The signs warned: "Stop speeding 4 da keikis!" "Slobro," "Slow down," "Honk 4 da keikis."

Coming as speeding and reckless driving are suspected behind a number of recent fatal traffic accidents, the residents and their supporters hoped their anti-speeding message would make island roads safer, particularly in Haiku, as public school students head back to classrooms this week.

"The speeding is really bad. The people come flying down these roads," homemaker Manoa Kreutz of Haiku told The Maui News.

Kreutz and her husband, Sam, helped coordinate a three-hour, sign-waving demonstration that drew about 50 participants on Saturday. They started off at the Kreutz home on the Haiku end of Kauhikoa Road by making signs that warned motorists to slow down and observe speed limits.

Accompanied by Maui police officers, the demonstrators waved signs on Hana Highway in front of the Haiku Community Center. They then moved to the intersection of Haiku Road and Hana Highway where officers issued at least five citations while demonstrators asked drivers to be cautious.

"It was really funny because the police were pulling people over and then the kids were cheering as the drivers were getting cited," Manoa Kreutz said. "The drivers weren't happy, but at least they became aware."

Saturday's demonstration ended on Kauhikoa Road where the Kreutzes live with their three children, ages 12, 4 and 2.

"We hear the speedsters and see the speedsters," she said, noting that she lives near a narrow bridge where drivers should slow to 10 to 15 mph. "The point is to get across that these people need to pay attention to their driving."

She said she was particularly concerned that drivers may not be aware that children are heading back to school this week. On Kauhikoa Road, children wait for school buses "literally right on the road," she said, and they might not be seen by motorists in the early-morning darkness.

She said the demonstration was important not just for motorists but to also bring awareness to the children themselves and teenage drivers about the importance of road safety.

"Their awareness of how dangerous speeding is might make them tell their parents, 'Hey, slow down'; or the young drivers themselves might think twice. That's what we want to happen," she said.

Sam Kreutz said the anti-speeding message is personal, having lost an uncle in the early 1980s to a traffic collision that occurred in Haiku.

"I really take this to heart," he said. "It really devastated our family, and so, I don't want anyone to ever have to go through what we went through," he said.

The Kreutzes had the support of local businesses that provided demonstrators with food and drinks as well as safety vests. Supporters included Love's Bakery, Kuau Mart, McCabe Hamilton and Renny, and Da Hui North Shore, a surf company.

Sam Kreutz said there are plans to hold more sign-waving demonstrations in other parts of the island.

"We just want people to be more aware of what they're doing on the road and for them to take the time, even if it means leaving early by 10 minutes so they don't have to rush on the road," he said.

There are at least two private schools and two public schools marking today as the first day of classes. By the end of this week, all of the public schools will have opened for the school year.