The purpose of this Chapter is to enumerate the motor vehicle and traffic laws for the County of Kaua'i and to provide for the administration and enforcement thereof. The Kaua'i Traffic Code supplements the Statewide Traffic Code, Chapter 291C, H.R.S. and, consequently, reference should also be made thereto for a complete compilation of State and County laws relative to motor vehicles and traffic regulations. The provisions of this Chapter are to provide for the regulation of traffic upon the public streets of the County of Kaua'i, and private streets, highways, or thoroughfares, which for more than five (5) years have been continuously used by the general public.
(Ord. No. 134, January 19, 1968; Sec. 16-1.1, R.C.O. 1976)
This Chapter shall be known as the Traffic Code of the County of Kaua'i and may be cited as the "Traffic Code."
(Ord. No. 134, January 19, 1968; Sec. 16-1.2, R.C.O. 1976)
When used in this Chapter the following words or phrases shall have the meaning given in this Section unless it shall be apparent from the context that a different meaning is intended:
"Bicycle lane"
means that portion of the highway which has been set aside for the preferential or exclusive use of bicycles.
"Bicycle path"
means the facility set aside for the preferential or exclusive use of bicycles and physically separated from a highway.
"County Engineer"
means the County Engineer, Department of Public Works, County of Kaua'i, or a duly authorized representative.
"County street"
means a street under the jurisdiction and control of the County of Kaua'i.
"Electric bicycle" or "e-bike"
means a bicycle equipped with fully-operable pedals and an electric motor of no more than seven hundred fifty (750) watts, capable of providing motor power at speeds up to twenty-eight (28) miles per hour.
"Explosives"
means any chemical compound or mechanical mixture that is commonly used or intended for the purpose of producing an explosion and which contains any oxidizing and combustive units or other ingredients in proportions, quantities, or packing that an ignition by fire, by friction, by concussion, by percussion, or by detonator of any part of the compound or mixture may cause such a sudden generation of highly heated gases that the resultant gaseous pressures are capable of producing destructive effects on contiguous objects or of destroying life or limb.
"Flammable liquids"
means any liquid which has a flash point of 70 degrees F., or less, as determined by a Tagliabue or equivalent closed-cup test device.
"Freight loading zone"
means that space set aside for the use of vehicles during the loading or unloading of materials.
"High-speed electric device"
means any device with a motor exceeding seven hundred fifty (750) watts or capable of providing motor power at speeds over twenty-eight (28) miles per hour, but does not include a four-wheeled vehicle, moped, or motorcycle that can legally be operated on a road or street."
"Highway" or "Street"
means the entire width between boundary lines of every publicly-maintained way or thoroughfare used for vehicular travel and any private way or thoroughfare which for more than five (5) years has been continuously used by the general public for vehicular travel.
"Moped"
means a device upon which a person may ride which has two (2) or three (3) wheels in contact with the ground, a motor having a maximum power output capability measured at the motor output shaft, in accordance with the Society of Automotive Engineers standards, of one and one-half (1-1/2) horsepower (one thousand, one hundred nineteen (1,119) watts) or less and, if it is a combustion engine, a maximum piston or rotor displacement of three and five hundredths (3.05) cubic inches (fifty (50) cubic centimeters) and which will propel the device unassisted, on a level surface at a maximum speed no greater than thirty-five (35) miles per hour; and a direct or automatic power drive system which requires no clutch or gear shift operation by the moped driver after the drive system is engaged with the power unit.
"Motor scooter"
means every motorcycle with a motor which produces not more than five (5) horsepower, but excludes a moped.
"Motor vehicle"
means every vehicle which is self-propelled and every vehicle which is propelled by electric power but which is not operated upon rails, but excludes a moped.
"Motorcycle"
means every motor vehicle having a seat or saddle for use of the rider and designed to travel on not more than three (3) wheels in contact with the ground, but excludes a farm tractor and a moped.
"Muffler"
means a device consisting of a series of baffle plates, or chambers, or perforated tube or tubes with spun glass, spun steel, or other type of sandwich packing, or of other mechanical design or construction, for the purpose of receiving exhaust gas and effectively reducing exhaust noise from the motor of a motor vehicle.
"Official traffic-control devices" or "traffic control devices"
mean all signs, signals, markings, and devices not inconsistent with this chapter, and placed or erected by authority or with the consent of a public body or official having jurisdiction for the purpose of regulating, warning, or guiding traffic.
"Operator"
means every person other than a chauffeur, who drives or is in actual physical control of a motor vehicle upon a highway or who is exercising control over or steering a vehicle being towed by a motor vehicle.
"Park"
means any park, park roadway, playground, beach right-of-way, or other recreational areas under the control, management, and operation of the County.
"Passenger loading zone"
means that space set aside for the use of vehicles during the loading or unloading of passengers.
"Procession"
means a group of people or a group of vehicles on a roadway, moving as a cohesive unit, in the same direction and at the same time on said roadway, as distinguished from a group of vehicles on a roadway, moving in the same direction and at the same time, on said roadway, toward a common destination.
"Public holiday"
means all legal holidays now existing, Sundays or such as may be subsequently specifically proclaimed by the Governor of the State or as otherwise provided by law.
"Roadway" or "road"
means that portion of a highway improved, designed, or ordinarily used for vehicular travel, exclusive of the berm or shoulder. In the event a highway includes two (2) or more separate roadways the term roadway as used herein refers to any such roadway separately but not to all such roadways collectively.
"Roundabout"
means an intersection characterized by a circulatory roadway where vehicular traffic circulates in a counterclockwise manner, channelized approaches, and yield control of entering traffic. A roundabout encompasses the area bounded by the outermost curb line or, if there is no curb, the edge of the pavement.
"School zone"
means each and every street and all public property or ways within five hundred (500) feet of the boundaries of any school.
"Traffic calming measure"
means a horizontal or vertical roadway feature that uses self-enforcing physical means to achieve a reduction in observed excessive vehicle speeds and improves safety for all modes of transportation. Traffic calming measures include, but are not limited to vertical measures such as speed humps, speed tables, and speed cushions, as well as horizontal measures such as chicanes, lateral shifts, narrowed lanes, and roundabouts.
"Trailer"
means a vehicle designed for carrying persons or property and for being drawn by a motor vehicle.
(Ord. No. 134, January 19, 1968; Sec. 16-1.3, R.C.O. 1976; Ord. No. 390, July 31, 1980; Ord. No. 530, December 9, 1987; Ord. No. 580, October 24, 1990; Ord. No. 767, May 16, 2001; Ord. No. 947, July 17, 2013; Ord. No. 1095, August 5, 2021; Ord. No. 1183, 11/12/2025)