Hawaii drivers might get ticketed for running red lights under new legislative proposal

State lawmakers are again moving forward with a program to deploy cameras at traffic lights to photograph the license plates of motorists who run red lights so they can be ticketed.

Similar proposals that have come up in the past proved controversial.

Senate Bill 663 declares that motorists ignoring traffic laws have now become “intolerable,” and the measure would authorize each county to establish its own red-light camera enforcement program. Money from fines would be spent in the county where the fines were imposed, and to finance the photo enforcement project.

Senate Transportation Committee Chairwoman Lorraine Inouye, who introduced the bill, said that “with all of the casualties that have been happening in the state, particularly here on Oahu, it’s just about time.”

“It will just help us at least to save lives, and to educate people that it’s about time that they understand what the red lights are there for,” she said. “It’s just about time that we take action. Hopefully, my colleagues understand that here.”

Cameras are being used for traffic-light enforcement in 24 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands, but 10 states prohibit their use, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association.

Another 19 states, including Hawaii, have no law covering the use of red-light cameras. However, Hawaii has had a contentious history with photo enforcement of traffic laws.

The Legislature passed a law in 1998 authorizing photo enforcement systems to ticket speeding motorists, but the so-called “van cams” deployed by a private contractor on Oahu in 2002 caused an uproar. Lawmakers quickly repealed the law, and haven’t approved a new photo enforcement program since.

The new proposal, which was approved by the Senate Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday, would create a committee to study the red-light enforcement proposal and recommend changes to lawmakers next year. The counties would then be free to establish photo enforcement programs starting July 1, 2020.

The Legislature has considered similar bills in the past, including during the 2012 and 2013 sessions. In 2017 a bill to let counties to operate red-light photo enforcement systems was approved by both the House and the Senate, only to die in the final days of the session.

This year, House Transportation Committee Chairman Henry Aquino said, “I think it’s appropriate to have the discussion.” He said he will probably schedule a public hearing for the bill if it clears the Senate, which it appears likely.

“A lot of things have been happening, not just recently but last year as well, a pretty deadly year,” he said. “So, I think it’s worth taking a look at, absolutely.”

The state Department of Transportation supports the bill, arguing in written testimony that “these violations not only endanger the lives of motorists and pedestrians, they compound the hazardous conditions that already exists on the highways.”

From 2011 to 2016 there were 1,616 crashes at intersections that were caused by “red light and other traffic signal violations,” according to the department. “These crashes resulted in deaths, numerous injuries and property damage.”

Police issued 17,021 citations to motorists for running red lights from 2014 to 2018, but it is impossible for police to monitor every intersection, according to DOT. Red light cameras have proven to be effective in reducing the number of collisions in intersections with high volumes of crashes, according to the department.

The Honolulu Police Department, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Bikeshare Hawaii, the Hawaii Bicycling League and Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s administration also support the measure.

It was opposed by just a handful of individuals, including Natalie Iwasa, a community advocate who ran for a seat on the Honolulu City Council last year. She said in written testimony that red-light enforcement cameras treat motorists as if they are “guilty until they prove themselves innocent.” The program also may increase the number of rear-end collisions, she said.

Sen. Donna Mercado Kim voted in favor of SB 663 “with reservations.” Kim believes most people want red-light photo enforcement, but has concerns about how the law will be implemented.

“They kept saying it’s going to be only in the intersections that have a high accident rate, but there’s really nothing in the bill that talks about how they’re going to implement it, nothing that restricts them from putting it in every single intersection,” she said. “There’s just a whole lot of questions that are still up in the air.”