Relatively few speeders on traffic cam's first day
By Mike Leidemann and Mike Gordon
Advertiser Staff Writers
Cory Lum • The Honolulu Advertiser
Are we slowing down yet?
A motorist traveling down Pali Highway applies the brakes as the parked van monitors speeders in makai-bound traffic.
Apparently so.
Fewer than 7 percent of the people caught on camera during the first full day of the state's new photo traffic enforcement program were speeding, according to figures released yesterday by the Department of Transportation.
Four unmarked vans equipped with lasers, cameras and computers spread out across O'ahu streets and highways Wednesday. They checked 13,507 vehicles, of which 927 were speeding, said Marilyn Kali, spokeswoman for the state's Transportation Department.
"It is much lower than we expected," Kali said yesterday. "People are really slowing down. It is obvious we made a difference. We are very pleased."
It's also much less than when the state started the program on a warning-only trial basis just a month ago. In those first three days of the program, nearly one-third of all drivers caught on camera were speeding; yesterday's figures had the number of speeders down to about 6.9 percent.
So is word getting out about the cameras?
"Oh, yeah. Now that people are pre-warned, I'll bet they'll be slowing down," said Lawrence Vea, 21, of Kalihi. "As soon as they get that first ticket, they're going be slowing down even more."
Mike Marciel, who was passing time yesterday at Ala Moana Center, said he, too, has taken notice of the new program.
"When I drive, I don't speed anymore," Marciel said. "I guess I pay more attention now because I definitely can't afford to pay any extra money for tickets or insurance."
Milton Serrano, a security guard at the Hilton Hawaiian Village hotel, said he has noticed more careful drivers even on his short commute to work from Ward Avenue.
"It's like before," he said. "If you know the spot where the police are watching, you slow down. If you know the cameras are out there, you slow down, too."
Serrano said he notices the change even more when he's walking with his 3-year-old daughter.
"Some people just cut right and left, but now they've got to be more careful about their driving."
Even nondrivers said they were taking notice of the new program.
"I love it," said Kaori Kiana, a Kapi'olani Community College student who doesn't have a driver's license and rode the bus yesterday to Ala Moana. "I don't approve at all of this racing around. If they're in a rush to get somewhere, they should just leave sooner. I hope this makes everyone slow down."
During the first day of the ticket-issuing stage of the program, the cameras in unmarked vans monitored drivers at 24 locations, including Pali Highway, Likelike Highway, Kalaniana'ole Highway near Sandy Beach, Moanalua Freeway and Nimitz Highway.
Just how many of those 927 suspected speeding drivers will receive citations will not be known until tomorrow evening, Kali said. Technicians must first review the photo evidence in each case, compare license-plate numbers to a list of registered drivers and eliminate cases with insufficient evidence.
The owners have 15 days to pay a fine, provide a written excuse or request a court appearance. The first trials of those challenging their citations or the legality of the three-year pilot program probably won't be scheduled until at least mid-February, Kali said.
The new program received a lot of publicity in December, when the monitoring vans issued only warnings. Although about one-third of all those captured on cameras received warnings in the first three days of the program, the percentages fell drastically as the month wore on.
Kali said the thrust of the program is not to give speeding citations, but to get drivers to slow down.
Reach Mike Leidemann at 525-5460 or mleidemann@honoluluadvertiser.com
