STAND. COM. REP. NO. 440-26

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2026

RE: H.B. No. 1692

H.D. 1

Honorable Nadine K. Nakamura

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2026

State of Hawaii

Madame:

Your Committee on Transportation, to which was referred H.B. No. 1692 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO TRAFFIC SAFETY,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to, beginning January 1, 2027, require drivers of vehicles approaching stationary motor vehicles stopped on the shoulder or roadside due to a traffic collision or vehicle maintenance or mechanical problem to slow down and make a lane change if necessary.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Transportation; Oahu Metropolitan Planning Organization; AAA Hawaiʻi; and Hawaii Transportation Association. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of the Attorney General and one individual.

Your Committee finds that motorists and passengers who are stopped on the shoulder or roadside due to collisions or mechanical failures face significant safety risks from approaching traffic. While existing law requires drivers to move over for certain emergency vehicles, it does not extend the same level of protection to ordinary disabled vehicles displaying hazard lights or other warning signals. By requiring drivers to slow down and, when safe, change lanes when approaching stationary vehicles, this measure strengthens protections for stranded motorists and promotes safer roadways throughout the State.

Your Committee further finds that the safety of passengers riding in traffic also remains a paramount concern on Hawaii's roadways. Passengers riding in the bed or load-carrying area of pick up trucks are especially vulnerable to serious injury or death, particularly on high-speed roadways or multi-lane highways where traffic volumes and travel speeds increase the severity of collisions. Establishing clear guidelines related to passengers riding in the bed or load-carrying area of pick up trucks will promote safety, while also balancing the transportation needs of certain communities.

Therefore, your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Clarifying the duty of an approaching vehicle to slow down for any vehicle that is stopped at any location on the roadway;

(2) Broadening the circumstances when a driver is required to slow down when approaching an emergency or stationary vehicle;

(3) Deleting the definition of "stationary vehicle";

(4) Adding a new part that:

(A) Prohibits the operation of a pickup truck with a passenger seated in the bed or load-carrying area on roadways with posted speed limits of forty-six miles per hour or higher and roadways with three or more lanes traveling in the same direction;

(B) Provides certain exemptions from passenger restrictions; and

(C) Increases the minimum age to ride in the bed or load-carrying area of a pickup truck while in operation from twelve years of age to eighteen years of age;

(5) Changing the effective date to July 1, 3000, to encourage further discussion; and

(6) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.

Your Committee respectfully requests your Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs, should it deliberate on this measure, to consider the concerns from the Oahu Metropolitan Planning Organization regarding defining the term "prudent speed" to improve enforcement capabilities by law enforcement officers.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Transportation that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1692, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1692, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Transportation,

____________________________

DARIUS KILA, Chair