Three people were hit by vehicles yesterday while crossing Honolulu streets, raising further concerns about the safety of pedestrians on O'ahu.

"It almost confounds the imagination that these things would be happening in rapid succession this year," said Bruce Bottorff, associate state director of AARP-Hawai'i.

Honolulu police, state transportation officials, AARP-Hawai'i and legislators already were pushing for greater awareness as seven pedestrians have died on O'ahu roads in just the first six weeks of 2007.

Honolulu Police Lt. Jerry Wojcik, who is in charge of the department's new pedestrian safety campaign, said a variety of factors can often be blamed for the rash of accidents.

But the basic cause is simple, Wojcik said.

"People are just in a hurry to be somewhere," he said. "People have to be aware of their environment, both drivers and pedestrians. Just because you have the right of way doesn't mean that you're protected physically. People always ask what the city is doing or the police are doing. The bottom line is people have to watch what they're doing. You can't step into traffic just because you have a green light, or make a turn just because you can. Everybody has to watch out."

One issue that's been raised is how long pedestrians have the signal to cross an intersection.

But city officials emphasize that the minimum standard for a green signal is intended only to get the pedestrian into the crosswalk, not all the way across the street.

And the city uses the national standard of a minimum of seven seconds for a green "walk" — or walking-man icon — for pedestrians.

Once the red flashing hand, or "do not walk" signal, comes on, pedestrians have a minimum of 20 seconds to finish crossing the street, also a national standard.

Some signals at busier and wider intersections give pedestrians more than 20 seconds. Using a national standard of 4 feet per second of pedestrian travel, a street that is 100 feet wide will have a flashing red-signal duration of 25 seconds.

PRE-DAWN START

Yesterday's spate of accidents began at 5:35 a.m., when a 75-year-old man was struck on darkened King Street between Liliha Street and Pua Lane. He was taken to The Queen's Medical Center in serious condition as Ho-nolulu police shut down King Street for hours to investigate.

About 8:20 a.m., a 40-year-old woman was hit near Waiakamilo Road and Kalani Street in the Kapalama area. She was taken to The Queen's Medical Center in serious condition.

Just more than four hours passed, and then a 49-year-old man walking with a cane was hit by a gray Nissan Altima while trying to cross Kapi'olani Boulevard near the Hawai'i Convention Center at about 12:50 p.m. He was taken to The Queen's Medical Center in serious condition, complaining of back and rib pain.

A fourth person who originally was thought to be a pedestrian accident victim turned out to be a homeless man with foot injuries who was discovered in bushes near Beretania Street and the Pali Highway.

AN AARP PRIORITY

Yesterday, Bottorff of AARP-Hawai'i stepped out of a meeting about raising pedestrian and driver awareness and said that pedestrian and community safety is rapidly rising to become the "top priority for AARP."

"It's going to take community organizations, government officials and now individual family members to make sure that everyone understands what their responsibilities are to make the community safer," Bottorff said. "It behooves every member of every household to sit their vulnerable members down — their kupuna and children — to talk about the dangers on our roadways and the responsibilities of pedestrians to wear reflective materials, wear light-colored clothing, to look both ways and to make eye contact with drivers. Only when we break down these responsibilities to a remedial level can we begin to save lives."

While recent statistics are not available on how often pedestrians are struck by vehicles, the rate increased from 2001 to 2005. In 2001, pedestrians on O'ahu were hit at a rate of 1.194 per day, according to data compiled by the state Department of Health. Except for 2003, the rate steadily rose each year to a high of 1.347 pedestrian accidents in 2005, the last year for which data were available.

POLICE CRACK DOWN

Recent developments in the effort to stop pedestrian accidents include an effort launched last week by Honolulu police to issue warnings and citations to both pedestrians and drivers about the dangers of ignoring laws designed to protect pedestrians.

Police Chief Boisse Correa said officers will issue new printed warnings to jaywalkers who cross against a traffic light — and to drivers who drive through intersections that have pedestrians.

Also, the state Department of Transportation this year launched a television and radio campaign through March 12 to promote pedestrian safety in school areas. The campaign was followed by a second aimed at making drivers and pedestrians more aware of traffic dangers.

And city transportation officials also have stepped up inspections and restriping of crosswalks throughout O'ahu and continue to check the timing of pedestrian traffic signals.

Legislative efforts, backed by AARP-Hawai'i, include several bills that would, among other things, identify Hawai'i's deadliest crosswalks and extend the length of crosswalk signals so that "vulnerable people — older people and children — have more time to cross, and they're aware of how much time they have to cross," Bottorff said.

Reach Dan Nakaso at dnakaso@honoluluadvertiser.com.