State shrugs off The state stands to lose money on every speeding citation issued by photo enforcement cameras for vehicles going less than 6 mph over the speed limit.
ticket math
The DOT says speeding,
not profit, is the issueTraffic photo enforcers cut teeth on
laser technology in HonoluluBy Nelson Daranciang
ndaranciang@starbulletin.com
But that does not mean the state will not issue tickets for those speeds, the Department of Transportation warns.
"That should not be a clue to anybody what the threshold is," said state Department of Transportation spokeswoman Marilyn Kali. "We have never said it was zero threshold. We have never said it was anything."
"We have always said that speeding is speeding, and if you exceed the posted speed limit, you are subject to citation," she said.
The fine for cars caught speeding by the cameras is $27 plus $5 for every mile per hour the car was traveling over the speed limit.
All of the money from the fines goes first to the Photo Enforcement Revolving Fund. From there the money is distributed according to the requirements of state law and the contract with the vendor operating the camera.
For every fine paid, $7 goes to the state Judiciary for the Driver Education fund; $20 goes to the state general fund for administrative costs for the program, including costs incurred by the Department of Transportation and the city; and $29.75 is paid to the vendor, Affiliated Computer Systems. That amounts to $56.75 per ticket.
The fine for driving 1 mph over the speed limit is $32. That is a difference of $24.75.
But Kali said the cost is not an issue.
Basically, she said, people who pay higher fines for going much faster than the speed limit will make up the difference for those whose tickets amount to less than $56.75.
"It will all come out at the end," she said.
In its bid proposal for the contract, which could be worth up to $5 million, ACS said it will set its cameras at whatever threshold the state sets. Kali would not say what that threshold is.
"It would be irresponsible for us to say it's OK to speed," she said.
State Department of Transportation Director Brian Minaai had earlier said the threshold would be set around the 10 percent margin of error. But earlier this week, Kali said the state can cite people for going 1 mph over the speed limit.
Kali noted that during the month of December, when the state was issuing warning citations, the average speed of those who got warnings was 11 miles over the speed limit. But she again emphasized that that is also not a clue to what the threshold is.
The fine for getting caught on camera running a red light is $77 per violation. Included in that is the $7 Driver Education assessment, $20 for administrative costs and $29.75 for ACS.
The DOT hopes to start the photo red light enforcement early next month.
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