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There were 57 traffic fatalities on Oahu in 2012, up about 10 percent from 2011.
The good news is there was just one traffic death in December, the lowest recorded in any month in 2012.
"I was a little worried midyear that it was going to be really bad, but it tapered off as the year went on," said Maj. Kurt Kendro, head of the Honolulu Police Department’s Traffic Division. He noted that there were 19 traffic deaths from June to August.
Stepped-up enforcement of speeding and impaired driving by HPD during the holidays, coupled with strong educational and awareness campaigns by Mothers Against Drunk Driving and the National Highway Safety Administration, likely helped slow the number of deaths late in the year, Kendro said Friday.
The death of 14-year-old Kawehi Adkins-Kupukaa in a head-on crash in Ewa Beach the week before Thanksgiving may have also served as a wake-up call for many motorists to drive sober and more carefully, Kendro said.
As has been the case in recent years, more than half of the fatal crashes on Oahu involved either a pedestrian, a motorcyclist or a mo-ped rider. There was also one fatality involving an all-terrain vehicle but, for the first time in several years, none involving bicyclists.
The biggest jump appears to be in the number of motorcycle deaths. There were 16 in 2012, up from nine in 2011 and the most since the 17 recorded in 2009.
A large number of the motorcycle fatalities came early in the year but began to dip after gasoline prices began to fall from its 2012 highs in the summer months, Kendro said.
Motorcycles, which also have fewer and less expensive insurance requirements, tend to be more popular modes of transportation when gasoline prices are highest, experts have said.
Kendro said he also found it unusual that three of the fatalities involved mo-ped riders in their 60s and 70s.
"All drivers, but especially older drivers, need to be aware of their limitations, their abilities and their reflexes," Kendro said.
Lance Rae, spokesman for the state Department of Transportation’s Walk Wise pedestrian education program, noted that all but two of Oahu’s pedestrian fatals occurred during night or twilight hours when visibility is lowest.
Rae urged pedestrians to wear bright or reflective clothing when walking, especially when it’s dark.
"It’s really important to remain visible," he said.
He urged both pedestrians and motorists to be more attentive when they are on the road.
There were two Oahu traffic fatalities — one at Schofield Barracks and one at Nimitz military housing — that do not count toward HPD’s 2012 total because they happened on federal property rather than state or city thoroughfares.
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Correction: A previous version of this story said all but two of Oahu’s traffic fatals occurred during night or twilight hours; it should have specified "all but two pedestrian fatals."
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