Statewide traffic deaths top last year’s total

Road Users are Asked to Avoid Risky Actions on Hawai'i Roads and Paths

HONOLULU - The Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation (HDOT) is asking all road users to mark a sobering milestone - we have exceeded the 102 traffic fatalities recorded in 2024.

As of October 24, 2025, 106 people have died on Hawaiʻi roads. The 106 were a combination of motor vehicle occupants, pedestrians, motorcyclists, scooter riders, bicyclists and people on non-traditional conveyances like skateboards, foot scooters and Utility Task Vehicles.

"We are committed to reaching our goal of zero traffic deaths - with infrastructure it will take decades of rebuilding systems to separate users and manage speeds to make it harder to drive, bike, or walk dangerously," said Hawai'i Department of Transportation Director Ed Sniffen. "However, as community members, we can solve this today. If everyone follows the law and makes safety a priority, 93% of the people who typically die in crashes caused by drunk and drugged driving, speeding and distraction all make it home."

HDOT is asking everyone to:

• Reduce distractions - don't drive, ride, or walk while using your phone or devices.
• Obey traffic laws such as speed limits, traffic signals, signs and lane markings.
• Ride and drive sober - do not operate any vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
• Use your safety gear - remember, everyone in a car is required to wear a seatbelt, even if they are in the back seat. Children under the age of eight must be in a car seat or booster. Riders are reminded that helmets have been shown to reduce the risk of head injury by 69% and the risk of death by 42%.

A selection of the engineering countermeasures HDOT has taken in 2025 follows:

• Installation of high-reflectivity striping on the H-3 Freeway
• Elimination of passing zones along Honoapiʻilani Highway between Kai Hele Ku Street and Hokiokio Place
• Installation of delineators to prevent vehicles from making illegal left turns at Lahaina Bypass and Keawe Street
• Installation of a raised crosswalk on Route 190 at Kaiminani Street
• Installation of in-lane rumble strips on Route 11 at Volcano National Park entrance
• Installation of bulb-outs, pavement markings and delineators at Kahekili Highway's intersections with Kulukeoe Street and Kahuhipa Street

For more on HDOT safety projects see https://highways.hidot.hawaii.gov/stories/s/Read-More-About-Safety-Goals-2025/duge-igda

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Caption: Image shows the number of safety projects that began in 2025, the number of active safety projects, and the number of safety projects with expected completion by December 2025. Full details on these projects can be found at the link above.

HDOT is asking everyone, no matter how they commute, to travel with Aloha. Some simple tips on how to do that are:

• Be aware of your surroundings and look out for others on or next to the road.
• Keep a safe distance from the vehicle in front of you and avoid blind spots.
• Be predictable by using your turn signals and avoid abrupt acceleration or braking.

HDOT will begin displaying the number of days since the last fatal crash on the freeway message boards again to raise awareness. Please help us stop the senseless deaths on the road.

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