(Via StarAdvertiser)
Beginning Sunday and continuing through the middle of next month, Honolulu police officers will be at intersections and crosswalks across Oahu as part of a campaign to reduce pedestrian deaths.
Some officers will be posing as civilian pedestrians, the Honolulu Police Department said.
The effort is in conjunction with “Walk Wise Hawaii,” a state Department of Transportation pedestrian safety outreach program.
The high number of pedestrian fatalities on Oahu has prompted the ramping up of safety awareness campaigns. In 2014, 25 pedestrians were killed and 14 were critically injured in traffic collisions on Oahu.
On Friday police cautioned pedestrians and issued citations for walking against the traffic signal at Keeaumoku and Makaloa streets.
Pedestrians are urged to use crosswalks, where available, and not to enter a crosswalk if the “don’t walk” signal is flashing or solid red. Drivers should stop for a pedestrian in a crosswalk if the pedestrian is on the same half of the road, and should not overtake other vehicles that have stopped for pedestrians.
As of Tuesday three pedestrians had been killed on Oahu roads in 2015:
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WALK WISE HAWAII Honolulu police are ramping up safety awareness efforts at intersections across Oahu. Both drivers and pedestri- ans can be fined for violating pedestrian safety laws: >> Fine for drivers who don’t stop for pedestrians: $97 |
» On Jan. 2, Elizabeth Mallard, 48, died when she was struck at North Nimitz Highway and Kalihi Street. Police said Mallard was walking against the light and was not in a marked crosswalk.
» On Jan. 3, Nobuo Yoshioka, 91, was struck by a Ford Escape near Makiki. He was taken to the Queen’s Medical Center in critical condition and died Wednesday. It is unclear whether he was in a crosswalk.
» On. Jan. 6, roller skater Sarah Stanislawski, 28, of Honolulu died after crashing into a moving sedan in Makakilo on Kikaha Street in an accident that police classify as a pedestrian death.
