|
Emotional testimony ended yesterday with senators leaning toward an outright ban of the traffic-camera program rather than a moratorium. Senate likely to dismantle
traffic-camera programBy Crystal Kua
ckua@starbulletin.com"I personally feel (the law) should be repealed," said Senate Vice President Colleen Hanabusa, who along with a majority of senators are poised to vote to end the program.
"I don't believe the senators want to see a moratorium as much as they want a definitive resolution."
Hanabusa's comments came after three Senate committees heard testimony from those who love and hate the traffic cameras.
The committees will vote tomorrow on the repeal bill and a resolution that could include language to suspend the program.
At yesterday's hearing, Senate Transportation Chairman Cal Kawamoto proposed a moratorium on citing people who have been photographed speeding on state highways on Oahu.
Kawamoto (D, Waipahu) reaffirmed his support for the photo-enforcement program, which he says is doing the job of slowing down drivers.
But he said that a moratorium should be put in place in order to let the courts sort out the legal questions before the program proceeds.
Kawamoto said he believes the bugs can be worked out.
"Give the program a chance and that's all we're asking for," Kawamoto said. "To repeal the whole thing that would mean, I think, a disaster."
The company operating the cameras is also willing to make changes in order to keep the project alive.
Maury Hannigan, vice president of public safety solutions with ACS State and Local Solutions, told the senators that the company is willing to work with the state to modify the program. That could include negotiating a flat fee with the state for running the program.
The company's contract with the state calls for ACS to receive a portion of each fine collected.
"The fee-per-citation diminishes the program," Hannigan said. "It distracts from it."
Hannigan said he didn't know how much it would cost the state to convert to a flat fee but it would probably cost more than the current per-ticket arrangement.
State Public Defender Jack Tonaki testified that delegating law enforcement duties to a private company sets up a dangerous precedent.
"Private companies are profit driven and not held to the same standard of conduct as law enforcement personnel," Tonaki said. "Delegation of police powers is especially dangerous when it is done on a per-violation basis as is the case with the photo technology camera."
Tonaki also said that his office is against the camera vans and the yet-to-be-implemented red light cameras at intersections because both programs cite the registered owner who may not be the driver of the car.
But Wesley Chun of Nuuanu choked up with emotion as he held up a photograph of his children and testified about how speed killed his neighbors along the section of Pali Highway.
"We're among 10,000 residents in the valley who have to use the Pali Highway every day to leave and access our properties," Chun said. "Before you think about canceling this traffic program, don't only think about protecting the rights of drivers who break the law. You have to think about our families and our safety."
Chun is part of a citizens group trying to slow down drivers.
"Since the state (Department of Transportation) began the photo speed enforcement program, I have noticed significant reduction in the speed of vehicles traveling along the Pali Highway in Nuuanu," he said.
Hanabusa (D, Waianae) said that placing a moratorium on the three-year demonstration camera project until the initial court cases were are completed wouldn't work because it could take years before they are adjudicated.
"The contract is going to be pau by then," she said. "If you're going to have a moratorium until the end of the period of time that you're going to have this experimental program, you might as well just repeal it."
Like Hanabusa, others who testified yesterday also said that they believe the law is flawed.
"We've traded our freedoms for safety," said Joseph Bussen of Kailua, who threw down stacks of newspaper clippings about the cameras. "This program is illegal and you know it."
The Hawaii Automobile Dealers Association also spoke out in favor of the repeal because they said the flaws in the law are causing an administrative headache for them. They are getting tickets for trade-ins they formerly owned that have already been sold to new owners.