Stuck drivers using cellphones are given tickets

DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARADVERTISER.COM
The H-1 freeway was jammed with traffic Tuesday night after the ZipperLane could not be closed, eliminating two westbound lanes. This was the view from the Kaimakani Street overpass where Moanalua Freeway and H-1 merge in Aiea.

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Honolulu police issued 65 tickets to motorists for illegally using cellphones and other electronic devices Tuesday during the height of the traffic standstill touched off by ZipMobile troubles.

The tickets were handed out to motorists, including those stopped in traffic, during a planned "cellphone" enforcement action in Pearl City by the Honolulu Police Department’s Traffic Enforcement Division, HPD officials said Wednesday.

Traffic Division Capt. Darren Izumo said the tickets were issued in the vicinity of Waimano Home Road between 2 and 6 p.m. Izumo said that once officers were informed that the traffic situation had been worsened by the loss of westbound freeway lanes, officers stopped citing violators. "At the time, the traffic was normal for the area," Izumo said. The 65 citations issued were "not any more or less for that area at that time" when an enforcement action is taken, he said.

Assistant Police Chief Clayton Kau said the enforcement officers became aware of the islandwide traffic problem between 5 and 6 p.m.

At that point, officers worked on ensuring key intersections were clear of vehicles at traffic signal changes, Kau said. "The officers had to make a transition from the enforcement phase to monitoring and traffic control."

While no planned enforcement actions took place Wednesday, patrol officers were instructed to "use your discretion" and continue to cite traffic violators when necessary, he said.

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"We can’t just ignore any type of violations," Kau said.

Izumo blamed himself for not stopping Tuesday’s Pearl City enforcement action earlier. "We were concentrating on getting the westbound traffic flowing so I failed to cancel that operation," he said, adding that careful safety precautions had to be coordinated with state officials before the H-1 ZipperLane could operate with traffic moving in the direction opposite from the norm.

A total of about five tickets for electronic devices were issued elsewhere on Oahu on Tuesday, HPD officials said.