New traffic cameras raise
sales of license plate covers

Retailers also report a boom in
the sale of laser jammers

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By Jaymes Song
Associated Press

With the state's new traffic camera system up and running, nabbing hundreds of speeders a day, Oahu residents are snatching up devices they hope will foil the system.

Retailers have reported strong demand for products such as special license plate covers and laser jammers since the state began using roaming vans equipped with laser-equipped cameras on Wednesday to clock and photograph speeding vehicles. License plate numbers are used to identify car owners, who are mailed tickets.

Bill Murakami, manager of Progressive Auto Sounds in Aiea, said sales of laser-defusing devices have been "ridiculous."

While the laser devices can cost more than $300, thousands of isle motorists have purchased Eliminator license plate covers.

Patrick Cudahy, owner of Redline Automotive in Canada, which manufactures the Eliminator, said sales in Hawaii are outstanding.

"Some states, they just say, 'That's the way it is,' and accept it," he said in a phone interview from Ottawa.

"That's not what's happening in Hawaii. They're fighting back the only way they can."

The Eliminator has a special lens that creates a mirrorlike reflection when the license plate is viewed from an angle.

Honolulu police Capt. Bryan Wauke of the Traffic Division said it is legal to have a license plate cover, but it is illegal to have one that makes the numbers less visible. Even a car that has a dirty license plate can be cited.

"The law says license plates shall be entirely unobscured," he said.

But, unlike the photo speeding tickets, the vehicle-equipment citation is not considered a moving violation and does not go on driving records.

John Pinero, owner of Performance Auto Care Center in Waipio, said he is not convinced the covers are illegal.

Pinero, who is also a police lieutenant, said he sells about 30 to 50 Eliminators a day for $35 each. Most customers are middle-age and have never had a speeding ticket, he said.

Andrew Higa, a commercial pilot, said he has been shopping around for covers and other devices because the state's cameras are unfair.

Higa, 37, said he has not had a speeding ticket in 10 years but sometimes drifts a few miles over the speed limit.

"The cameras are just a revenue-making scheme," he said.

State transportation officials said the cameras are strictly to promote public safety by deterring speeding.

But the cameras are expected to be a financial windfall for the state.

The state already collects millions of dollars every year, with Honolulu police issuing an average of 102 speeding tickets a day.

Wauke said he supports the cameras because speeding accounts for 60 percent of fatal crashes on Oahu.

"It's the only way of slowing people down," he said.

Pinero said the camera program is clearly a revenue generator and not designed to promote public safety.

"I'm not convinced driving 5 miles over the limit makes you a menace to traffic," he said.