The Hawaii Drivers Guidebook - Road Rights-of-Way and Rules in

The Hawai'i Driver’s Guidebook
Rights-of-Way

(HDM=Official State of Hawai'i Drivers Manual)

Rights-of-Way in Hawai'i are virtual, i.e. there are laws governing who has the right-of-way, but locals often "give-up" their rights to others who may have been waiting, are in a bad situation or "just to be friendly" (aloha). So don’t be surprised if the person in front of you stops and waves someone from a cross-street to go ahead.

Those huge pineapple and sugar cane AGRICULTURAL TRUCKS that suddenly jut-out of the crops in front of you, have the right-of-way. If only because they try not to stop and are much bigger than you! Sometimes there are traffic lights at the crossroads where the agricultural roads meet the highway.

Locals tend to "cut corners" - literally, i.e. be prepared on curvy, country roads to find the person going in the other direction partly in your lane on curves, and maybe the straight parts too. It might just be someone delivering news papers or more likely someone not really paying attention to the road. You will find that driving styles are much more relaxed here.

ANIMALS stray onto the rural roads, don't expect fences to separate you from them. From cattle, horses, pigs and dogs to donkeys, mongoose and Nene. (There’s a Baby Pig crossing near Hana, Maui and lots of warnings to watch for wandering wild donkey’s on the Big Island, and plenty of unannounced animals too).

SLOW MOVING VEHICLES that travel at 25 mph or less display an emblem on the back of their vehicle (pg 29 HDM):

Hawai'i has many SINGLE LANES on bridges, mountain curves or just where the topography requires it. The road to Hana on Maui has many such narrow spots. All the islands have their share of narrow roads, but at least you don't have to worry about meeting a huge motorhome on a sharp turn!

Several Islands have athletic events multiple times each year, including biking around the Island. Bicycles will be on the road with you, because unfortunately none of the Islands have anything resembling independent bike lanes separate from vehicle traffic. So they have the right-of-way if only because you will kill them if you don't yield to them. If you hear about a bike race happening, then you would be wise to drive in the opposite direction from it.

In Hawai'i you can have a scooter on the road if under 40cc Hawaii scooter

and you do not need a license or registration to do so. So as you might imagine, many of low income take advantage of this, so watch for this little machines on the side of the road and barreling through intersections.

Remember, you are on "Island time" now, so relax and take-your-time so that you may have a good time while you are here:

Hawai'i time

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