Updated at 7:08 a.m., Friday, December 21, 2007
Big Island taking zigzag approach to traffic safety
Advertiser Staff
To encourage motorists to slow down near a school, the Hawai'i County Public Works Traffic Division installed zigzag stripes on either side of the road.The unusual stripes seem to capture the attention of motorists
who slow down to look at them as they approach the crosswalk at Kalanianaole School in Papa'ikou, couty officials said.
The geometric marks are placed 110 feet before the crosswalk and drivers slow to notice these nontraditional markings, which are markedly different.
The cost was $1,002 to mark both sides of the road and the work was done by the County of Hawai'i staff.
Zigzag markings at the residential intersections of Kekuanao'a and Kalanikoa, Kukuau and Mohouli, and Wilder and in Puainako lead up to an upcoming stop sign.
"Drivers who didn't stop later admitted to the police they were unaware of the stop sign and crashed into oncoming traffic (which was) traveling at 45 mph," said Ron Thiel, division
chief of Traffic at Public Works.
Tests conducted by Public Works in 2005, listed 30 crashes at these intersections over 34 months.
By replacing the straight lines with zigzag stripes, accidents were reduced to zero in the next 14 months.
