars making right-hand turns at red lights.聽National data is also sparse.
Mainland proponents of banning right turns at red lights often cite a by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety that said crashes at intersections increased when legalization of right turns at red lights became more common in the 1970s.
Crashes related to right turns at red lights increased 23 percent, pedestrian accidents increased 60 percent, and bicycle crashes increased 100 percent, the study found.
More recent research challenges that study.
In an analysis of traffic data from four Midwest states, drivers making right turns on red accounted for only 0.06 percent of fatal crashes, the reported to Congress in 1995.
A 聽in San Francisco found that, of 100 pedestrian collisions selected at random, none was caused by drivers turning right on red.聽However, researchers did find that 12 collisions in that sample were caused by drivers turning right on green lights.
鈥淚t is intuitive that accidents involving right turn on green are relatively more severe than right turn on red, as vehicles in the former case are moving nearly at full speed,鈥 the study said.
Washington, D.C., already has plans to outlaw right turns against red lights at across the district鈥檚 eight wards.聽The intersections were picked based on crash history and pedestrian activity, according to the district’s Department of Transportation.
Allowing right turns became more common nationally in the late-1970s after the made it a requirement in each state鈥檚 energy conservation plan.
