The state Department of Transportation will begin issuing warnings Monday for speeding violations detected by newly implemented safety camera systems. The cameras, installed at 10 urban Honolulu intersections where red-light cameras are already operational, will begin citing speeding motorists in September or October, according to DOT Director Ed Sniffen.
Cameras have been issuing citations for red-light violations since November 2022. DOT data indicates a 69% reduction in major crashes at intersections where the red-light cameras were activated. The new speed enforcement program is expected to further improve safety and encourage compliance with posted speed limits.
Over the past five years, nearly half of the 236 highway deaths in Hawaii were attributed to speeding, according to DOT data. In 2023 alone, speeding contributed to approximately 60% of fatal traffic crashes. The likelihood of surviving a pedestrian-vehicle collision is significantly affected by speed, with a 90% survival rate at 20 mph dropping to just 20% at 40 mph.
The traffic camera program originated from Senate Bill 2443, which became law during the last legislative session, authorizing camera systems to enforce speeding laws at intersections already equipped with red-light safety cameras.
Under the law, the program must first undergo an education period followed by a warning phase before citations are issued. The citation process has been established, but warnings will be sent to motorists for a minimum 30-day period, though Sniffen said he expects this period to extend to at least six months.
Since March 1, the cameras have been active in recording speed data without issuing warnings. The official warning phase begins Monday.
According to Sniffen, preliminary data indicated a high volume of potential violations. If warnings were issued for motorists exceeding the speed limit by 5 mph, approximately 80,000 warnings per week would have been sent. At 10 mph over, the number drops to 20,000, and at 15 mph over, to about 7,000.
“We’ve held off on sending out the warnings at this time until we solidify how we’re going to streamline the process to make sure we can get all the warnings out, make sure that they’re all reviewed and correct by (the Honolulu Police Department) and make sure we get it out to everybody who deserves the warnings,” Sniffen said.
Given the high volume of recorded violations, DOT anticipates the need for significant staffing and resources to process citations efficiently. Efforts are underway to automate citation processing to reduce the manual workload for the state Judiciary and law enforcement agencies.
While there is currently no estimated budget for additional staffing, Sniffen noted the red-light camera program in 2022 required the addition of two officers, a prosecutor and a budget increase of more than $400,000.
Once automation is in place, potential resource gaps will be assessed.
With thousands of weekly citations expected, DOT calculated resource demands to be 30 times higher than for red-light violations. To manage this, the department hopes to have state sheriffs and DOT employees assist with citation screening.
The department is actively monitoring the effect of the cameras by tracking daily counts of speed violations, similar to the red-light safety program.
“The great thing about the red-light safety cameras is from the time we did the baseline study to see how many offenders were running through the intersections to the end of the two years, there were reductions ranging between 40% and 67%,” Sniffen said. “Once we started the warning process for red lights, we saw a near 50% reduction in that 30-day period. We’re assuming that we’re going to have a similar type of reduction with this program.”
The program will initially be funded through existing DOT funds and revenue from citation fines.
“I would love for violations to go down. The whole goal was to make sure that we change the behavior versus collecting tickets. So if the revenues decline in the future, we would fund it through DOT funding,” Sniffen said.
Under the law, citations will be issued only for speeds exceeding the posted limit by more than 5 mph, though street officers can ticket drivers for any speeding offense.
Sniffen emphasized that enforcement discretion will be used to prioritize significant speed violations.
“When we start looking at the data, it’s those that are traveling 20 miles per hour over the speed limit that become significant safety issues in the system,” he said.
The highest recorded speeds were noted on Ward Avenue, where drivers in a 25-mph zone were clocked at 88 mph.
Sniffen said his team has weekly meetings with the Judiciary, which has expressed concerns about the volume of citations overwhelming the court system.
“They’re still concerned, definitely, because until they see their system automated and updated, and until they see what the numbers actually are going to be, they’re going to be concerned about these types of citations potentially overriding their courts,” Sniffen said.
In a statement to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, the Judiciary acknowledged the challenge, saying, “A dramatic increase in citations would present a serious challenge as court staff must manually enter information from citations issued by law enforcement agencies into the Judiciary’s Information Management System and the court must conduct hearings for citations that are contested.”
The Judiciary is considering additional staffing and technological solutions to address the anticipated increase in citations.
The current safety camera program differs significantly from the controversial “van cams” used in 2002, according to Sniffen. Those mobile photo radar units, which were placed in unmarked vans, faced intense public backlash and were repealed within months due to concerns over privacy, fairness and the perception of being a revenue-generating measure rather than a safety initiative.
“What we saw as unfair about van cams is they could pop up anywhere. And also the vendor at the time was being rewarded to issue citations, and from that regard, they were issuing citations for one mile per hour over the speed limit, which really had a significant impact on the courts,” Sniffen said.
By contrast, the new safety cameras are stationed at fixed, publicly disclosed locations, with clear signage.
“We have signs up and everything out there to ensure that everybody understands where they are. So you’re not going to get surprised by these cameras showing up anywhere else without us telling you,” Sniffen said. Furthermore, the vendor is not incentivized based on citation volume, only on equipment installation and maintenance.
Red-light camera citations may be contested under specific circumstances, such as yielding to an emergency vehicle, being part of a police-escorted funeral procession, the vehicle being reported stolen, not being the registered owner or following the direction of law enforcement.
“When it turns red, all of those things will be reasons that your citation can be dismissed,” Sniffen said. “But for speed, if you’re going over speed limit, you’re going over speed limit.”
When a violation occurs, the system captures still images and a 12-second video. The data is then transferred to a vendor’s processing center for preliminary screening before being reviewed by a local authority. Approved violations are mailed within 10 days, and registered vehicle owners can review their citation and contest it through an online portal.
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Speed safety camera locations
>> Vineyard Boulevard and Palama Street
>> Vineyard Boulevard and Liliha Street
>> Vineyard Boulevard and Nuuanu Avenue
>> Pali Highway and Vineyard Boulevard
>> Pali Highway and North School Street
>> Likelike Highway and North School Street
>> Ward Avenue and South King Street
>> Kapiolani Boulevard and Kamakee Street
>> South Beretania Street and Piikoi Street
>> McCully Street and Algaroba Street
