Hawaiʻi lawmakers and a Honolulu city council member are considering whether to reinstate mandatory written tests at driver’s license renewals, a practice the state abandoned in 1997, after 129 people died on Hawaiʻi roads last year — the highest toll in 18 years. A Honolulu City Council committee was set to take up the proposal Thursday afternoon.
The push reflects a broader legislative search for tools to curb traffic deaths following a record year on state roads, but lawmakers are divided on whether renewal tests are effective, and a key state senator is skeptical the requirement would produce meaningful results.
Hawaiʻi lawmakers and a Honolulu city council member are weighing whether to reinstate mandatory written tests at driver’s license renewals after 129 people died on state roads in 2025, the highest toll in 18 years. The Honolulu City Council’s Government Efficiency and Customer Services Committee was set to take up the proposal Thursday at 2:30 p.m.
The debate pits legislators seeking new tools to address the surge in traffic deaths against a key state senator who questions whether renewal tests would have any measurable effect.
Competing visions at the statehouse
State Rep. Darius Kila, who chairs the House Transportation Committee, said the state needs to ensure all drivers share an understanding of road rules as Hawaiʻi absorbs a growing and diverse population. He said he is working with Sen. Brandon Elefante on a bill this session that would update driver’s license procedures, part of a package requested by the governor’s administration.
“I think people are realizing now more than ever how much they interact with our roadways, both as a pedestrian and a motorist alike,” Kila said.
Kila acknowledged that renewed testing alone would not prevent future deaths. He called it one potential tool worth pursuing alongside other changes.
Sen. Lorraine Inouye, who chairs the Senate Transportation Committee, said she is not persuaded. “If it’s a renewal,” she said, “and we don’t have infractions, why do we have to go to that extreme?” Inouye said she could support a version that targets only drivers with repeated violations — an approach similar to California’s, where drivers who have had at least one accident per year over two or three years, or a recent license suspension for driving under the influence, must still pass a written renewal test.
Honolulu council presses the issue
Honolulu City Council member Radiant Cordero introduced resolutions asking state lawmakers to consider mandating renewal tests and to include pedestrian safety and bicyclist rights among driver education requirements. Cordero envisions the renewal tests as roughly 10-minute refreshers. Kila said he imagines something more substantial.
Cordero argued that license renewals are a rare opportunity to prompt drivers to re-examine rules that change over time. “By doing a knowledge test and making sure they’re aware of it,” she said, “that’s a behavior shift.” She also supports physical road-design changes, including narrower lanes to slow traffic and restricting parking near crosswalks to improve sightlines.
A policy Hawaiʻi dropped in 1997
Hawaiʻi — which requires licenses to be renewed every two, four, or eight years depending on the driver’s age — eliminated mandatory written renewal tests in 1997. The bills that ended the requirement were introduced by Senate Transportation and Intergovernmental Affairs Committee co-chairs Sen. Norman Sakamoto and Sen. Cal Kawamoto, partly to ease congestion at licensing offices.
A committee report from that period indicates the City and County of Honolulu had testified that data showed “the frequency of renewal testing does not change driving habits nor lower accident rates.” Whether renewed testing would produce different results in the current environment remains unclear.
Mandatory renewal tests are uncommon across the United States. California eliminated the requirement for drivers over 70 in fall 2024. “We are eliminating the written knowledge test for those without traffic violations on their record to improve customer service,” California DMV director Steve Gordon said at the time. “If thousands fewer people need to visit the DMV, or can spend less time in an office, the people who need to take care of their business in one of our offices can be better served.”