Road to Hana Driving Danger?
Aug 18th, 2007, 03:56 AM
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Road to Hana Driving Danger?
I feel ridiculous posting this here, but last night one of our neighbors here in NYC (a police officer nonetheless) who lived on Maui for many years made me bristle when he chastised me for my Road to Hana plans with my husband and three year old. He made it sound as though it were the most precarious piece of roadway in the world and that I was an idiot for even thinking of taking my son on a road that was so dangerous. He implied that there are a ton of "covered-up" fatal off the road accidents each year involving tourists (a quick web search turned up no major evidence of this) and that I was silly to risk it.
We have driven the narrow roads high above Cinque Terre, the Amalfi Coast, the Pacific Coast Highway etc...all safely and with no incident. Of course I am sure things can and do go wrong, but is the Road to Hana any more "dangerous" than any of these other "proceed at your own risk" locales?
We plan to do the drive in daylight and in good weather.
If I weren't a newish mom I never would have even posted this, but this man's remarks insulted me, quite frankly.
Thanks,
lisa
We have driven the narrow roads high above Cinque Terre, the Amalfi Coast, the Pacific Coast Highway etc...all safely and with no incident. Of course I am sure things can and do go wrong, but is the Road to Hana any more "dangerous" than any of these other "proceed at your own risk" locales?
We plan to do the drive in daylight and in good weather.
If I weren't a newish mom I never would have even posted this, but this man's remarks insulted me, quite frankly.
Thanks,
lisa
Aug 18th, 2007, 04:19 AM
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While I'm far from an 'expert', I have personally driven the Road to Hana in the spring of ' 03. I found it to be a fun driving experience, well within my skill level as a driver (female, age 60). Of course, your risk of an accident is dependent not only upon your driving skill, but that of the drivers you will encounter coming in the oposite direction..... so if you want to minimize those encounters, you might want to consider making the drive either early or late in the day during daylight hours.
I did find the roadway beyond Hana, the southern route, to be extremely narrow, actually treacherous in places and would encourage you take the northern route on Highways 36/360 in both directions. With a toddler, you might want to look into overnighting in Hana to break up the trip.
Enjoy your time in paradise!
I did find the roadway beyond Hana, the southern route, to be extremely narrow, actually treacherous in places and would encourage you take the northern route on Highways 36/360 in both directions. With a toddler, you might want to look into overnighting in Hana to break up the trip.
Enjoy your time in paradise!
Aug 18th, 2007, 04:41 AM
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While there are some sharp turns and one lane bridges we found the scenery itself to be the most dangerous part. There will be the more daring and some locals that come up behind you quickly but there are spots where you can pull to the side and let them pass. The road on the south side was still closed when we were there.
A road that gave us a thrill is on the northwest side of Maui called Kahekili or 340. It's around 12 miles of one lane road with short passing areas which sometimes one may have to backup to. If you do a google search for it you can get some pics.
A road that gave us a thrill is on the northwest side of Maui called Kahekili or 340. It's around 12 miles of one lane road with short passing areas which sometimes one may have to backup to. If you do a google search for it you can get some pics.
Aug 18th, 2007, 04:59 AM
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From the Maui News: Three killed Aug 16, 2007
Friday, August 17, 2007 12:59 PM
Auto accident kills 3 inside Haleakala park
HALEAKALA NATIONAL PARK – Three French nationals died Thursday afternoon when their car went off the road and dropped 12 to 15 feet into a gulch nearly two miles above the park’s headquarters visitors center, a park official said.
A fourth person, the driver of the red sedan and also a French national, was reported to be in serious but stable condition when he was taken by ambulance to Maui Memorial Hospital, said park ranger Sharon Ringsven.
Park visitors reported the accident at 4:12 p.m. Thursday near Milepost 13, she said.
The cause of the accident remained under investigation, she said, although driving conditions were clear, sunny and dry.
The Maui Fire Department’s Air One helicopter and rescue crew, who had just completed another rescue, were diverted to Haleakala National Park to assist park rangers, said Battalion Chief Jeff Shaffer.
The driver was airlifted from the crash scene down a ravine to Hosmer Grove, where medics and an ambulance were waiting, he said, adding that the victim apparently crawled to the roadway in shock to report the crash.
The vehicle had four adult occupants, two men and two women, who were part of a larger group visiting the park, Ringsven said. Two of the victims were in their 60s, and the other two were in their 30s, she said.
The park service has “exclusive jurisdiction” over the investigation, she said, but a Maui Police Department chaplain was called to console family members.
The accident at about the 8,000-foot elevation occurred along a 20-yard stretch of road that has no guardrails or barriers, officials said.
