(BIVN) – The Hawaiʻi Police Department held a “Healing Our Highways” Traffic Safety Vigil and Remembrance Event in Kona on Wednesday, urging motorists to drive responsibly following a recent increase in reports of reckless driving on Big Island roadways.

Officers and officials waved signs along Queen Ka‘ahumanu Highway, and later spoke at the West Hawai‘i Civic Center.

In a news release, the Hawaiʻi Police Department says officers have observed “a rise in behaviors such as excessive speeding, illegal passing, and tailgating, all of which pose a serious threat to public safety.”

“These actions endanger not only the drivers involved but also passengers, pedestrians, and other innocent road users,” the police department said, noting that officers “will continue to conduct high-visibility speed enforcement operations, particularly along known high-risk corridors, to protect the lives of all roadway users.”

“We will be out on the roadways doing our part to enforce the traffic laws,” said Interim Chief Reed Mahuna. “We would rather have the community join with us and do their part to drive with aloha and care for one another out on our roadways.”

photo of the “Healing Our Highways” vigil by Daryl Lee

The “Healing Our Highways” event follows the deadly head-on collision on the Daniel K. Inouye Highway. From a the police news release:

Indeed, the day after last week’s tragic fatal collision on Daniel K. Inouye (DKI) Highway that claimed the life of a 47-year-old Kona woman and a three-week-old infant, police cited or arrested seven drivers for excessive speeding on DKI Highway. Alarmingly, one of the motorists arrested was driving more than 100 mph and another motorist arrested was driving more than 81 mph and driving under the influence of an intoxicant. Preliminary investigation of last week’s fatal vehicle crash suggests that the vehicle believed to have caused the crash was traveling at a very high rate of speed, passing unsafely, and driving while impaired.

A memorial at the scene of the fatal Daniel K. Inouye Highway collision (Daryl Lee)

A significant majority of excessive speed citations and arrests this year have occurred along the Daniel K. Inouye Highway, underscoring the ongoing danger associated with speeding and reckless behavior on this roadway.

Police also caution motorists against illegally driving on the shoulder to pass vehicles, noting it is a $97 moving violation. If a motorist is caught speeding while driving illegally on a shoulder, they could also face arrest for reckless driving.

With more than 2,433 miles of road on Hawai‘i Island, Interim Chief Reed Mahuna is urging all motorists to slow down and drive with aloha.