The death of an 88-year-old pedestrian April 5 in Kapahulu could prompt the first use of a new law.
The so-called vulnerable-user law, Act 316, increases the penalties for a motorist who kills or seriously injures a law-abiding pedestrian, cyclist, roadway worker or emergency responder.
The Hawaii Bicycling League and other groups pushed for passage of the measure, signed into law July 10.
Chad Taniguchi, executive director of the bicycling league, said he is pleased it is finally being applied.
The purpose of the law "is to get drivers to recognize that they are the faster, bigger more dangerous road user," and to get drivers to slow down when they see pedestrians and bicyclists, Taniguchi said by telephone Saturday. "If that happens, they will see cycling deaths, pedestrian deaths and even motorist deaths go down."
In the April 5 case, Hiroaki Shihara was crossing Kapahulu Avenue in a crosswalk near the intersection of Herbert Street, where he lived, when he was struck by a pickup truck. The incident happened in broad daylight, about 12:30 p.m.
Vehicular Homicide Lt. Robert Towne said police will try to have the driver, 53, charged under the new law, bumping up the offense to a felony from what would otherwise have been a misdemeanor, since he was neither speeding nor under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
A Class C felony is punishable by up to five years’ imprisonment and a fine up to $10,000, while a misdemeanor carries a maximum of one year in prison.
The new law says a person commits second-degree negligent homicide if he causes the death of (a) another person by operating a vehicle in a negligent manner; or (b) a vulnerable user by the operation of a vehicle in manner that constitutes simple negligence. Similarly, a negligent-injury case could become a felony if a vulnerable user suffers substantial bodily injury.
Police released the driver pending further investigation. Typically it takes several months for police to investigate vehicular homicide cases before suspects are charged.
Taniguchi said that two weeks before the accident, he had spoken to police and prosecutors to get them to use the law, but "most of them hadn’t heard of it and they weren’t applying it."
He said many drivers are more concerned about their time and convenience than others on the road.
"Although it’s punitive, it’s the way it should be because nobody should be killing other people on the road," he said.
The law was patterned after laws in Oregon and several other states, he said.
"It’s not for the sake of increasing prison time," he said. "It’s for the sake of getting people to drive more carefully and realize that if you unlawfully operate your car, speeding, running red lights or not noticing people, you’re going to pay a bigger price, but not as high a price as the person you killed."
It is also a move toward a European model where pedestrians and cyclists are given the greater priority because they are smaller, more vulnerable and create less congestion, less pollution and less wear and tear on the road, Taniguchi said.
Shihara’s niece, Beverly Tanoue, reached Saturday, said, "I think it’s a good thing."
But she said she doesn’t know whether it will make a difference generally since many people don’t know of the law.
"I think what’s important is they should think about putting a stop light there," she said. "To me, it’s very dangerous."
Her brother, Billy Shiihara, suffered two broken legs after being struck by a car in the same crosswalk, she said.
"He could have gotten killed," she said.
She said her uncle was crossing the street to catch the bus to go to the bank that day.
