Crash Responder Safety Week proclaimed

The Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation and its traffic safety partners held a kickoff at Aloha Stadium to declare the week of Nov. 18-24 as Crash Responder Safety Week.

Responders from the City and County of Honolulu Emergency Services Department, Honolulu Fire Department, Honolulu Police Department, Freeway Service Patrol, American Medical Response and Advanced Towing came out to remind Hawaiʻi motorists to move over or slow down when approaching emergency vehicles.

“Last year, there were 45 crash responders injured in motor vehicle crashes while in the line of duty on our roads,” said Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation Director Ed Sniffen. “If you’ve ever been stuck on the side of the road, you know it can be stressful. We all need to do better in watching out for the heroes working to help people in dangerous roadside conditions.”

Traffic incidents are the number one cause of death for emergency responders nationwide. In 2023, seven tow truck operators, one emergency medical technician and 37 police officers were injured in crashes while on duty within the state of Hawai‘i.

Under Hawaiʻi’s Move Over Law, a driver who injures or kills a person at the site of a roadside emergency may be charged with negligent homicide or negligent injury. Full text of the law can be found here.

The Move Over Law helps to protect everyone on the road. This includes emergency vehicles, tow trucks, city and county vehicles and state vehicles.

• The official Governor’s Proclamation can be seen here.
• Additional National Crash Responder Safety Week materials can be found at https://transportationops.org/TIM/CRSW