Is the Road to Hana Dangerous? We Just Found Out.

A fight on the Road to Hana made headlines this month. We were just there, which is why the incident coverage stood out. On first read, you would think the road has become a problem in itself. A confrontation. A shattered windshield. A juvenile arrest. Racial slurs reportedly used. Plus conflicting accounts. It sounds like it might have been a part of a broader discussion that Hawaii, and this road in particular, has become hostile ground for visitors.

But that framing skips over something important. One contested incident does not answer the question travelers are actually asking right now. Is the Road to Hana actually dangerous to drive? We went looking for that answer in person.

We drove the Road to Hana with purpose.

It was part of our broader reporting on whether anti-tourism sentiment in Hawaii is as widespread as some narratives suggest. On the drive, we were not drifting along on autopilot; we were paying close attention.

Another point, we were not blending in as locals. We live in Hawaii, but on another island. We were in a plain rental car, clearly identifiable as visitors, and we made no effort to disguise that. If anything, we looked exactly like the kind of drivers some headlines suggest are being targeted.

The first thing that stood out was something we didn’t expect at all. It was how dry the road was. It was the driest we have ever seen it. Many of the waterfalls that define the classic Road to Hana experience were barely running or not running at all. The lush, dripping scenery people expect simply was not there on our drive, something that is changing as the seasonal rains return, but was impossible to ignore.

The second thing that stood out was how much more controlled the road felt. The county has installed cones and no-parking controls in areas that were once notorious for problems of illegal roadside parking. In past years, those spots routinely clogged traffic, forced pedestrians into blind curves, and created exactly the kind of stress that could turn irritation into confrontation.

On this drive, that chaos appeared largely under control. We saw far fewer vehicles pulled over in unsafe places. We did not see bridges blocked by parked cars. Traffic was slow and winding, but it moved.

While not anticipating problems, we were nonetheless aware of what others have depicted and thus actively looked for any signs of anti-visitor sentiment. We did not find them. There were no anti-tourist signs. We were alert to the possibility precisely because of recent headlines, and it just never materialized. The drive felt manageable in a way it has not always felt before.

We did not do the classic out-and-back Road to Hana drive on this trip.

Our drive started Upcountry Maui, called the Back Road to Hana, and then continued on the popular stretch from Hana to Paia. We wrote about it separately after experiencing it firsthand. That stretch reinforced the same takeaway: conditions varied, the road demanded attention and respect, but nothing about the experience suggested visitors were being targeted or that the drive itself had become inherently unsafe.

Why incidents still happen anyway.

None of this means friction is imaginary. It isn’t. The Road to Hana is a long, narrow, winding public highway that residents rely on every day for work, school, medical appointments, and airport runs. Visitors understandably experience it as an immersive scenic adventure to soak in. Those two different realities share the same pavement, and that overlap is where tension begins.

One of the biggest sources of friction has nothing to do with hostility and everything to do with driving etiquette. On Hana Highway, slower drivers are expected to pull over at the limited number of designated spots that allow faster local traffic to pass. There are signs posted explaining this, and most visitors do comply when they see them.

Some drivers miss the signs or don’t think about them. We saw that as well. Others may be unsure where it is safe to stop. Notably, a small number ignored the expectation entirely. When a local vehicle sits behind a slow-moving rental car for long stretches with no opportunity to pass, frustration can build quickly. It would anywhere else, too.

That frustration does not excuse aggressive behavior or violence. But it does help explain how tempers can flare on a road that already demands constant attention. Based on reporting, the confrontation this month appears to have started with exactly this kind of friction. What followed appears exceptional, not typical.

A familiar mainland media pattern.

This incident did not emerge in a vacuum. For several years now, mainland outlets have repeatedly framed the Road to Hana through isolated confrontations and worst-case scenarios.

Since 2023, multiple high-profile stories from mainland outlets have portrayed the road as increasingly hostile or unsafe for visitors.” In reality, fear travels fast. Readers are left to fill in the blanks themselves.

What visitors actually need to know.

The Road to Hana is not newly dangerous. Its endless curves, one-lane bridges, blind corners, and lack of shoulders have always required careful driving, and that reality remains unchanged, even as we have driven that road for decades ourselves.

The biggest risks remain familiar ones. Driver inexperience. Motion sickness. Poor weather and visibility. Trying to do too much in one day and rushing when patience is required.

Understanding etiquette is key. Pull over for faster traffic as soon as it is safe to do so. Do not park illegally or trespass on private property. Respect that this road is part of daily life for the people who live along it and who have experienced traffic issues here for a very long time. Most visitors already do these things, and most have no problems whatsoever.

Conditions also matter. On our drive, the road was dry, and much of its famous waterfall scenery was muted. When the rains return, the experience changes. Planning for what exists beats panicking over news headlines.

The bottom line.

A messy confrontation between visitors and a juvenile with contested facts does not define the Road to Hana. We went looking and found neither. What we found was an incredibly famous drive that is better managed than it used to be, on a day when drought had stripped away much of its usual drama.

Should you drive it? If you respect the road, understand the etiquette, and remember that you are entering someone else’s daily commute, not just your own scenic adventure, then yes. The Road to Hana remains very much worth doing. It is an epic drive unlike any other.

And if you have driven it recently, please share your own experiences. We can’t wait to hear. Mahalo!

Photo Credits: © Beat of Hawaii on Road to Hana, Maui.