Kapiʻolani and Kamakeʻe site will be active for citations Saturday, April 22, 2023.
HONOLULU – The Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation (HDOT) reports on trends from the first nine active Red-Light Safety Camera (RLSC) intersections. The remaining RLSC intersection at S. King Street and Ward Avenue is expected to begin operations this week.
Weekly updates on the number of warnings and citations issued through the RLSCs are posted at https://hidot.hawaii.gov/highways/red-light-safety-program/
In the past week from Monday, April 10 through Monday, April 17, 60 warnings were issued to vehicles that ran through the red light at the corner of Kapiʻolani Boulevard and Kamakeʻe Street. That is the intersection where 16-year-old Sara Yara was hit and killed on February 15 while walking to school. That averages out to 8.5 infractions a day. During the baseline engineering report, the daily average was 53 at that intersection for straight-through red-light violations.
When red-light cameras are installed at an intersection, warnings are issued for 30 days to educate drivers before the site begins issuing citations. A vehicle is considered in violation of Hawai‘i Revised Statute 291C-32 if it does not stop at the stop line when faced with a traffic signal that is steady red.
According to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, half of the deaths in red-light running crashes are pedestrians, bicyclists, and occupants in other vehicles
who are hit by the red-light runners. In Hawaiʻi in 2021, there were 364 major traffic crashes because drivers disregarded a traffic control device.
The penalty for a red-light violation in Honolulu is currently $97, and HRS §291C-161 allows for a penalty of up to $200 for a first offense. Citations issued through RLSC are not treated as moving violations. Failure by the registered owner of the vehicle to address a citation will result in a default judgment and the citation will be sent to collections and a hold will be placed on vehicle registration.
A brochure explaining how the RLSCs work and the citation process is available at https://hidot.hawaii.gov/highways/files/2022/12/Final-RLSC-brochure.pdf
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