HAWAII COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT
TRAFFIC SERVICES SECTION
SERGEANT RANDY K. APELE
PHONE: 961-2305
FEBRUARY 6, 2004

MEDIA RELEASE

Big Island police announced they have started cracking down on young drivers racing on public roads subdivisions around the island.

Sergeant Randy K. Apele, head of the Traffic Services Section, said police have been receiving an increasing number of complaints from residents reporting racing on public streets and roadways.

“Because of the increasing number of complaints, we will concentrate on enforcing speed limits and will be looking for violators,” Apele said.

“Racing and excessively rapid acceleration on public roads is both dangerous and foolish, and we will be increasing vigilance in areas where we’ve received a large number of complaints.”

Apele noted that Section 291C-103 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes, entitled “Racing on highways,” makes racing on public roads and highways illegal.

The section also makes “burning out” illegal. The law defines this as “the sudden acceleration of a vehicle resulting in the screeching of the vehicle’s tires which is done to intentionally draw the attention of persons present toward the vehicle.”

The law provides that anyone convicted of racing, including drag racing, is subject to a maximum penalty of a $500 fine and six months in jail. Anyone convicted of “burning out” is subject to a maximum penalty of a $500 fine and sentence to perform community service.

# # #