Friday, August 17, 2007 12:59 PM
Auto accident kills 3 inside Haleakala park
HALEAKALA NATIONAL PARK – Three French nationals died Thursday afternoon when their car went off the road and dropped 12 to 15 feet into a gulch nearly two miles above the park’s headquarters visitors center, a park official said.
A fourth person, the driver of the red sedan and also a French national, was reported to be in serious but stable condition when he was taken by ambulance to Maui Memorial Hospital, said park ranger Sharon Ringsven.
Park visitors reported the accident at 4:12 p.m. Thursday near Milepost 13, she said.
The cause of the accident remained under investigation, she said, although driving conditions were clear, sunny and dry.
The Maui Fire Department’s Air One helicopter and rescue crew, who had just completed another rescue, were diverted to Haleakala National Park to assist park rangers, said Battalion Chief Jeff Shaffer.
The driver was airlifted from the crash scene down a ravine to Hosmer Grove, where medics and an ambulance were waiting, he said, adding that the victim apparently crawled to the roadway in shock to report the crash.
The vehicle had four adult occupants, two men and two women, who were part of a larger group visiting the park, Ringsven said. Two of the victims were in their 60s, and the other two were in their 30s, she said.
The park service has “exclusive jurisdiction” over the investigation, she said, but a Maui Police Department chaplain was called to console family members.
The accident at about the 8,000-foot elevation occurred along a 20-yard stretch of road that has no guardrails or barriers, officials said.
Aug 18th, 2007, 06:09 AM
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The Hana highway is well-paved, not particularly narrow (except for one-way bridges where you have warning), very easy to drive. It is tame compared to Big Sur Highway and the corniches above the Riviera.
Aug 18th, 2007, 08:29 AM
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I'm not sure if I'd want to do it with a 3-year-old either. Even though the road isn't particularly dangerous if you drive cautiously, it's very twisty, so motion sickness can be an issue. Plus the point of driving it is to do some of the hikes that lead off of it, which could be tough for a young child.
Aug 18th, 2007, 08:32 AM
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"Wary" rather than "worry" is appropriate for the Hana Highway. If you're careful about looking where you're going and watching out for what sometimes is heavy traffic, there should be no problem at all.
The news report that Rusty posted almost certainly was not about the Hana Highway. The road continues past Hana, becomes twistier and more tropical, and enters the Oheo Gulch section of Haleakala National Park (erroneously called "the Seven Sacred Pools"). It's slower and narrower, but that's no more hazardous than what came before. The French tourists probably fell off the road beyond that section.
The biggest hazards on the Hana Highway are mosquitoes and traffic. You can wear mosquito repellent, but there's not much you can do about the traffic. The Highway is very popular, and the narrow road really doesn't have the capacity for the hordes during the peak travel seasons. Watch out particularly for parked cars near waterfalls.
Even better, once you've made a round trip on the Hana Highway, you're qualified for an even more interesting (and far less crowded) trip on the Kahekili Highway. It runs along the north coast of West Maui from Kahului to Kaanapali. Definitely Maui off the beaten path.
This Web page has some description and pictures of both "highways": http://www.tedsimages.com/text/mauihwy.htm
The news report that Rusty posted almost certainly was not about the Hana Highway. The road continues past Hana, becomes twistier and more tropical, and enters the Oheo Gulch section of Haleakala National Park (erroneously called "the Seven Sacred Pools"). It's slower and narrower, but that's no more hazardous than what came before. The French tourists probably fell off the road beyond that section.
The biggest hazards on the Hana Highway are mosquitoes and traffic. You can wear mosquito repellent, but there's not much you can do about the traffic. The Highway is very popular, and the narrow road really doesn't have the capacity for the hordes during the peak travel seasons. Watch out particularly for parked cars near waterfalls.
Even better, once you've made a round trip on the Hana Highway, you're qualified for an even more interesting (and far less crowded) trip on the Kahekili Highway. It runs along the north coast of West Maui from Kahului to Kaanapali. Definitely Maui off the beaten path.
This Web page has some description and pictures of both "highways": http://www.tedsimages.com/text/mauihwy.htm
Aug 18th, 2007, 01:02 PM
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We drove it and really enjoyed it - did not seem particularly dangerous to us. There are one-lane bridges that are a bit of a pain just waiting for the other car to cross, but other than that, nothing too tough. Try to get back before dark if you can; we came back in the dark, and it would have been an easier drive if we'd come back a little earlier.
Aug 18th, 2007, 01:55 PM
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What does Halaekala have to do with the Raod to Hana? Lots ! Both are on Maui and both can be dangerous drives (the subject is driving danger).
How did anyone get two miles above the visitor center? They drove obviously !!!
How did anyone get two miles above the visitor center? They drove obviously !!!
