Traffic cameras pose new dilemma

By Mike Leidemann
Advertiser Transportation Writer

Will there be honor among Honolulu scofflaws?

That's one of the host of legal, moral and ethical questions being raised this month as state officials begin their long-planned effort to use cameras and high technology to slow down speeding drivers and other traffic violators.

The new tickets, which start going out Dec. 17, will be mailed to registered owners of vehicles caught on camera speeding or running red lights.

"The owner is responsible for clearing the citation," said Michael Schlei, head of ACS State and Local Solutions, the California company running the program under contract with the state Department of Transportation.

There's just one exception, Schlei told a gathering of Hawai'i traffic professionals last week. An owner can pass the blame to whoever was driving the vehicle at the time of the infraction. There's a place on the ticket to write the name, address and driver's license number of the person being blamed and send it back to the state courts for action, Schlei said.

"You can assign blame if you want, but if not, you have to explain yourself to a judge," he said.

In other words, the owner is free to pay the fine, snitch on someone else, or throw himself on the mercy of the court.

The question a lot of Honolulu drivers are asking these days is, "What would you do if your best friend was caught speeding while driving your car?"

"I'd probably have to eat the fine," said Mark Danao, a Honolulu network designer. "Hawai'i is much too small a place, and there's too much involved to be turning your friends in."

What if it were your husband?

"That's a good question," said Brenda Pakehara of Waipio.

Or your brother from Minnesota who borrowed the car while he was visiting?

"I'd probably just pay it myself," Pakehara said. "What are you going to do? Write him a letter and ask him to pay you back?"

It's not a moot question. In some Mainland cities where similar programs have been tried, as many as 3,000 photo citations are issued every day. Many of them go to drivers of rental cars or people who let friends or relatives borrow their vehicles.

"Of course you're going to get people who say 'It wasn't me,' " said Honolulu attorney Earle Partington. "They'll say, 'I gave it to my friend Marvin, and he's on the Mainland now.' "

Who is responsible in this case — Marvin, or the guy who loaned out his car?

"There are always problems with new laws like this," Partington said. "The courts just have to take everything case by case."

In most respects the citations will be treated just like a ticket issued by a police officer. Under a change in state law several years ago, that means camera-generated violations for speeding and running red lights will be handled as noncriminal matters subject only to fines.

After receiving a ticket, the driver will have the option of paying the fine by mail (the $77 ticket for running a red light goes up sharply to $105 if not paid within 15 days of receipt), submitting a written explanation to the judge, or requesting a court appearance to explain the situation in person.

Or the driver can turn informer.

Facing a hefty fine, owners will have the option of getting off the hook by snitching on the real culprit. Once that information is supplied to the courts, a new citation will be issued to the driver.

"You can't have the registered owner strictly liable for everything that happens with his car," Partington said.

The concept is not unlike one that lets rental car companies pass along the cost of a ticket to renters who have long since left the state.

Drivers who leave the state without paying such a traffic fine can be held responsible for paying it or risk having their name put into a nationwide computerized list of scofflaw drivers, which can dramatically increase their insurance bill, said state judiciary spokeswoman Marsha Kitagawa.

But the consequences go beyond the legal, said Cromwell Crawford, a University of Hawai'i religion and ethics professor. There are personal considerations as well.

"Our relationships are born of trust, and we tend to trust those we know more than the government," Crawford said. "People are going to think they shouldn't be forced to betray a trust of friendship just so the government can accomplish its goals, no matter how noble. If I have conflict between loyalty to a friend and civic duty, personal attachments are going to take a precedence."

Crawford believes people in Hawai'i will see the cameras as another intrusion on their privacy, and react with a sense of confrontation rather than cooperation. "We like to think that the burden of proof should be on the state," he said.

So someone who is asked to turn state's evidence on something as minor as a traffic violation may decide it's not the American way to go along.

"You watch, people will resist that," Crawford said. "They'll think, 'I shouldn't be required to tell you, so go figure it out for yourself.' "

Moreover, many Americans just don't like the idea of cameras monitoring their comings and goings, Crawford said.

"It's an issue that goes right to the heart, something very visceral. People feel that they've got a sense of privacy in their own car, and they're just not going to be happy losing that."

Reach Mike Leidemann at mleidemann@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-5460.