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Question: Regarding the red-light cameras, the state says the ticket is issued to the registered owner of the vehicle. What if two registered owners are listed on the title/registration? Is the ticket issued to the first owner listed? Or to both owners listed? My wife and I own both our cars jointly.
Answer: “The citation will go to the first listed registered owner,” said Shelly Kunishige, spokesperson for the state Department of Transportation. It is delivered by mail.
State law (see Hawaii Revised Statutes Chapter 291J) says a citation generated by the camera system will not appear on a person’s traffic abstract and may not be used for the purposes of issuing car insurance. However, the citation may appear in other traffic court records, which are separate from an abstract.
The Red-Light Safety Camera pilot program is generating tickets at two Honolulu intersections; signs alert drivers to the cameras’ presence. Eight more intersections are scheduled to be added.
Q: Are Honolulu police still enforcing red-light running at intersections that don’t have the cameras? If yes, do they write the ticket to the driver or to the vehicle’s registered owner?
A: Yes, officers continue to enforce traffic violations islandwide, citing the driver of the vehicle, said Sarah Yoro, a spokesperson for the Honolulu Police Department.
Q: Auwe. All I can say about these traffic cams is be careful about selling or donating a car. Make sure whoever gets it completes their end of the paperwork. I donated my car and ended up having to go to court because whoever got it racked up parking tickets in my name. They never completed the title transfer. Parking tickets go to the registered owner, based on the license plate, so I predict the same thing will happen with these red-light cams.
A: We called two Honolulu defense lawyers experienced in traffic cases and they agreed that the automated ticketing system for red-light violations might cause headaches for people in your situation, given that citations are mailed to the registered owner, not necessarily the driver of the car. They urged anyone selling or donating a car to ensure that the ownership change is recorded properly; some sellers complete their part of the paperwork only to learn that the buyer never completed theirs. Likewise, Honolulu’s municipal government recommends that vehicle sellers and buyers in personal transactions go together to a satellite city hall to transfer the title; they can handle the process in a single appointment made at AlohaQ.org.
If the transfer is not finalized, the seller would continue to appear as the registered owner in license- plate records and be mailed any ticket generated by the automated red-light cams. The seller likely could resolve the problem by appearing in court with proof that they had submitted their notice of transfer as required, even if the buyer had not finished their own paperwork, but that hassle can be avoided by ensuring the title is transferred properly in the first place.
Mahalo
On behalf of the staff of Mental Health Kokua and the Punawai Rest Stop, I wanted to express our gratitude and appreciation to the readers of the Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s Kokua Line for their generous donations to the Punawai Rest Stop. The response has been incredible, and the donations for our homeless clients will be put to good use! — Mahalo nui loa, Haj Toyama
(Editor’s note: The hygiene center at 431 Kuwili St. offers homeless people a place to use the bathroom, take a shower, do their laundry, pick up mail and connect with social services. It provides full services Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. (closed from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m.) and on weekends from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Clients are encouraged to call ahead at 808-599-9750 to schedule a time slot. We wrote about the Punawai Rest Stop in the Oct. 19 column, quoting Toyama, the manager, about ways the general public can help.)
Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 7-500, Honolulu, HI 96813; call 808-529-4773; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
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