Crash points out dangers of Kapa’a Bypass road

o the Forum:When I heard about the recent deadly car crash on the Kapaa

by-pass road I was doubly horrified. Once, for the victims and their families

and again for myself. I have taken that road a few times before and was on it

only two days before the accident.

I don’t smoke, drink or take drugs and

have a clean driving record. Yet, I usually found myself exceeding the posted

speed limit and crossing the divided line on that road, as the turns just come

upon you too fast. While there are some areas on Kauai where I think the limits

are too conservative, like beyond the tourist lookout point on Kuamoo Road, on

the by-pass they are an absolute necessity.

Short of reengineering a

good portion of the road, speeding citations would get the point across only to

those receiving the citations, although the presence of patrol cars there

would be remembered and, therefore, be effective. More important and effective

would be signs warning of the dangerous winding nature of the road, placed both

at the entrances and previous enough to each curve to enable one to slow down

before entering the curve and crossing the dividing line.

If I have

trouble on that road, then less mature drivers are really in jeopardy there. I

think that, until I see more warnings there or signs of safer driving on that

road, I’ll just avoid the bypass altogether.

Bill Salm,

Wailua