Old habits die hard. But this old habit — inattention by drivers and pedestrians crossing the street — causes the death of far too many people in Hawai'i.

The crosswalk law was enacted last year in response to sobering statistics. Our pedestrian death rate over the past five years has ranked seventh in the nation, which is not a credential anyone wants to keep.

It continued to rise after police began citing motorists, with fines starting at $97.

Officials, rightly feeling frustrated with that result, tried in vain to get far stricter penalties approved. And although that effort failed this year, the push for harsher consequences is sure to resume next session if the public ambivalence about pedestrian safety continues.

It is a community problem, one that rests with both drivers and pedestrians to correct.

For their part, pedestrians need to adopt a far less casual attitude about crossing roads than seems evident today.

Too many of us dart across busy streets and even highways, a long way from the nearest crosswalk. And many who are not quite so foolhardy will take chances within the crosswalk — stepping off the curb when a car is too close to stop easily, or running across against the light.

Motorists should become more sharply aware of crosswalks along their usual routes and be conscious of approaching pedestrians. They need to give the fullest latitude to people who are crossing, and not crowd the crosswalk, no matter how impatient they imagine other drivers are feeling.

Both those walking and driving should make eye contact to make their intentions clear.

As for the state and counties, stepping up the public education effort would be a wise investment of public funds. The elderly have been correctly targeted as being the most at risk, but everyone needs to get the message. And the state Department of Transportation should also examine adding signals at busy crosswalks currently not located at stop lights.

In a state where walking can be a year-round pleasure, pedestrian safety should be a top priority.