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Home My WebLink AboutCOM 0335.002 2006-2008 Rpr 30 07 01:43p rYH Outcomes Project 808 897 1474 p,;' P1 pw~c To: Councilwoman, Brenda Ford, Chair and Members, Public Work:; and Intergovernmental Relations(,`,Co/mmittee From: Sharon H. Vitousek, M.D. ~v Date: April 30, 2007 Subject County Council Resolution 160-07 Relating to Traffic Safety _ c. Chair Ford and Members, Thank you for allowing me to submit testimony in support of Resolution 160-~~ ~ i2elaf`irig to Traffic Safety. Hawaii County currently has the highest death rate from motor vehicle-relatE;d :rashes of any county in Hawaii (three times higher than Oahu and twice Maui and Ka-ai). The causes are complex and improvementwill require sustained commitmentfrorri hi,3u~aii County leaders and multiple Hawaii County agencies. Currently, many Haw=_ii County agencies (including Engineering, Enforcement, Emergency Medical System; ;ant Planning) are committed and working to improve traffic safety in Hawaii Cou^i:~~. Passing this resolution will affirm and strengthen the existing commitments of Hawaii County leaders and Hawaii County agencies. This strengthed commitmentis im,~ortant tD sustain the continued efforts, which are necessary to decrease deaths and i~;uries on Hawaii County's roads. If Hawaii County leaders do sustain their focus on rE;d ~c~rg traffic related deaths and injuries, the rewards for Hawaii County citizens will b~ great ~ Comm. No. Ref. To: ?'UI C Ref. Date NAY Rpr 30 07 01:43p NH Outcomes Project 808 887 1474 F.3 MOTOR VEHICLE CRASH REDUCTION IN HAWAII COUNTI' i In 2001, North Hawaii Outcomes Project (NHOP) identified that the annual age-adj~sl,~c dc;ath rates from motor vehicle-related crashes in North Hawaii and Hawaii County (between 1990 ?00O were nearly three times higher than the State rate. Further investigation through the Department .if hld:alt:h Injury Prevention Division, confirmed that Hawaii County motor vehicle-related death rates rae~e disproportionately high and that there was no existing effort to reduce the high rate. NHOP then facilitated a meeting with key stakeholders to present the disturbing data ~~nd engage collaboration to improve. This prompted the formation of a committed team known as the ~2.aar V=Mcle Crash Reduction Group (MVCRG). With facilitation by NHOP, this group has helped: 1) Raise awareness of the high motor vehicle-related death rates in Hawaii County. 2) Raise grant funding for a Hawaii County traffic safety coordinator. 3) Develop Recommendations to the Mayor consensus. 4) Identify a focus on reducing impaired driving, since impaired driving is a leading cause of rnoror vehicle-related fatalities in Hawaii County. 5) Identify and support evidence-based counter measures including high visibility enfon:e inert of driving under the influence (DUI) laws. 6) Identify key barriers to improvement and strategies to reduce those barriers indudi ul i • Training police in drug recognition evaluation (DRE), • Training prosecutors and judiciary in enforcement of DUI laws, and • Improving the collaboration between police, ER staff and lab to test for imf:a red driving. 7) Develop consensus on new traffic safety legislation including: • Graduated licensing, child safety seat requirement and streamlining DUI arress. • Higher penalties for excessive speeding, high blood alcohol levels, and driver; under 21 ~ years of age under the influence of alcohol and /or drugs. 8) Support a new grant for court monitoring of DUI in order to gather data on DUI cen~i aior rates, i 9) Identify data inconsistencies and develop an interagency data work group. ~ 10) Develop consensus on performance measures for improvement. NHOP and the MVCRG have helped raise awareness of the Hawaii County tr=.ffic sa ety problem through several publications: North Hawaii Motor Vehicle Fatality Research Project 1,.?702;, North Hawaii Outcomes Data Summary Repon`(2003), and Recommendations to the Mayor(200:1 i In addition, the MVCRG helped produce posters of Big Island motor vehicle fatality locations s; vzEll as posters to increase awareness of police sobriety checks. Emphasis on evidence-based interventions, such as high visibility sobriety check points helFx:c to gain I support from the Department of Transportation (DOT) for funding $515,000 to Hawaii Cocnty for ;he ~ "52/12" program to have one sobriety check per week and 12 per month, with media coverage. DOT ~ reports it has increased road improvement bids on the Big Island from $20 million in 2003 s~ 6fi:' Trillion in 2005. Many Hawaii County leaders and agencies are committed and working to improve traffic safety in Hawaii County. Barriers are being identified and reduced. Further commitment and collaboration are essential to substantially decrease traffic deaths and injuries on roads in Hawaii County. North Hawaii Outcomes ProjeQ (www.n!~ouary) _ ~I Rpr 30 07 01:43p NH Outcomes Project 808 887 1479 Fi,.i. Fatality Trends r I Rate of Motor Vehicle Related =a121iYe~ x° - - _ i Historically, the rate of motor vehicle- n, i Hawaii COUn related fatalities in Hawaii County has ~ (AVeroye-n~ I been approximately three times higher Y.~- than the City and County of Honolulu and ^ the State of Hawaii and twice the rate on 5v~ Maui and Kauai rates. $ ° -_-_r - - o City and C^unq or Honolulu Between 2002 and 2004, Hawaii County s saw an increase in the rate of motor `°"°`"°°-e" vehicle-related deaths. - T- ma° z°°, zuoa zuvs icu: zvoa o.~omo.~. o. ,o o... ~.s c~ ..e. ua... a.ma; xz cr Number of Motor Vehicle-Related Fatalities Between 2005 and 2006, the number of 00 January 2000-December 2:0(i motor vehicle-related fatalities in Hawaii state increased from 140 to 163 (16%). " For the same time period the number of ~ Hawaii County fatalities decreased by d one (2.5%), if the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park fatalities were not included. However, since these fatalities ~--_-,w/-"~"---r-:^-- occurred within Hawaii County, if these a ' Liq)MLW^„oIH°^^~"le five deaths are included, then the ~ Hawaii County number of motor vehicle- ~ `~-__---.=e-~"' =0 X)w)IILWM) related fatalities increased from 40 to 45 or by 13%from 2005 to 2006. ° - --Po- - m°< v....~u^.,..~o.,.e.,.. o~o.Ke ra.YYroY s.... o. r..,wnw~a~. The Department of Health -Injury Prevention and Control Program data to Dlotor vehicle crash fatality rafts among Hawaii the right SNOWS H8W811 County has a residents, by county :md type of crash _TtOLb)O5~ motor vehicle- related occupant fatality i rate between 2001 - 2005 nearly four times higher than the City and County ~ of Honolulu. 1 I ~ I i The data also shows that the Hawaii 1 j County motorcycle death rate was twice I ; ' I ~ the City and County of Honolulu i ~ ~ motorcycle death rate and the Hawaii " " I-~-~ " ~ ~?=iJ lii•~4) i , II 11 .1,~%1 ([^Yj °iy~L)1~lLf County e estrian death rate was also Li i Iw .t. I;.r J higher than the City and County of ' M . _ , So ce: Oi h.inento(HealG,injory Honolulu pedestrian death rate. Pravanfxn oveli n. °an Caiani". PH.° i North Hawaii Outcomes Project- April 2007 ~