Driven by fears of losing costly lawsuits, the state so tightly restricts access to its massive database of traffic accidents that experts say safety research suffers, likely contributing to more deaths and injuries on Hawai'i roads.

The state Department of Transportation collects extensive information on every major accident in Hawai'i, and having access to that database is considered critical for thoroughly analyzing traffic safety.

The database covers everything from where accidents happened to the factors contributing to crashes.

But researchers outside DOT have limited or no access to the data, especially accident locations, and that compromises their efforts to independently assess how effective the transportation agency's safety initiatives are.

Not even University of Hawai'i researchers who conduct traffic-safety studies get access, and the data are not readily available to some divisions within DOT itself.

The secretive policy is getting more attention because of growing concerns about pedestrian safety here and whether the state is doing enough. Already, 10 pedestrians have died on O'ahu this year, compared with five during the same period last year.

The policy also is drawing more attention this week, Sunshine Week, as open-government advocates push for greater transparency and accountability in government. But the problem goes well beyond pedestrian safety and open-government issues.

Traffic accidents of all kinds cause hundreds of injuries and deaths in Hawai'i each year and cost millions of dollars in healthcare, property damage, lost productivity and other expenses.

Yet the state is tackling the problem with one hand behind its back, in essence, given that the crash data are not widely shared, debated and analyzed, national experts say.

"They're really shooting themselves in the foot," said Charles Compton, who manages the University of Michigan's Transportation Research Institute's data center.

Alvin Takeshita, state traffic engineer for DOT, agreed that quality research was important in improving safety. But he also said in written comments that the research has to be balanced with compliance with other laws, such as making sure no personal information is improperly released.

Nonetheless, Takeshita cited a range of analysis that his agency does, such as evaluating high-accident locations around the state. The top-priority sites are further studied, eventually leading to improvements to reduce accidents, such as road widenings and protective barriers, he said.

"We have used and will continue to use this data to make engineering improvements at the listed sites," Takeshita said.

However, the analysis of the high-accident sites is not available to the public — even though the agency that administers the state open records law says such information is public.

Even representatives of the federal government are urging the state to provide the traffic-safety community with more access to the crash data to foster broader discussion and problem-solving.

A five-member visiting team that evaluated the state's traffic records system five months ago found many shortcomings, saying the crash database was unreliable, filled with stale information and short on quality controls.

Despite the shortcomings, the state's crash database is considered the best available in Hawai'i.

The federal assessment team questioned the lack of accessibility, including the agency's practice of essentially using "trustworthiness" in determining who got the information.

"This is hampering the use of crash data for analytical and research activities that could impact the reduction of motor vehicle crashes that result in death and injury to Hawai'i's citizens," the team wrote in its October 2006 report on behalf of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

David Eby, an associate professor at Michigan's Transportation Research Institute, agreed.

"If you don't have access to the thing that you're trying to solve — that is, the crash problem — you can't do much," Eby said.

HIGH-ACCIDENT SITES

Takeshita said DOT regularly analyzes pedestrian accidents, but no formal study is ongoing. In recent years, Hawai'i has ranked among the states with the highest pedestrian fatality rates.

Although a 2005 ruling by the state Office of Information Practices determined that accident data are public, the transportation agency has been especially resistant about releasing statistics on specific crash locations.

DOT has refused in the past to provide individuals, safety advocates and others with data about high-accident sites around the state, though that type of data is routinely released in many states.

The refusal to disclose crash data is driven by the fear such information can be used against the state in lawsuits, although federal law prohibits that. Lawyers have been able to get around that barrier, however, and the state has been hit with multimillion-dollar judgments as a result, the transportation agency said.

'EQUAL TO MURDER'

When an Ohio-based, traffic-safety-oriented nonprofit, the Sandy Johnson Foundation, asked all 50 states for their most dangerous roads and intersections several years ago, 23 provided the data and only 10 refused, including Hawai'i, usually citing liability concerns, according to the foundation's Web site.

If a state knows an intersection has a history of fatal accidents but doesn't warn motorists and doesn't do anything about the problem, the state essentially is to blame when the next fatality happens, said Dean Johnson, head of the foundation that bears his late wife's name.

"To me, that is quite frankly equal to murder," said Johnson, whose wife died in a traffic accident at a dangerous Ohio intersection in 2002.

Makaha resident Kelly Ioane, who was hit by a car last year as she crossed Farrington Highway near her home, said she believes the state's secrecy was meant to spare the state criticism over its traffic-safety initiatives.

"If people do good research and analysis, it's going to look bad for the state," said Ioane, who is largely confined to a wheelchair as a result of the accident.

Starting last year, the federal government began requiring all states to disclose the 5 percent of locations with the most severe highway safety needs. The Hawai'i agency identified 10 Big Island locations and one on O'ahu.

But the agency has yet to comply with the 2005 OIP ruling that would make all its accident data available to the public, minus personal information that is confidential by statute. It is seeking a second opinion from OIP.

UH urban planning professor Karl Kim, editor of a national journal on accident analysis and prevention, said the state has to change its policy or risk contributing to more deaths and injuries on the highways.

"If we really are going to take traffic safety seriously, we have to do it with data and research," Kim said. "Otherwise, it's like we're taking a shot in the dark."

Reach Rob Perez at rperez@honoluluadvertiser.com.