Traffic camera glitches limit first-day tickets to 158

By Walter Wright
Advertiser Staff Writer

Glitches in running new traffic cameras cut the number of drivers getting the first speeding tickets by mail yesterday to 158, state officials said.

Laser guns in four camera vans at O'ahu highways checked 13,507 vehicles Wednesday, the first day of the new traffic enforcement program, and showed 927 speeding, officials said.

But problems with many of the 927 cases, including incomplete license plate images, resulted in only 158 citations, state transportation spokeswoman Marilyn Kali said.

However, Kali said the problems have been worked out, and the company running the program under contract with the state, Affiliated Computer Systems, expects a higher percentage of citations among those identified by the camera as speeders in the future.

Honolulu police usually give out 100 tickets a day for all traffic violations, including speeding. Owners of vehicles cited face fines of $27 plus $5 per mile over the speed limit. Those who plan to fight tickets get their first day in court Feb. 19.

The results of the camera traffic enforcement system so far indicate that drivers are continuing to slow down, Kali said. There were 630 vehicles going over the speed limit out of 10,803 vehicles checked on Thursday; 463 speeders out of 11,943 vehicles monitored on Friday.

By Saturday, only 85 of 3,686 vehicles were speeding, Kali said.

There was no monitoring Sunday, but Sundays are included in the monitoring schedule, she said.

Affiliated Computer Systems says offenses in other communities usually plummeted after the start of the camera enforcement programs, then crept back up, Kali said.

"We hope Hawai'i is different," she said.