The Hawai’i Department of Transportation (HDOT) is expanding advance digital hazard alerts for the public statewide by equipping newly acquired department vehicles with the technology through partnerships with Sustainability Partners (SP), a Public Benefit Company, and Emergency Safety Solutions (ESS), an Advance Warning Solutions company.

The expansion covers department highway vehicles on four islands and builds on the initial deployment on O’ahu.

HDOT vehicles are equipped with light bars, but visual warnings alone cannot reach public drivers until they are within line of sight of the operationally vulnerable vehicle. H.E.L.P. (Hazard Enhanced Location Protocol) Digital Alerts close that gap.

When a vehicle activates its light bar, the H.E.L.P. Alert Network delivers Road Awareness Alerts to approaching drivers through navigation apps and in-vehicle systems. The system activates automatically with the lightbar, requiring no additional action from HDOT crews.

“Our crews face the same risks whether they’re working on O’ahu or a rural road on Hawai’i Island,” said Ed Sniffen, Hawai’i Department of Transportation Director. “Public drivers can’t react to hazards they’re not aware of. This gives them an earlier warning before our vehicles and crew members come into view, giving them more time to slow down, move over and respond safely. That added awareness helps protect both our crews and the traveling public.”

A February 2026 study from the Illinois Center for Transportation at the University of Illinois found that layering digital alerts with conspicuous vehicle lighting caused drivers to begin reacting four times farther away and made approach speeds 43% more consistent.