HONOLULU(KHON2) — Hawaii’s fatality rate due to distracted driving is twice as high as the mainland and officials said it’s completely preventable. The Hawaii Transportation Department is urging drivers to pay attention with a simple message: ‘Eyes up, phones down.’
Arthur Brown lives in Honolulu.
“It’s dangerous out here for pedestrians,” Brown said.
One of the most common things he sees: distracted drivers.
“I see it a lot,” he added. “Eating, cell phone, talking to the passenger and not looking at the driveway, looking at the road at.”
Honolulu resident Ky Lawson said more people need to understand how dangerous it is.
“I don’t even pick up my phone when I’m driving cause I have to focus,” she said. “If I’m looking at anything else, I’ll probably get into an accident.”
Robin Shishido, Hawaii Department of Transportation Deputy Director for Highways, said it’s a huge problem.
“Going at 55 miles an hour, taking your eyes off the road for five seconds, I mean, any error that’s gonna lead to a crash,” he explained.
The numbers are alarming. According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, in 2022 3,308 people died in the U.S. because of distracted drivers, that’s roughly 8% of all fatal crashes.
In 2023 in Hawaii, 26 out of the 119 fatal crashes were linked to distracted driving and this year and six out of the 35 were caused by driver not paying attention, that’s roughly 20% of crashes.
“So we’re more than twice the national average,” Shishida said.
It doesn’t have to be that way.
“All of this can be prevented by just putting that phone away,” he said.
The penalty for distracted driving is $297 or $400 if you’re caught in a construction or school zone.
But even that doesn’t seem to be working according to lawmakers.
In 2023, HPD issued 4700 citations.
“Right now our laws are not set up for a world in which there are digital touch-screens in every car and people have cell phones and all kinds of other stuff,” Sen Chris Lee, chair of the Transportation Committee said. “It is sort of an arbitrary way that things have been set up and so we have to come up with a new framework, how do we deal with the real distractions out there no matter what the source is, while you’re driving on the road?”
Officials suggest putting your phone on ‘Do not Disturb’ or even putting the phone in the trunk to make sure you can’t answer it while you’re driving. But if you have a passenger you can always make them your designated texter.
The message officials want to send is simple.
“We all have a responsibility, once we get behind the wheel, you know, pay attention to the road, and, you know, all of these crashes, fatalities can be prevented,” Shishido said.
He added that bicyclists and pedestrians also need to focus on the road and not their phones.
eyes up, phones down. It’s simple and can save lives.
