DRIVE TIME

By Mike Leidemann
Advertiser Staff Writer

City officials are planning a number of traffic changes at the intersection of Moanalua Road and Kaonohi Street, near Pearlridge Center and the old Kam Drive-in.

One proposal calls for installing a raised median on Kaonohi Street that would prevent left turns into and from the drive-in as well as into Pearlridge.

Officials say the 4- to 6-foot-high chain link would cut down on the number of accidents on the street and prevent jaywalking in the area.

The plan also calls for modifying the traffic signal at the intersection to relieve traffic congestion and lengthen the time allowed for left turns.

City spokeswoman Carol Costa says $450,000 has been budgeted in the fiscal year 2005 to complete the work.

Angry drivers

American drivers are becoming more aggressive, according to a new national survey.

Forty percent of drivers described their road experience as "aggravating" and "more aggravating than two years ago," according to the poll conducted this summer for Drive for Life, a driver safety awareness initiative.

When it came to specific complaints, men most often mentioned people talking on cell phones and driving while distracted; women generally were more bothered by aggressive behaviors like speeding and tailgating.

One in four men admitted to driving angry, compared with one in five women.

Who are the angriest drivers on the road? The poll found that drivers in their 20s were most likely to be fast and aggressive, less likely to wear seat belts and most likely to have received a traffic ticket within the past two years.

'Transport rage'

Well, here's at least one traffic problem we don't have:

A national survey found that 41 percent of commuters in Australia have witnessed an act of "public transport rage" — a verbal or physical attack on a transit worker or another passenger.

One in four of those surveyed said they've considered moving closer to their work place to avoid succumbing to the rage themselves.

Data unreleased

Federal auto safety officials are backtracking on a pledge to give consumers access to detailed data on which cars and trucks may be linked to deaths, injuries and property damage. The reason: Tire makers have sued to prevent its release.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says it will hold off indefinitely on releasing the information while the lawsuit by the country's largest tire makers is argued and decided, which could take years.

Reach Mike Leidemann at mleidemann@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-5460.