Driving protocol to Waipio Valley?
 

I take turns with my uncle every other year to go to Waipio (big island) to check on property. My uncle grumbles more and more each time he goes and has hinted he doesn’t want to go anymore. Next week is my turn and I don’t mind going. The problem? The narrow road to the valley. He keeps telling me it was better when it was a dirt road.

His major bane is towards people not giving the right of way to drivers going up hill - on any hill for that matter, mauka or pali. I disagree. Going down hill on this narrow road is on a pali. I thought if you’re on the mauka side, no matter if it’s up or down, they must stop and wait till the driver (pali side) goes around safely. Who is right?

I drive to mt. Kaala, where it's pali both sides, but thank goodness it’s private and it’s assumed you give the truck that’s ended their shift the right of way. As for kokee, I gave up guessing by pulling over no matter which way/side I’m driving.

I checked the dmv study guide, nada. Everyone I’ve asked gives conflicting answers. Even my neighbor cop doesn’t know. My uncle has resorted to borrowing a friends ford diesel 4x4 on the big island and commands others to pullover but that’s not him. He just has o-l-d. Can anyone shed any light? What is protocol? Any help is appreciated my flight is next week and I’ll let this forum be the deciding factor. btw, hiking is not an option. yay pau hana

(oops - mauka is mt, pali means cliff ie NaPali “the cliffs” eh, you kanaka now)

I'm just guessing, but it is much easier for someone going up hill to slow or stop than it is for someone going downhill.

So that would mean it has nothing to do with the mauka side of the road.

Does one side of the road have more pullouts? Or are there none?

Evidently your uncle was right:

http://www.safemotorist.com/articles/right_of_way.aspx

Thanks, just finished reading the website, very informative. I stand corrected.

"If two vehicles meet on a narrow mountain road in which there is only room for one vehicle to travel at a time, the vehicle going downhill must yield to the vehicle traveling uphill. The downhill vehicle should pull over enough to allow the other vehicle through; unless it is more practical for the uphill vehicle to find a wider space or turnout."

Interesting...and the opposite of what I was taught in driver's training class.

Last time we were on that dreadful road to Kahakuloa (Maui), I was the driver heading uphill -- and the oncoming driver was a pickup truck urging me to yield.

So I backed up...keeping my rental car up against mauka side, and "allowing" him to pass me along the treacherous sheer-drop-down cliffside. He didn't flip me off, but he did appear to be grumbling a bit as he drove by! :))

As a kid, we traveled to the mountains on occasion, and I remember passing cars on narrow mountain roadsthis rule. It always terrified me!

The explanation was that a car reversing uphill only has to put the car in reverse and go carefully. If they lose control of their car gravity will pull them forward.

The car travelling uphill though, would have to contend with reversing and braking, and if they lose control, they'll be rolling backwards down the mountain.

In the old days with trickier clutches and not as efficient brakes (the car coming down the hill might have even been riding heis brakes for a while) this would have been even more important a rule than now.

I've always remembered it as " the car heading to heaven (going uphill) gets to keep going".

I’ll let that codgety ol codger know he’s right, again. it'll make his day.

eh auntie, how's northshore looking today? suckie, huh? westside too, just more worse. great for fishing. getting tired of ahi. where's the ono?

We did that drive into the valley last year and I will never forget the tension going uphill. Signs posted state to yield to uphill traffic but most downhillers disregarded or were too scared to pull over and stop. If that is the case, they shouldn't be on that road.

And where would the downhillers pull over and stop except for landing in a tree? I'm scared ......

Shanghainese, there are signs informing downhillers to look ahead and pull over in designated places if vehicles are coming uphill.

bfrac - are those signs there? i went mar05 and don't remember seeing any. anyhoo, now i know to yield to uphill. thanks all.

i decided not to go til flossie breezes by. she won't hit, another iwa maybe. still i stocked up this weekend.

Signs were there in Feb 2006.