Almost all the other bad intersections already have signals.

A Maui police traffic specialist said the crashes at the worst intersections are the result of driver error, including speeding and inattention to driving.

There already is a traffic signal at the worst-ranked intersection, with a rate of 1.13 crashes per million vehicles. That's Kuihelani Highway at Waiko Road, but the ranking is based on data collected between 2001 and 2003, before the signal was installed.

Construction has begun on a signal for the second-worst intersection, Haleakala Highway and Makani Road.

For one other intersection, ranked 13th, the Department of Transportation is in the process of hiring a design consultant for a signal. That is the Hana Highway and Wakea Avenue intersection, said Scott Ishikawa, spokesman for the state DOT.

The other intersections on the Bottom 15 already have traffic signals.

While the intersections on the list all have high rates of accidents, Maui police Sgt. Barry Aoki said the fault is less the design of the roadways than the motorists using them.

"I don't believe the intersections themselves are dangerous," said Aoki, a veteran of the Maui police Traffic Section.

Bad driving practices or driver errors – including speeding and inattention to driving – are the causes of most accidents, he said.

There have been seven fatal wrecks on Maui this year, including an unusual one Saturday in which a visitor drove over a cliff. None of the deadly wrecks happened at any of the ranked intersections, and Aoki said most involved right-of-way violations.

Other factors were speed and alcohol.

In the sixth fatal accident, in which 62-year-old Duane Ringering of Kahului was killed, police suspect speeding by the vehicle involved was a factor. Ringering was crossing Keolani Drive near Aalele Street on a bicycle when he was struck by a Toyota Camry heading west in the outside lane of Keolani Drive, the access road for Kahului Airport.

Ishikawa said the rankings released by the DOT are based on the number of vehicles that travel the intersection and the number of accidents occurring. The rankings are based on data collected over three-year periods to establish a meaningful average.

To be ranked among the worst, an intersection has to have recorded three or more major crashes per year – defined as involving fatalities, serious injuries or property damage over $3,000.

Because the Transportation Department has limited funds, it uses the rankings to prioritize which intersections receive funding for safety improvements, Ishikawa said.

In analyzing the state's rankings for three Maui intersections with the highest accident rates, Aoki said all were affected by drivers who were speeding or failing to pay attention to the roadway.

There is lot of speeding on Kuihelani Highway, he said. Although the speed limit in the area of Kuihelani and Waiko Road is 45 miles per hour, drivers are regularly clocked going more than 60.

Along other sections of Kuihelani, drivers have been caught racing and going more than 100 miles an hour, Aoki said. He said motorists also do not see the new traffic signal at the Kuihelani-Waiko junction and frequently run the red light.

According to the state's data, an average of 12,906 vehicles per day passed through the Kuihelani-Waiko intersection in 2003. Over three years, there were 16 major accidents at that intersection.

At the Haleakala Highway-Makani Road intersection, Aoki said problems occur when drivers are exiting Makani Road to get onto Haleakala Highway or to cross the highway.

There is limited sight distance from Makani down Haleakala because of the steep rise in the roadway. When cars speed uphill on Haleakala, "they close that distance really, really fast," he said.

That makes it hard for drivers attempting to turn left or cross the main highway, which has two lanes going uphill.

The problems at the intersection include speeding and the difficulty drivers have judging car speeds and distances, Aoki said.

In 2003, 17,885 vehicles per day crossed the Haleakala-Makani intersection. There were 15 major accidents at the intersection from 2001 to 2003.

At the third-ranked intersection, Piilani and Mokulele highways, Aoki said accidents are a result of right-of-way violations including drivers running red lights and speeding.

But the hazard at the Piilani-Mokulele intersection should be eliminated when the final phase of a Mokulele widening project is completed – and the two roadways are realigned to merge into a single roadway.

When there are modifications or signals added to a high-ranked intersection, Ishikawa said, highways specialists will monitor the roadways. Generally, after a safety measure is installed, the number of accidents will go down and the intersection "falls down the list."

But that isn't always the case, as some intersections can be affected by other changes such as increased traffic from new developments, he said.