Speed kills

This week brought more disturbing news when Lihu‘e resident Patrick Powell became Kaua‘i’s sixth traffic fatality of the year after the SUV he was driving collided with a garbage truck Thursday morning in ‘Ele‘ele.

Powell’s tragic death comes on the heels of a single-car crash that claimed the life of 21-year-old Brian Pacheco on the morning of June 19 in Koloa and a three-vehicle accident June 20 in Wailua in which 25-year-old truck driver Scott Aviguetero and 30-year-old visitor Wesley VanValkenburg perished.

On July 4, the same day Aviguetero was laid to rest after a moving memorial by his big-rig ‘ohana, a pickup truck carrying eight teenagers ran off the road in Puhi, ejecting six of the teens as it overturned. Two of those youngsters remain hospitalized at The Queen’s Medical Center in Honolulu.

So, why the rash of wrecks on our roads? Who should we turn to for help? We believe the solution involves everyone playing their part.

Police believe speed may have been a factor in the ‘Ele‘ele and Puhi crashes. If that’s the case, our officers need to step up their enforcement of our speed limit laws.

We understand the Kaua‘i Police Department is shorthanded and has the whole island to cover — and we do not want to start a chorus of finger-pointing at our fine men and women in blue — but perhaps KPD should temporarily divert more of its resources to traffic control during the busy summer months when the youngest, least experienced drivers, out of school or home from college, are behind the wheel more often.

Earlier this year, KPD installed electronic signs in the Wailua corridor alerting drivers of their speeds. It’s a noble effort, but we already have speedometers in our vehicles and we know how fast we’re driving. A famous cartoon tells us that “knowing is half the battle,” but that leaves the other half left to be waged.

KPD should put more cars on the road now. Officers should turn on the sirens and turn off the blue lights that alert speeders to their whereabouts. An expensive fine and the hassle of being pulled over can prove to be motivating factors.

Of course, this isn’t only a county government problem. The state is the bureaucracy in question when it comes to Kuhio and Kaumuali‘i highways. The Department of Transportation has a responsibility to keep us safe on the roads.

DOT Director Brennon Morioka, in a visit to Kaua‘i in the days following the Wailua crash, talked about the state’s long-term plan to build a permanent bypass road that would allow two lanes of traffic to flow through the Lihu‘e-to-Kapa‘a corridor at all times. That’s a good plan, but with the state budget as tight as it is, we may not see those improvements for years. In the meantime, we believe there are other steps that should be taken.

First, certain stretches of state highway need to be widened. Now. Period. It’s unsafe to be traveling as fast as we do, through the twists and turns of Wailua with about a foot of space between us and oncoming traffic.

Things are going to be even tighter when three lanes of traffic rather than two are squeezing over the mauka bridge when the old cane-haul one comes down to make room for the new Bryan J. Baptiste bridge. We need wider roads.

Second, other stretches of road need better lighting. Even those of us who know Kaua‘i’s byways like the back of our hand need to see where we’re going. These days, street lamps can be energy efficient and tilted in such a way that they’re safe for endangered birds and preserve the beautiful night sky. Let’s buy some lights.

Third, the speed limit in certain areas should be reduced. A group of Waimea High School 9th-grade students came before the County Council last month to plead for a reduced limit of 35 mph between Intersection’s Beach and First Ditch in Kekaha. They were told to ask the state for help. And so we turn to the DOT and the legislators that cut the checks and make the laws at the Capitol.

But at the end of the day, it’s not fair to expect our local police and government agencies alone to take care of us. That’s our kuleana. We have to take responsibility for our own actions and we have to do it now.

Do drivers have any idea how little time they save by speeding at 60 mph instead of cruising at 50 from the airport to old Kapa‘a town? One minute and 24 seconds. Seriously, do the math. And that’s assuming the entire seven-mile drive can be done at highway speeds. In reality, the time savings are probably even less.

The extra 10 mph fails to make a considerable difference even on a comparatively long drive like ‘Oma‘o to Kekaha. On that 18-mile jaunt, you’d shave less than four minutes off your travel time by going 60 instead of 50. Even at the reckless speed of 75 mph, you’d only save seven minutes. Seven minutes!

One of our favorite things about Kaua‘i is that few care if you’re seven minutes late for a meeting or an appointment. Especially on the quiet, old-time Westside.

So next time you find yourself in a hurry, debating whether to try to pass that slow-moving car or roll through that stop sign, take a deep breath and put things in perspective.

Whether it’s friends, family, coworkers or clients waiting for you at your destination, they’d much rather you be there seven minutes late than not at all.

Please, drive safely Kaua‘i. It’s just not worth it.