A 59-year-old man struck and killed while crossing a street in Kalaeloa yesterday morning was O'ahu's sixth pedestrian fatality in the first five weeks of the year.

The rate of pedestrian deaths — only two pedestrians had been killed by this time last year — has alarmed state and city officials, who have launched publicity drives and called for tougher laws.

Bruce Bottorff, associate state director for AARP, said January was a sobering month for the organization, which has been supporting legislation to enhance pedestrian safety.

"It's difficult to put your finger on exactly why, but this has been a particularly deadly year," he said. "It just tells us we have to work all the more harder to get information into the hands of the people and continue to work with the government."

Yesterday's accident occurred at about 6:12 a.m., as the Honolulu man was crossing Kalaeloa Boulevard in the dark after getting off a bus with a group of others. His name has not been released, pending notification of relatives.

A 30-year-old man driving on Lauwiliwili Avenue swerved to avoid the group of pedestrians, striking the man. The victim was alone in the right lane of the road, police said.

The victim was taken to The Queen's Medical Center in critical condition and was pronounced dead on arrival.

Yesterday's death occurred in an area with no crosswalks or streetlights.

The latest fatality comes as the state is trying to improve pedestrian safety. The state Department of Transportation is advertising on TV and radio, while Honolulu police officers are getting out into the community and educating seniors.

The publicity drive includes an exhibit highlighting last year's 32 pedestrian fatalities that will travel the state.

SAFETY BILLS ADVANCED

At the state Capitol yesterday, the House Transportation Committee moved along three bills that address crosswalk safety.

One would establish a pilot program to test crosswalk safety measures in Honolulu.

A second would clarify that it is a driver's duty to stop or yield the right of way to pedestrians in crosswalks.

And the third provides money for the state to identify intersections where there is not enough time for elderly pedestrians to cross at the signal.

Testifying at the committee hearing, Brennon Morioka, deputy director of the state Department of Transportation, said the department is interested in a comprehensive traffic study that would look at how long pedestrians have to traverse the crosswalk and how increasing the times would impact other aspects of traffic.

Morioka testified before lawmakers yesterday about possibly allowing more time for pedestrians to cross key intersections.

Sen. Clayton Hee, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said that he would recommend tougher penalties for those who violate the state's crosswalk laws. "There are far too many pedestrians being hit in crosswalks," he said. "Drivers need to pay better attention and sometimes enhanced sentencing is a way to make people pay attention."

Only two of the fatalities this year occurred in crosswalks, however. Two of the people struck and killed were not even in the road.

The Lingle administration also announced it will push for tougher crosswalk law penalties. Lingle proposed the same measure last year, but it failed to pass through the Legislature.

Under Lingle's proposed legislation, drivers who violate the state's crosswalk law the first time would be fined up to $150, and their driver's license would be suspended for at least 90 days. For a second offense, drivers would be fined at least $300 and undergo a 180-day license revocation.

A third violation would bring a minimum fine of $1,000, license revocation for one year and 30 days in jail.

Gordon Hong, head of the state Department of Transportation's Highway Safety section, said that the state's mission is to make both drivers and pedestrians aware of each other.

"It's really a situation where everyone has to take ahold of the problem," he said. "Both drivers and pedestrians must be aware of each other while they're on the roadway. You need to share the roadway, and it goes both ways."

EDUCATING PEDESTRIANS

However, he said that even though they have the right of way, pedestrians need to be aware of cars.

"People let their guards down. They don't look at the vehicles. They put their heads down," he said. "You can't do that."

Part of the state's publicity campaign is directed at teaching seniors that they can't look down at their feet while they're crossing the street, even if they're trying to avoid falling.

"It's too often that they don't look and it's not even their fault," he said. "The driver always wins the battles, unfortunately."

This year, two people have been killed while they were on a sidewalk.

"This is a very, very strange occurrence," said Hong, who learned at a conference that sidewalks should be 88 percent effective against those kinds of collisions.

At least three other pedestrians have been injured by moving vehicles, including a 12-year-old boy who was injured Friday after being hit by a sedan while he sat on a curb.

Police are looking for the driver of the sedan, who drove away after hitting the Barbers Point Elementary School student near Lexington Street and Roosevelt Avenue at 7:29 a.m.

Reach Treena Shapiro at tshapiro@honoluluadvertiser.com.