79- . Yes (1146 Votes)
- . No (704 Votes)
- . Undecided (82 Votes)
This is not a scientific poll — results reflect only the opinions of those voting.
Big Q
Do you favor the use of traffic cameras to cite drivers who run red lights?
Comments (52)
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This is one of those biased questions designed to get a “yes” answer, that others will go to use to “prove” that people want these awful, corrupt, cash-cow devices.
How about “Do you favor the use of traffic cameras to cite drivers who DON’T run red lights?” It happens and there’s no way to fight it when it does.
“Do you favor increased rear end collisions as a result of installing red light cameras?”
“Do you favor decreasing the time the light spends in yellow to increase income for red light camera companies and cash hungry politicians?”
These things are bad news, and as other cities move to remove and ban them, Hawaii politicians like Joe Souki embrace the cash flow they represent without regard to the safety or the constitutional right to confront your accuser.
You see a yellow light you hit the breaks duh! Yellow does not means go faster!
As we have seen for years in cities with Red Light/Traffic Cameras, the city has a financial incentive for as many tickets as possible. Even reducing the light timing to generate more revenue.
As the city/state bureaucrats have proven for decades they cannot be trusted, lack credibility, an outside, impartial checker must be brought in to verify the light timing is correctly set where ever a camera is installed.
Random inspections must be done to ensure the light timing standard is in place at all times. Any deviation will result in all issued tickets being deleted, fine money returned with 50% extra due to government incompetence.
Kalaheo , your world-view is upside down.
Your question – “Do you favor the use of traffic cameras to cite drivers who DON’T run red lights?”
My Answer – Why would someone be cited for obeying the traffic law?
Because the system mistakenly gives out tickets to law abiding citizens with no recourse to fight the ticket.
“Machine says you ran the light, now pay up!”
I’m not in favor because other cities have had may problems with the implementation and use of red light cameras. Before going through the expense of buying and maintaining cameras, I wish the city planners would test adding a few seconds delay to the time the yellow light illuminated – at least test it for effectiveness and to see if it is an effective way to stop red light runners ……
Don’t think delaying the yellow light would work since people will eventually figure it out and still push their luck knowing they have extra time.
As usual the C&C has found yet another way to totally waste tax payer money, every municipality that installs these things winds up taking them down due to lawsuits. Would be nice if the state and the C&C would travel to other cities to see what works and what doesn’t. One area that could be greatly improved is the operation of DMVs…..pure 20th century operation there.
DMVs…..pure 20th century operation? Try 19th century.
this a rip off for the citizens and a money maker for the manufacturer and the city. most major cities on the west coast have abolished them. they do not contribute to safety. be ready to pay big bucks if you are one tenth of a second into the zone when the light changes to red and be ready to pay a $500 dollar fine. don’t do it
aloha!
Bottom line: If lives can be saved, I am for these cameras. HPD has failed to curtail traffic violations hence the “ainokea” attitude by many drivers. HPD, do your job!
Buses are frequent violators. How will the prosecution know who was driving unless that office obtain records from the bus company?
Hon, you do understand the pictures are time and date stamped. Simple matter to match this information with the bus identification numbers, find the law breaking driver.
Ticket goes on their driving record which may mean losing their job if too many tickets.
Guess you missed my point. In order for the prosecution to obtain that information, they must get a warrant which in turn will cost money. Do you think the bus company will voluntarily give that information? And why is the State trying to do a function that belongs to the city (HPD)?
kiragirl, don’t you know that the city has a record of who was driving which bus where and what time? No need to “search” anything.
Allah, I do know the city has the work schedule and routes of their employees. You missed the part that I said do you think they will VOLUNTARILY give that information to the prosecution.
I think the bus company would voluntarily give the information. If they don’t they’d be responsible for paying the fine since the vehicle owner would be the one who receives the citation. Also, if one of their driver’s ran the red light a got into an accident or hit a pedestrian, they’d be in deeper trouble than just having to pay the fine. I would think they’d want to discipline their drivers who violate traffic laws to minimize the potential of any liability to the company.
Why can’t drivers slow down and stop at the yellow light?? Is it too difficult to do. If it is, you shouldn’t be driving. I see so many idiots, in such a rush that they actually run the red light after several seconds turning red. If HPD had an officer visible at every stop light, everyone would stop at the yellow
Prosecution does not need to know who is driving. If there is doubt make the law so that finally the car owner is liable to pay the fine
Which is the city which is us.
Cameras are the only way to catch light runners/no stop right hand turns/distracted driving. HPD is not doing anything about any of these problems. They’ll get you when you park wrong – but have no presence or command on the road (DO YOUR JOB). See somebody with a inspection out and burned out lights PULL’EM. Somebody crossing lanes/wild on H1 – PULL’EM. Aggressive drivers – PULL’EM. Silliness will stop once HPD starts really doing their job and holding idiots accountable. But they won’t and the cycle continues. And you & I put up with it, and try to stay out of their way.
Good idea, because, do you think cops’ wives ever get tickets?
The name of the relight company is Redflex Traffic Systems Inc.
They are known throughout the nation to bribe councilmen to install these relight cameras. Redflex gets 50% of the action.
Google them to see all the lawsuits.
If you pull up to a light to make a free right turn and don’t come to a complete stop you get a $110 ticket. It’s a money grab!!
