The Hawaii Department of Transportation (HDOT) recently shared plans to expand its Red Light Safety Camera Pilot Program following a decline in red light runners since the camera's installation a year ago.
The program is meant to catch and deter red light runners. Since citations started rolling out Nov. 20, 2022, HDOT Director Ed Sniffen said in a statement that it’s working.
“The Red Light Safety Camera Pilot Program is definitely looks like something that we’d love to extend. Since the last six months, we’ve seen a 20% to 40% reduction in citations issued in those areas.”
In addition to deterring red light runners, the cameras also seem to be helping prevent crashes, according to Sniffen.
The intersection of Vineyard Blvd and Palama Street was the first to go live and issue citations for the pilot program. And after almost a year, more than 1,150 people have been tagged for running the red at this light alone.
There are 10 locations in Honolulu involved in the program, all of which were chosen due to high incidents of crashes and running red lights.
According to HDOT, over 13,180 citations have been issued and 699 of them were contested. Of those, 204 were dismissed in court.
“They were dismissed because the person who was issued the citation, no longer owns the vehicle. That person had transferred title and had had documentation to show that. So the citation could not be issued to them,” Sniffen said. “And we found two so far, where the judges had indicated the person was not the driver of the vehicle, and the case was dismissed.”
Despite some wrinkles, Sniffen hopes to expand the program.
“We’re seeing definite safety improvements based on this system. And we’d love to go statewide with it.”
He said they’ll introduce a report to the legislature next year.
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Source: KHON 2 News
