2009-02-AU Limited Scope Performance Audit of the Highway Fund

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Chapter 4: CHALLENGES FACING THE DEPARTMENT OF PULIC WORKS Chart: North m rce- Hawaii ClulcOes Project - August 2009 sou Numerator Irom Oepenmenl a7ransp0naliw= irafOc fat 11— lriclu ;manor vMkte Tato 1: I EMimol s ro coumms ter pperalpra, Ary pprr� and bin arts. Raoul: April 1- 200010 July 1, 20071CL�EST2o07 -01 -1i1 Sourw: Po Lmlw DOW— U-S. Ca 6v HeOeafe D&e: RIerM 19, 2009 The North Hawaii Outcomes Project's analysis of Hawaii State Department of Transportation (HDOT) figures for years 2001 through 2006 showed that the traffic crash fatality rate on Hawaii Island roads was about three times the rates of the City and County of Honolulu and twice the rates of Maui and Kauai Counties. [Source: "Recommendations to Reduce Motor Vehicle Related Fatalities & Injuries in Hawaii County — January 2008 ", North Hawaii Outcomes Project at www. nhop. org, 2008] A national study by the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation found that the cost and severity of crashes where roadway conditions are a factor greatly exceeds the cost and severity of crashes where alcohol or speeding was involved or the cost of non -use of seatbelts. This study found that nationally roadway condition is a contributing factor in more than half - 52.7 percent - of the nearly 42,000 American deaths resulting from motor vehicle crashes each year and 38 percent of the non -fatal injuries. [Source: Dr. Ted R. Miller & Dr. Edward Zaloshnja, On a Crash Course: The Dangers and Health Costs of Deficient Roadways, Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, 2009, p. 7.] In addition to the suffering that traffic crashes cause to victims and their loved ones, the following table from the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation study shows the staggering costs of road condition - related traffic crashes in comparison to other crash factors. 12 Rate of Traffic - Related Fatalities 3a -0 7S C 25 -0 2a i 7? t 22 -0 21.1 19 9 Hawaii County R 20,0 18.3 Average 22 -1 a g State i5 -0 Average ii -. c e 12 -6 11 -5 107 11.3 11.1 10.8 m$ 10.0 8.4 y '' 7.6 7 -8 7 -d 50 City & County of Honolulu Average 8.4 Hawaii County —City & County of Honolulu — —5tate 0.0 2001 2002 2009 2004 200S 2006 2007 Chart: North m rce- Hawaii ClulcOes Project - August 2009 sou Numerator Irom Oepenmenl a7ransp0naliw= irafOc fat 11— lriclu ;manor vMkte Tato 1: I EMimol s ro coumms ter pperalpra, Ary pprr� and bin arts. Raoul: April 1- 200010 July 1, 20071CL�EST2o07 -01 -1i1 Sourw: Po Lmlw DOW— U-S. Ca 6v HeOeafe D&e: RIerM 19, 2009 The North Hawaii Outcomes Project's analysis of Hawaii State Department of Transportation (HDOT) figures for years 2001 through 2006 showed that the traffic crash fatality rate on Hawaii Island roads was about three times the rates of the City and County of Honolulu and twice the rates of Maui and Kauai Counties. [Source: "Recommendations to Reduce Motor Vehicle Related Fatalities & Injuries in Hawaii County — January 2008 ", North Hawaii Outcomes Project at www. nhop. org, 2008] A national study by the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation found that the cost and severity of crashes where roadway conditions are a factor greatly exceeds the cost and severity of crashes where alcohol or speeding was involved or the cost of non -use of seatbelts. This study found that nationally roadway condition is a contributing factor in more than half - 52.7 percent - of the nearly 42,000 American deaths resulting from motor vehicle crashes each year and 38 percent of the non -fatal injuries. [Source: Dr. Ted R. Miller & Dr. Edward Zaloshnja, On a Crash Course: The Dangers and Health Costs of Deficient Roadways, Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, 2009, p. 7.] In addition to the suffering that traffic crashes cause to victims and their loved ones, the following table from the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation study shows the staggering costs of road condition - related traffic crashes in comparison to other crash factors. 12