Hawaii
You might need your teen to translate these highway signs. (And that’s the point)
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – With graduation season underway, Hawaii’s roads are expected to be even busier. That’s why highway officials are getting creative with their safety messaging.
The DOT is rolling out new safety signs with eye-catching warnings.
One reads: “Give grads lei, not alcohol.”
Another targets young drivers with the message: “Drinking and driving is not the vibe” Still another warns: “Speed kills, no cap.”
“No cap means no lie,” said Hawaii Transportation Director Ed Sniffen, spearheaded the campaign. “I had to talk to my kids and ask them about it. I wanted to make sure everyone understood, speed is the reason for fatalities on our system.”
Using creative and trendy messaging to promote safety on roadways has been done for years on the continent. In Massachusetts, one state sign that read “Use yah blinkah” went viral. Mississippi started rolling out “Star Wars”-themed signs in 2018.
“We’ve had people tell us that our messages have affected driver behavior,” said Paul Katool, with the Mississippi Department of Transportation.
“There’s only so many times you can tell people to put the phone down and ditch the distracted driving, take it slow. Eventually people just tune you out a little bit.”
But not everyone is fully on board, including the federal government, which issued new guidelines that will go intol effect in 2026 that could limit the use of funny or trendy signs.
“Federal highways give us guidance on what our signs should or should or not include,” acknowledged Sniffen. “There’s some adjustments coming in 2026, but from what we understand, it will not affect the educational messaging we put on our signs.”
Officials know not everyone will like it, but some say its the sign of the times.
“It makes me feel younger reading those edgy signs,” said one driver.
“If it can save 100 lives or one life, it’s worth it.”
Copyright 2024 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.
Three convicted sex offenders were arrested on Hawaii Island last week for allegedly failing to comply with sex offender registry requirements.
Multiple law-enforcement agencies conducted checks in Kona on registered sex offenders who had been identified as potentially out of compliance with the state’s Sex Offender Registry laws, according the Department of the Attorney General.
As a result of the three-day operation, several individuals were brought back into compliance, and three West Hawaii men were arrested for allegedly failing to comply with the requirements.
The three men who were arrested are Joseph Debus, 56, of Kailua-Kona, Garth Coleman, 53, of Holualoa and Alexsandr Skelcey, 34, of Kailua-Kona.
Debus was convicted of second-degree sex assault in Hawaii in 1993 and sentenced to five years probation with a year in jail. Coleman was sentenced to 20 years in prison for first-degree assault in 2000 after a jury trial in Hawaii. And Skelcey was convicted in Michigan in 2012 of assault with intent to commit sex assault.
“Sex offender registration requirements exist to protect our communities and ensure law enforcement knows where convicted offenders are living,” Tom Alipio, chief of the AG department’s Investigations Division, said in a press release. “Compliance operations like this send a clear message that we will actively monitor the registry, investigate violations and work closely with our law enforcement partners to hold offenders accountable when they fail to meet their legal obligations.”
HPD Chief Reed Mahuna said, “Operations like this allow us to verify that offenders are maintaining strict compliance with registration laws and those who aren’t will be addressed immediately. We will continue to leverage these multi-agency partnerships to keep our island communities safe,”
Members of the public can look up publicly available offender information and subscribe to notifications at sexoffenders.ehawaii.gov/coveredoffender/.
Anyone with information regarding a registered sex offender who may be violating registration requirements is encouraged to contact the Department of the Attorney General’s Investigation Division at (808) 586-1240 or their local law enforcement.
A brush in North Kona, near the Ulu Wini Apartments, has closed a portion of Hina Lani Street, between Route 190 and Ane Keokalole Highway.
According to Hawai‘i Island police, the road is expected to be closed for the next three hours and motorists are advised to avoid the area.
Hawai‘i Fire Assistant Chief Chris Carvalho confirmed at least two engines, two brush trucks, Chopper 2 and a medic vehicle responded to the blaze that started in some bushes.
No evacuations or injuries have been reported at this time.
At 11:09 a.m., an AlertWest camera, installed by Hawaiian Electric in wildfire-prone areas, showed smoke billowing above the Keahuolu Courthouse. As of 12:06 p.m., that smoke appears to have dissipated.
This is a developing story. More information will be provided as it becomes available.
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