Full Notification

Hawaiʻi Police Department
Puna District
Captain Samuel Jelsma
Phone: 965-2716


Media Release

Hawaiʻi Island police remind motorists that right turns are to be made from the roadway and not from the right shoulder.

Puna District Captain Samuel Jelsma said some motorists wrongly believe it is safer to travel onto the right shoulder before turning, to allow traffic to pass on the left. That practice, Jelsma said, presents several hazards:

Reduced visibility of what is around the corner.
Reduced visibility for other vehicles attempting to enter the highway from an intersection.
The potential for a vehicle properly traveling in the traffic lane to execute a right turn and collide with the vehicle traveling on the shoulder.
Increased risk of collisions with pedestrians and bicyclists.

Jelsma noted that Hawaiʻi Revised Statues 291C-81, which applies to turning, says, “Both the approach for a right turn and a right turn shall be made as close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway.” Jelsma clarified that the “edge of the roadway” means the white solid line.