Cameras not self-sustaining
| • | Police may take control of van camera program |
| • | New York to employ dummy cameras |
| • | Chart: Photo enforcement earnings |
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By Mike Leidemann
Advertiser Transportation Writer
The private operator of the state's traffic camera enforcement program has earned more than $137,000 in the first two months of operation, far more than the state has collected from the program, which is supposed to be self-sustaining.
Figures released yesterday by the state Transportation Department show that 1,239 tickets have been paid at District Court, earning $29.75 each, or a total of $36,860, for ACS State and Local Solutions.
However, the company also can bill the state for another 4,500 tickets that will never be issued or paid. Those cases involve citations in which the company has been unable to match the registered owner of the vehicle with an existing state driver's license name, as required by the state judiciary.
The original terms of the state's contract called for the company to be paid only for tickets paid, but Transportation Director Brian Minaai said the state has agreed to pay the company a reduced rate of $22.31 for those tickets because they involved work beyond the original scope of the contract.
Those tickets have resulted in more than $100,000 in charges since the program began in January, yesterday's report shows.
Those caught speeding have to pay a base fine of $27, plus an additional $5 for every mph over the posted limit. There are no additional court costs.
To cover the additional cost of unissued tickets in the first two months, an average fine would have to be about $110 for a driver doing 16.5 miles over the speed limit, figures that have not been reached in state traffic court sessions.
Minaai told state lawmakers yesterday that "not one cent" of taxpayer's money has been used to pay for the program, which was financially seeded through a $5 million revolving loan from the state highway fund.
He said income from fines is expected to rise as more cases work their way through the court system.
"I'm still confident that the program will be self-sustaining in the long run," he said.
Yesterday's report shows the program generated 3,600 tickets in February, the second month of the van-cam operation. Only 761 of those tickets so far have resulted in a fine being collected and private operator ACS receiving its $29.75 share of the fine.
The detailed monthly report shows that traffic camera operators checked 121,795 vehicles in February and recorded 8,690 cases of speeding. From those cases, the 3,600 citations were issued.
Although the program was expanded islandwide for the first time in February, the report shows the largest number of citations (50 percent) still came from Honolulu drivers, followed by 'Ewa (23 percent), Wai'anae (13.2 percent), Kane'ohe (8.5 percent) and Wahiawa (5.3 percent).
The single busiest location was Kane'ohe-bound on Likelike Highway, where 326 citations were generated. Other top spots were Likelike Highway at Gulick Avenue (187 citations), Pali Highway at La'imi Road (189), Pali Highway at Homelani Place (180) and H-1 Freeway, Honolulu-bound, at the Kamehameha Highway overpass (137).
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Correction: Speeders caught by the traffic camera enforcement program must pay a $27 fee plus a $5 fine for every mile over the speed limit. There are no additional court costs. Other information was contained in a previous version of this story.
