State makes private roads subject to traffic law

[Rob Tucker]

It is interesting that while the government makes arguments that the hundreds of miles of private subdivision roads are not due a share of Fuel Tax Revenue (FTR) for maintenance that the CoH requested, and got, changes in state law to make drivers on those same roads subject to traffic law.

I am all in favor of traffic laws being applied to the subdivisions but I do not feel that the CoH can be selective in what responsibilities it wants to assume and what responsibilities it wants to avoid.

All in all I think that this development strengthens the case for the private roads to receive a reasonable share of Fuel Tax Revenue.

In the trib today: Ordinance clarifies police's right to stop, cite, arrest

http://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/arti...ocal03.txt

[Seeb]

add to that the the county counting private road miles on their reports to the feds

[mella l]

add to that the the county counting private road miles on their reports to the feds

Well if the private road miles are included in the reports to the feds, um then some of those fed dollars need to be spent in the substandard subdivisions! Perfect!

mella l

Art and Science
Our Future

[Bob Orts]

I was under the impression that it is the people who want the police enforcing traffic laws on those private streets.

[Rob Tucker]

I assume that to be true. According to the article it was the CoH who asked the state to amend language. This is essentially the same process we are pursuing on Fuel Tax Revenue for road maintenance.

Just shows that it can be done. Where there is a will there is a way.

[Greg]

Our neighborhood certainly supports this. It helps us to control the huge problem of abandoned vehicles for one thing. If a car is parked on the shoulder(neighborhood property) without a current safety sticker or registration, we have the option of having the police issue a ticket.

[TomK]

Greg - thank you so much for my laugh of the day!

[macuu222]

How does the county police determine when to give speeding tickets on substandard roads in private subdivisions. Does the county determine the speed limit of these roads or do they just enforce the speed limit set by the subdivision? If it's the subdivision that sets the speed limit..."how do they know" what is the correct speed on a substandard road? And if it's the county that sets the speed limit... then shouldn't they use "their" money to place speed limit signs on the roadways throughout the subdivisions?

[mella l]

quote:

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Originally posted by Bob Orts

I was under the impression that it is the people who want the police enforcing traffic laws on those private streets.

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Bob they are pretty much goat tracks so don't think the enforcement people will spend much time there regardless unless the paving is greatly improved. JMO and perhaps I am wrong, which would be nice.

mella l

Art and Science
Our Future

[Greg]

I don't think the enforcement will effect speeding much. Most of the substandard roads are not friendly to even moderate speed.

The new ruling will have a more dramatic effect on drunk driving, insurance, safety, and registration issues.

I'm happy to give tomk a chuckle, but I was serious. Abandoned vehicles are a real problem in our neighborhood. They almost always start with a fixer dying in front of someone's house, and devolve into a rusty, tireless, hulk of a rat hotel. We tell people to get them off our streets and pull em on to their property(It's illegal to have more than three project cars on a lot).

This new interpretation of the law allows action to be taken before it gets out of hand. If your car's not legal, get it off our private road or get a ticket.