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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Wednesday, September 5, 2001

Honolulu police issue 1,388 traffic citations

By Scott Ishikawa
Advertiser Transportation Writer

Honolulu police issued nearly 1,400 traffic citations during the three-day Labor Day weekend, including more than 500 for speeding, and arrested 105 people for traffic offenses including racing, drunk driving and negligent homicide.

The police crackdown, in response to a series of speed-related accidents and deaths this summer, involved more than 200 traffic officers in addition to regular patrol officers stationed across O'ahu.

Among those arrested was a man who allegedly hit and killed a woman on a bicycle Sunday in Mililani, two men racing on the H-1 Freeway at 103 mph, and 38 people cited for driving under the influence of alcohol.

Officers also cited a driver who sped off after challenging a police officer posing as a racer in a decoy car. Ho-nolulu police traffic division commander Maj. Robert Prasser said the crackdown was a moderate success.

"I'd prefer our presence being a deterrent to racing, rather than trying to chase down these racers, which can be dangerous to both officer and driver," Prasser said.

He said the emphasis on traffic offenders will continue, with special efforts on holiday weekends.

A total of 1,388 citations were handed out during the weekend.

Along with 538 tickets for speeding, 399 citations were handed out for other moving violations, including eight for racing, five for reckless driving and 34 for driving modified cars without a reconstruction permit.

Drivers on local racing Web sites complained about being ticketed for reconstruction permit violations and grumbled generally about being unfairly targeted by police.

Reconstruction permits authorize modifications that can enhance the car's performance and appearance such as changes to the suspension and chassis.

But Prasser said police were not specifically going after younger drivers in souped-up cars.

"Many of the drivers ticketed for lack of a reconstruction permit were already pulled over for other violations," Prasser said. "These young drivers are not the enemy, it's just some of them are behaving badly right now."

Prasser said the police helicopter was used mainly to patrol above the freeways, looking for racers on popular straightaways in Central O'ahu.

"We were concerned about the (H-1) corridor from Campbell Industrial Park all the way to Wai'alae because of the racing along there," Prasser said.

Prasser said one racer challenging the department's decoy race car Saturday night along H-1 near Middle Street got a surprise.

The driver of a red Mazda, not knowing there was a police officer behind the wheel, tried to taunt him into racing by revving his engine and making an obscene gesture before taking off.

Other officers caught up to the driver and cited him for speeding and other violations.

Prasser said police had problems with high-speed motorcyclists during the weekend. The police helicopter followed a pack of speeding motorcyclists along H-2 Saturday evening near Schofield Barracks, but officers on the ground could not catch them.

Prasser said many of the officers shifted their schedules to work nights. A federal grant also paid for officers who worked overtime.

There were 81 accidents on O'ahu during the weekend, including the Mililani crash in which the woman was killed on her bicycle near Kipapa Drive. The driver was arrested on suspicion of negligent homicide.

On Maui, a 50-year-old female bicyclist was killed Saturday after a head-on collision on Baldwin Avenue.

Reach Scott Ishikawa at sishikawa@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8070.