Bill Text: HI SR89 | 2016 | Regular Session | Introduced

Hawaii Senate Resolution 89 (Prior Session Legislation)

Introduced

Bill Title: Keep-Right Driving Law; Enforcement; Education

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-03-16 - Referred to TRE/PSM, JDL. [SR89 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2016-SR89-Introduced.html

THE SENATE	S.R. NO.	89
TWENTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE, 2016
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE RESOLUTION

requesting the Department of transportation to collaborate with county police departments to educate the public about vehicular lollygagging and to enforce Hawaii's keep-right driving law.

WHEREAS, the Legislature finds that vehicular lollygagging, or the problem of slow drivers in the far-left lane of roadways, creates dangerous situations, starts traffic jams, incites road rage, and persists despite state law requiring drivers traveling slower than the normal speed of traffic to use the right-hand lane; and

WHEREAS, commonly referred to as the keep-right driving law, section 291C-41(b), Hawaii Revised Statutes, generally requires drivers to use the right-hand lane if they are going slower than the normal speed of traffic; and

WHEREAS, drivers in the left lane who do not yield the way to faster-moving traffic may create dangerous situations and exacerbate traffic congestion by forcing faster-moving vehicles to pass them from the right; and

WHEREAS, Florida and Georgia have recently enacted laws to address slow drivers who linger in the left-hand lane and impede traffic; and

WHEREAS, the legislature finds that police in several states such as Washington, Texas, and Ohio issue citations to slow drivers in the left lane; and

WHEREAS, slow drivers in the left-hand lane, who force drivers going the normal speed to pass from the right, may cause accidents because passing on the right is often unexpected for other drivers, vehicles approaching from the right may be less visible to a driver, and it forces accelerating vehicles into slower-moving traffic; and

WHEREAS, while State law permits drivers to overtake a vehicle by using the right-hand lane under specific situations, such as when the vehicle overtaken is making or about to make a left turn, it is in the best interest of public safety for drivers to use the left-hand lane to overtake a vehicle in accordance with section 291C-43, Hawaii Revised Statutes; and

WHEREAS, the goal of improving public safety on Hawaii's roads is reflected in the Highway Safety Improvement Program, which is a core federal aid program Hawaii participates in that aims to achieve a significant reduction in traffic fatalities and serious injuries on all public roads, and is also reflected in Hawaii's keep-right driving law, which was enacted in 1971 to bring Hawaii into conformance with the Federal Highway Safety Program Standard on Codes and Laws; and

WHEREAS, a study commissioned by Expedia revealed that slow drivers in the left-hand lane are the third-ranked reason, behind texting while driving and tailgating, for road rage and the aggressive driving behaviors that often result from it; and

WHEREAS, the legislature finds that traffic jams may result from a small number of people driving slowly in the left-hand lane with the ensuing ripple effect clogging the roadways and creating crowded driving conditions; and

WHEREAS, a recent online survey by the Honolulu Star-Advertiser revealed that nearly 1,000 of 1,530 respondents favored a stronger law against slow drivers that are lollygagging in a highway's left lane; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-eighth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2016, that the Department of Transportation is requested to collaborate with the county police departments to:

(1) Create a driver education program or public awareness campaign regarding the problem of vehicular lollygagging, the importance of the requirements of drivers to move to the right when going slower than the normal speed of traffic, and educating drivers on the "rules of the road", specifically reminding drivers to only pass using the left-hand lane and drive casually in the right-hand lane;

(2) Enforce the keep-right driving law and all traffic laws of the State that address vehicular lollygagging by issuing warnings or citations to violators; and

(3) Submit a report of proposed activities, plans, and recommendations regarding vehicular lollygagging and the keep-right driving law, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2017; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Transportation is requested to install more signage displaying the words, "Slower Traffic Keep Right" or similar language alongside roadways that have high incidents of slow-moving vehicles travelling in the left lane; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Transportation and the police chiefs of the City and County of Honolulu, and the counties of Hawaii, Kauai, and Maui.