Bill Text: HI HR66 | 2020 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Requesting That The Director Of Transportation And Director Of Facility Maintenance Of The City And County Of Honolulu Each Submit A Report To The Legislature Regarding The Total Number Of Claims Received And Disbursements Made By Their Departments For Vehicular Damage Caused By Poor Road Conditions In 2019.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 7-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-03-11 - Referred to TRN, FIN, referral sheet 40 [HR66 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2020-HR66-Introduced.html

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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	66
THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2020
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

 

Requesting that the Director of Transportation and Director of Facility Maintenance of the City and County of Honolulu each submit a report to the Legislature regarding the total number of claims received and disbursements made by their departments for vehicular damage caused by poor road conditions in 2019.

 

 

 

     WHEREAS, Hawaii's roads, consistently ranked as some of the worst roads in the country, make driving a high anxiety experience, cause vehicular damage, increase the cost of vehicle ownership, and negatively impact visitors' image of Hawaii; and

 

     WHEREAS, among other poor road conditions, potholes can cause drivers to suddenly brake or swerve, which could cause traffic accidents, while driving into a pothole can cause vehicular damage; and

 

     WHEREAS, according to the Federal Highway Administration, forty-two percent of Hawaii's roads are in poor condition, costing drivers an average of $764 annually in tire, wheel, and suspension component repairs; and

 

     WHEREAS, individuals may file claims and pursue legal action against the City and County of Honolulu and Department of Transportation for damages to their vehicles caused by poor road conditions; and

 

     WHEREAS, the City and County of Honolulu receives notice of potholes primarily through a pothole hotline where drivers are expected to pull over and call the hotline; and

 

WHEREAS, this body finds that relying solely on drivers' complaints to determine road conditions that are in need of repair is ineffective; and

     WHEREAS, poor road conditions are often blamed on the extreme weather conditions in Hawaii; however, research shows that potholes and poor road conditions may depend more on the construction parameters of the road, including factors such as the material and thickness of asphalt used in the road's base and surface layers; and

 

     WHEREAS, Hawaii has intense rains which cause potholes to appear throughout the year, but Hawaii continues to lay thinner surface layers of asphalt on its roads than states with less rainfall, such as California; and

 

     WHEREAS, other materials like concrete have proven to be longer lasting and require less maintenance than asphalt; however, Hawaii continues to use asphalt on most roads due to the high initial cost of laying concrete; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirtieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2020, that the Director of Transportation and Director of Facility Maintenance of the City and County of Honolulu are requested to each submit a report to the Legislature regarding the total number of claims received and disbursements made by their respective departments for vehicular damage caused by poor road conditions in 2019; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the Director of Transportation and Director of Facility Maintenance are requested to explore the various methods and technologies in use in other jurisdictions to provide notification of roads needing maintenance, including real time departmental monitoring and other methods of reporting road conditions, and each submit a report on their findings and the feasibility of incorporating such methods; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Director of Transportation and Director of Facility Maintenance are requested to explore the effectiveness of the specifications of road materials currently in use in their respective jurisdiction and determine the feasibility of adjusting these specifications to increase the durability and life expectancy of such materials, including increasing the thickness of asphalt or using stronger materials such as concrete or newly developed materials or technologies; and

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Director of Transportation and Director of Facility Maintenance are requested to each conduct a cost benefit analysis of incorporating methods described in this resolution to improve the overall road conditions across the City and County of Honolulu and State; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Director of Transportation and Director of Facility Maintenance are requested to submit reports of their findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days before the convening of the Regular Session of 2021; provided that the Director of Transportation and Director of Facility Maintenance may mutually agree to jointly prepare and submit their reports as a consolidated report to the Legislature; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Transportation, Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu, members of the Honolulu City Council, and Director of Facility Maintenance of the City and County of Honolulu.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title: 

Vehicular Damage; Road Conditions; DOT; C&C of Honolulu