Speeding cops,
bus drivers caught
with new cameras

Agencies' plans to cite individual
workers could create concerns for unions

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By Nelson Daranciang
ndaranciang@starbulletin.com

State and city agencies, including the Honolulu Police Department, are grappling with what to do when their employees are caught speeding by the state's new traffic cameras while driving government vehicles.

Since the Photo Enforcement Program began on Dec. 3, warning citations have been issued for a HPD squad car, a city bus staff car and at least nine state vehicles. Warning citations have also been issued to a number of University of Hawaii vehicles, said Marilyn Kali, state Department of Transportation spokeswoman.

Through Tuesday, 3,590 warning citations have gone out to the registered owners of vehicles caught speeding on camera. On Jan. 2 the vendor operating the Photo Enforcement Program for the state will begin issuing actual citations, Kali said.

Under the program, the registered owners of the vehicles are responsible for the citations. According to state law, the owner can be freed from responsibility for the ticket if someone else was driving the vehicle and if the owner submits a declaration identifying the driver by name, address and driver's license number. The declaration requires the signatures of both the owner and the driver, Kali said.

Government agencies that operate fleets of vehicles want to hold the employees who were driving responsible for the tickets. But how the agencies will enforce that and how employee unions will respond is still up in the air.

"We are developing procedures internally for city vehicles on how these (tickets) will be adjudicated," said Maj. Robert Prasser of HPD's traffic division.

If a police vehicle is cited, the department will investigate to see if the officer was on duty and whether the officer was answering a call, Prasser said.

If the officer is at fault, he or she will be informed of the department's finding and given a chance to respond.

From there, Prasser said, HPD hopes to turn the matter over to the courts.

"That's going to be a big concern for us," said Alex Garcia, Oahu chairman for the State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers union. "We haven't taken a position yet, but we'll be discussing it."

An HPD spokeswoman said she did not know of any action taken by the department against the officer driving the speeding police car that received the warning citation.

Of the warnings issued for state vehicles, six went to the DOT Highways Division, Kali said. The other three went to the Department of Accounting & General Services Automotive Division, which operates a fleet of vehicles for state departments, division Administrator Harold Sonomura said.

"Our position right now is, whoever was driving the vehicle at the time is responsible for the citation," he said.

The people who were driving the speeding vehicles were informed they were caught on camera and warned that the next time, they will have to pay the ticket.

TheBus operator Oahu Transit Services also wants to hold speeding drivers responsible for citations issued to the company.

OTS Senior Vice President Roger Morton said he put up a notice with a copy of the photo citation stating citations are the drivers' responsibility. "Our intention is that the driver pay for that," Morton said.

But he says the union representing the drivers will probably help shape the final policy. A union spokesman could not be reached for comment.

The University of Hawaii is also looking at how it should handle the citations and will issue a memo from UH attorney Ruth Tsujimura next week, said Jim Manke, university spokesman.

Sonomura said he has had no problem in the past getting people who were driving vehicles that received parking tickets to pay the fine.

"If people refuse to pay their ticket, I really don't know what we're going to do yet," he said.