House bill would redo traffic camera system
By Mike Leidemann
Advertiser Transportation Writer
A state House committee voted yesterday to scrap the existing traffic photo enforcement program and replace it with one that addresses an increasing number of legal and popular concerns.
The vote by the House Transportation Committee came on a bill that would allow the camera citations only if they clearly identify the driver, don't affect insurance rates and aren't paid for on a per-ticket basis.
"This may not be a perfect bill, but it addresses many of the concerns people are raising," said Rep. Willie Espero, D-41st ('Ewa Beach). "We should definitely keep it alive so that it can be worked on as it moves through the process."
Committee Chairman Joe Souki, D-8th (Waiehu, Ma'alaea, Napili), said the requirement to include a picture of the driver was added to meet ACLU concerns that citations should be linked to car drivers, not owners, to comply with state traffic laws.
But Brent White, Hawai'i legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union, said he would rather see the program scrapped than "trying to plug up the holes."
"It's actually just making it harder for people to fight their tickets," he said. "Now the government will have a picture of the driver to add to its case."
A similar provision was included in the original law, but dropped when legislators became concerned about privacy issues. "Now when they want to take a picture of you driving, those privacy concerns are going to be magnified," White said.
Jack Weaver, a spokesman for Poltech International, the company that developed the camera system, told lawmakers it would be difficult to get clear pictures of drivers with current technology, and without using an extra flash at night. Coming up with new equipment to meet the requirement could take at least six months, he said.
Sen. Jim Rath zeroed in a provision in the bill that would require those "who contest their speeding tickets to show by clear and convincing evidence" that they weren't responsible for the violation.
"This bill makes you guilty right from the get-go. Now you're guilty until proven innocent, and that's not the American way," said Rath, R-6th (N. Kona, S. Kohala).
Souki said other provisions in the bill, including the ones requiring a fat-flee payment system and banning the citations from affecting insurance rates, were included to address public concerns.
"There's a strong feeling in the community that people want this program continued," Souki said after the committee's 5-3 vote. "This is an attempt to address the problems raised by those who asked for changes."
Although more than 30 people submitted written testimony in favor of keeping some sort of camera enforcement program in Hawai'i, the only oral testimony on the bill yesterday came from the Department of Transportation, which administers the program.
Transportation Director Brian Minaai released statistics showing that in January, their first full month of operation, the cameras resulted in 3,620 citations — 1,600 for violations 10 to 14 mph over the speed limit, 144 for 15 to 19 mph over the limit and six for more than 20 mph over the limit.
As the cameras have spread from urban Honolulu to outlying areas this month, there has been an increase in severe violations, Minaai said. He gave lawmakers a long list of violations in which vehicles had been clocked going as fast as 45 mph over the posted limit.
Minaai again warned that simply repealing the existing program could result in the state owing more than $1 million to ACS State and Local Solutions, the company that operates the cameras.
Souki said he did not anticipate any major costs from a revised program, even though the state would have to renegotiate its contract. Souki said the bill would give ACS an advantage over others in bidding on the new contract.
The bill now goes to the House Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs Committee. Last week, three Senate committees voted to repeal the traffic enforcement program.
Reach Mike Leidemann at mleidemann@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-5460.
