By Mike Leidemann
Advertiser Transportation Writer

Hawai'i has one of the highest rates of pedestrian accidents in the country, but it doesn't have to be that way, according to Drive Time readers and others.

In the past 17 years, more than 400 pedestrians have been killed and more than 11,000 injured in motor vehicle accidents in Hawai'i. That comes to an average of almost two pedestrians hurt or killed every day. In 2001 Hawai'i had more fatal pedestrian accidents per capita than 44 other states.

Police said they are concentrating their efforts on informing pedestrians, especially senior citizens, about the dangers they face in the street, but some Drive Time readers think officials should be doing even more. Here are some of their thoughts:

It would be better, some readers said, if pedestrians had to yield to autos, thus making them assume the burden of their own safety. "Maybe the public can be educated about who is bigger, the pedestrian or the car," wrote Steve Omiya.

• "Little mention is made of the effects of poorly designed roadways, traffic patterns, traffic signal timing, etc., as being equal if not greater contributors to this rise in pedestrian fatalities," wrote Galen Kishinami. "The traffic and law enforcement authorities should own up to this fact and not put the bulk of the blame on the elderly."

• Drusilla Tanaka, head of the Lanakila Senior Citizens Center, where several members have been victims of pedestrian accidents, suggested the city provide brightly colored, hand-held flags in stands at intersections where there are a lot of senior citizens. A pedestrian could pick up the flag from a small basket, hold it up while crossing the street, then deposit it in a basket on the other side once safely back on the sidewalk.

• "How about we just enforce the existing laws?" said Gus Grim-Gauze, a wheelchair-bound veteran who said he has been hit by automobiles five times while trying to cross the street at intersections in Hawai'i. "People are supposed to stop for someone in the street, but they don't even slow down," he said. "Either they're too busy or they simply don't care."

• Several readers suggested that crosswalks be painted bright yellow or orange. Others wanted to see larger stripes, bigger letters and more of those fluorescent signs around pedestrian areas.

• A few Drive Time readers even suggested the state bring back traffic cameras. The original idea behind the traffic cam program was to cut down on pedestrian accidents, by having the cameras target drivers who run red lights.

Although the notorious van cams which went after speeders drew plenty of opposition here, supporters say the public might find cameras more palatable when used to catch red-light runners. Several studies have shown that photo enforcement can lead to a 25 percent to 30 percent reduction in intersection injury crashes.

And intersections, by far, are where most pedestrian accidents occur.

Mike Leidemann's Drive Time column runs Tuesdays. Reach him at 525-5460 or mleidemann@honoluluadvertiser.com.