Traffic fatalities are on the rise on Oahu and three-fourths of the deaths involved a victim who was either on a motorcycle or mo-ped, or was walking.

Maj. Kurt Kendro, who heads the Honolulu Police Department’s Traffic Division, said he’s also noticed the because most people think of crashes typically involving cars and trucks.

"It’s kind of an anomaly," Kendro said. "I’ve not seen that type of pattern before."

He offered no theories on why there are fewer vehicular victims than other types of traffic deaths, but said it reinforces the need for motorists, motorcyclists, mo-ped riders and pedestrians to be more mindful of each other.

"It just goes to show you that whether you’re driving a motor vehicle, motorcycle or a mo-ped, you have to drive defensively and drivers have to be aware of them," Kendro said.

"And pedestrians need to be aware of their surroundings and make sure they’re not darting out into traffic," Kendro said. "They should be walking as defensively as possible."

Bill Labby, director for the University of Hawaii’s Motorcycle Safety Education Program, based at Leeward Community College, points to a simple explanation for the increase in traffic fatalities related to motorcyclists — a significant rise in motorcycles and motorcyclists on the road in recent years.

Labby said the number of people taking motorcycle safety lessons rose from about 1,700 in 2009 to about 2,200 so far this year. Labby’s program is the only motorcycle safety class for civilians.

"Registration’s gone through the roof with the price of gas going up," he said.

Military personnel returning from deployment also appear to be contributing to the increase in motorcycle riders, he said.

Statistics provided by the city’s Division of Motor Vehicles back up Labby’s reasoning.

Motorcycle registrations increased to 19,489 in 2010 from 19,255 in 2009, said Dennis Kamimura, the city’s DMV administrator. But in 2011, motorcycle registrations leaped to 21,889, a 12 percent jump in one year.

Veteran bikers are also aware that the roads are getting more dangerous and there’s been an increase in riders who want additional training. Labby said that 60 spots for three, one-day advanced motorcycle safety classes that took place over the weekend at LCC were filled quickly.

Labby said he’s trying to schedule more such advanced training classes.

Walk Wise Hawaii, the state Department of Transportation’s pedestrian safety program, just completed its monthlong Pedestrian Safety Month campaign.

Lance Rae, Walk Wise Hawaii coordinator, said Hawaii as a state ranks sixth highest in the nation among pedestrian fatalities.

"The No. 1 reason for pedestrian fatalities is inattentive behavior by both pedestrians and drivers," Rae said. "Pedestrians should never take it for granted they are safe in a crosswalk."

Rae said motorists should also remember that pedestrians can be hidden from view by stopped vehicles on multilane streets. "When you see a stopped car, especially at a crosswalk, don’t speed up and pass it; slow down to see if a pedestrian is crossing."

HPD, meanwhile, is warning motorists that impaired-driver checkpoints will continue weekly through Oct. 31.

The 44 traffic deaths on Oahu so far this year were caused by 43 traffic collisions on Oahu streets, HPD said. At the same time in 2011, there were 38 traffic deaths caused by 36 crashes.

Police said that excessive speed, alcohol and/or drugs were factors in 27 of this year’s 43 fatal crashes, compared with 15 of last year’s 36 fatal crashes.

Impaired-driving checkpoints have been conducted every week since October 2011 as part of a federal "52/12" sobriety checkpoint program.

Kendro said there were 2,880 impaired-driver arrests around Oahu this year through July. There were 2,500 through the first seven months of 2011.

While it’s unknown if there are more impaired drivers on the road today, there are more officers watching for them, he said.

Police Chief Louis Kealoha has made traffic safety a priority for the department and allocated about 25 additional workers to traffic enforcement, Kendro said.