Aug 18th, 2007, 02:33 PM
#13
This morning's news is saying the driver (who survived) fell asleep at the wheel. Sadly, one of the passengers killed had a wife and two kids in another car up ahead.
That aside, the road to Hana underwent major changes a few years back. It is a twisty, narrow road, but is like a lot safer than some of the highways elsewhere on Maui --or in much of the mainland for that matter.
That aside, the road to Hana underwent major changes a few years back. It is a twisty, narrow road, but is like a lot safer than some of the highways elsewhere on Maui --or in much of the mainland for that matter.
Aug 18th, 2007, 02:46 PM
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"How did anyone get two miles above the visitor center? They drove obviously !!!"
Big "duh" here; the use of "above," esp. where sea level vs. a raod going up a volcano is concerned, was misleading. A better term would have been "south of Hana" if the accident occurred on rt 360. The Haleakala Visitor Center is at the top of the road to the volcano, just about as high as you can get on the island (just below the observatory). Both dangerous road? sure, but Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mt. National Park can be dangerous, too; but it's nowhere near the road to Hana!
Big "duh" here; the use of "above," esp. where sea level vs. a raod going up a volcano is concerned, was misleading. A better term would have been "south of Hana" if the accident occurred on rt 360. The Haleakala Visitor Center is at the top of the road to the volcano, just about as high as you can get on the island (just below the observatory). Both dangerous road? sure, but Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mt. National Park can be dangerous, too; but it's nowhere near the road to Hana!
Aug 18th, 2007, 04:25 PM
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There is nothing misleading about the use of "above" in the newspaper article.
There are two visiter centers on the road to the Haleakala summit. One is the park headquarters visitor center at 7,000 ft. and one is at 9740 feet just below the summit. The newpaper article is very clear that the accident happened nearly two miles above "the park's headquarters visitor center" (the one at 7,000 ft). The accident happened further up the mountain than 7,000 feet - nothing misleading about that .
There are two visiter centers on the road to the Haleakala summit. One is the park headquarters visitor center at 7,000 ft. and one is at 9740 feet just below the summit. The newpaper article is very clear that the accident happened nearly two miles above "the park's headquarters visitor center" (the one at 7,000 ft). The accident happened further up the mountain than 7,000 feet - nothing misleading about that .
Aug 18th, 2007, 04:27 PM
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To quote the book "Surviving Paradise" (Quidnunc Press, 2006)....
"Until recent times, the road to Hana was a single-lane, unpaved route that required four-wheel drive to travel on. Today it’s paved, but in most places the road for two-way traffic is still only about one-and-a half lanes wide. The 52-mile easterly trip along the rugged coastline begins at Kahului at the northern edge of Maui’s isthmus, in the shadow of towering Haleakala. The drive to Hana runs along the flanks of Haleakala the whole way and has more than 600 twists and turns and 54 single-lane bridges. On average, between 1,500 and 2,000 cars per day travel this road. The cliff-hugging drive straight through to Hana from Kahului takes about two hours."
But given that you have driven along the Amalfi Coast, Pacific Coast Highway, etc. it seems as if you've had plenty of experience with this kind of driving.
"Until recent times, the road to Hana was a single-lane, unpaved route that required four-wheel drive to travel on. Today it’s paved, but in most places the road for two-way traffic is still only about one-and-a half lanes wide. The 52-mile easterly trip along the rugged coastline begins at Kahului at the northern edge of Maui’s isthmus, in the shadow of towering Haleakala. The drive to Hana runs along the flanks of Haleakala the whole way and has more than 600 twists and turns and 54 single-lane bridges. On average, between 1,500 and 2,000 cars per day travel this road. The cliff-hugging drive straight through to Hana from Kahului takes about two hours."
But given that you have driven along the Amalfi Coast, Pacific Coast Highway, etc. it seems as if you've had plenty of experience with this kind of driving.
Aug 18th, 2007, 05:34 PM
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We did the drive with 5 kids (ages ranging from 4 to 21) in the car two weeks ago. Given that the average speed on the road is somewhere between 10 and 15 mph, I did not find it particularly stressful or dangerous- certainly not as stressful as some of the Californai coastal highways I have driven- enjoy!
Aug 19th, 2007, 02:50 AM
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When my husband & I went to Hawaii in 1986, we took the tour to "Heavenly Hana". I would never attempt that drive. Also, a tour guide is much more interesting, telling you things you would not know by driving on your own.
Aug 19th, 2007, 03:56 AM
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the road to hana is fine unless you are unuse to driving, also it's a little different if you are not use to one lane road etiquette (sp???) Just don't be impatient. it is a beautiful drive. the one issue is the lack of services. there is NOTHING on the road, so if you have problems, that would be the real problem. If you enjoy scenic drives then this is one that should be on your list.