“Redflex exec pleads guilty to helping orchestrate $2M bribery scheme. O’Malley has admitted that he greased his longtime friend, John Bills, former managing deputy commissioner of transportation, with hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, vacation trips and personal gifts.”
https://www.thenewspaper.com/news/50/5081.asp
Word is HART is behind this latest money grab as another way to raise money to support money pit rail and a state skim.
Yes, Kirky Boy & Ige, lap dogs to the special interest groups, are all for them.
I would rather they get the money from these violators rather than raising/adding new taxes which all of us would have to pay.
What’s your position on cutting government waste and patronage jobs? For or against?
What’s your position on paying over a million dollars in rent a year so HART “executives” can hang out in luxury office space wiht reserved indoor parking?
What’s your position on incentivizing city and state workers to drive into town every morning with below-market parking fees?
Would you like me to go on?
This is unnecessary. Yes, people roll thru the red lights and squeeze thru the big intersections. But, its not that bad.
The worst violation I’ve seen was six cars still turning left at an intersection when the light turned green for us. I guess they thought by driving really close to the car in front of them we would think they were all connected.
Thats a problem!
It’s not that bad until someone gets killed.
People who run red lights will continue to run red lights until caught. Usually when that happens, there’s no cop to be found. Even if there is a cop around, they are usually stuck in a place where they can go and chase after the perp, or they didn’t see it happen. This is a no brainer, especially at intersections known for having a lot of accidents.
http://www.wbrz.com/news/1-3-million-in-red-light-camera-fine-refunds-now-in-state-treasury/
Do your homework, SA. Nearly all the cities on the mainland who used these things have pulled them down. Turns out most of the fines go to the companies maintaining the cameras which give them the incentive to cheat. Also, so many people were contesting tickets it clogged up local courts.
I had a friend who got one in San Francisco. The city sent her a $500 ticket with a picture of her in her car in the center of the intersection. The signal light was visible in the picture and it was GREEN in her direction! She could not persuade authorities by phone to look at the picture and dismiss the case outright. She had to pay the fine in advance and make two 200 mile round trips to SF before the city would to drop the case. She got her money back about 6 months later.
Red light cameras might be tempting for cities to use because they might be seen as a cash cow but mostly they turn out to be a nightmare.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/02/13/judge-orders-ohio-village-to-pay-back-3-million-to-lead-footed-drivers.html
This makes sense at the busiest intersections with plenty of pedestrian traffic, like in Waikiki and near Ala Moana.
We’ll see how long this stays on the books once it starts to catch the ones that either wrote the law or voted for it.
OK clueless Hawaii. LOOK what is happening on the mainland with these cameras. Lawsuits and Problems. What a bunch of M O R O N S.
Hawaii Politicians, Always trying to re-invent the wheel. INSANE
The Morons are the lawmakers who could easily stipulate that the car owner is responsible iof the driver is not identified. Then no lawsuit could be successful.
Almost everywhere that traffic light cameras have been installed in other states they have been removed. Let’s not forget those van cams….
TheBus is the greatest offender of running red lights. As long as they are NOT exempt go for it!
Agree. See my post above.
This one will go over like pulling teeth.
“Running” a red light is virtually an everyday occurrence these days. Pedestrians who walk deliberately slow crossing the street while you wait for them in the intersection obeying the law of not turning until they exit the crosswalk and then they smile at you when the light turns red. Bike riders running red lights, cutting off vehicles and giving you the finger as you swerve to avoid hitting them. Seems like vehicles are being forced off the streets to make way for more bike lanes and bike riders who do not know basic rules of the road or just decide to ignore the laws. Attitudes towards vehicles on the street have turned so negative and aggressive.
How is the camera going to benefit the hawaii residents, going to add to the corruption.
Not sure how this will work. How many accidents have we had because of running the red light?
If you have a picture of someone/vehicle running the light, then the ticket goes with the vehicle or the person who owns it?
Will government vehicles also be ticketed? (C&C, state, federal, HPD)
Courts will issue tickets?
New position to be created for personnel to review videos?
Interpret red light violation. Half way through, all the way through, enter as light is yellow? Many questions and issues to be resolved.
Next bring back traffic cams? Speeding cams?
I suggest they spend the monies to upgrade the cam security system in Chinatown. Leaders there have been asking for security upgrades for a long time.
This red light camera proposal is just to wring more money from you all. It is a huge revenue generator. I would recommend you all check the hawaii
legislative site and look at the Senate bill and the identical companion House bill and you will see that the fines provided in these bills are very high and
the provisions also provide for jail terms and people being sent to driver’s school which will have to be paid for by you in addition to increases in your
vehicle insurance rates. As the State will be collecting the fines, they will take their “skim” before giving the rest to the various Counties where the offense
occurred. The money will then be placed into the General Fund which means it will be a piggy bank which will without a doubt be raided by your politicians
to spend. Don’t forget also that the companies that receive the contracts to provide the cameras and to maintain them will also get their share of the
revenue. Sweet deal for these guys but not for you all.
Just another day in our banana republic, Uh I mean Paradise.
Not all streets and intersections are the same. If this goes through, they need to adjust the camera timers to fit the situation. Examples: intersections, left turn at intersections, crosswalks at intersections (where pedestrians might be yacking on cellphone), small intersections/big intersections, etc. Camera timer can’t be set at same time for every traffic light.
Almost got T-boned by someone this morning who ran a red light. Clearly red, not just a little bit.
Or what if the light is orange? Do you still get ticketed? LOL!
Those who think this will help “save lives” are nothing but boy and girl scouts believing anything people in high positions spew.