THE LIBERTARIAN PARTY OF HAWAII

625 Keawe St, Honolulu, HI 96813 (808) 537-3078

TESTIMONY

COMMITTEE ON FINANCE

Dear Committee Members:

We support the original intent of  HB2167.

We support amending HB2167 by removing HD1

Statistics show that the number of highway accidents has actually tripled since the cameras were installed compared to a year ago.

Due to the extreme public hostility that now exists, it is incumbent on elected officials to act quickly to terminate this program. In a democracy the will of the Great People of Hawaii shall prevail. The people have spoken loudly and clearly, they want the traffic enforcement demonstration project terminated!

Even with the proposed changes, victims of citations are still presumed guilty and must expend their time and scarce resources to prove their innocence.  This is not the American way. Furthermore, most people have to take time off work to contest these draconian robot issued citations. 

Photographing the driver's face is a further invasion of privacy. The drivers face cannot be photographed at night without blinding the driver and causing further traffic accidents. 

Photographs of the face can be easily circumvented anyway, Wigs, beards, moustaches, Halloween masks, hats, helmets, tinted windows, big sunglasses, goggles, ski masks, and reflector strips just below the windshield. Just talk to police in Australia, they will tell you all about it. Can you imagine, the public protesting the cameras by wearing hockey masks while driving. Won't that be great for tourism!

DOT is way behind in updating it's registration database. As a result, there have been cases of tickets being issued to former owners of vehicles who sold their car months ago and did all the proper paper work notifying DOT of the new owners details.   Here we have completely innocent individuals hassled by getting tickets and having to waste their valuable time proving their innocence. Whatever happened to "presumed innocent till proven guilty"?

Ambiguities also occur in cases where the car is jointly owned, or registered to a company. To make matters worse, if the spouse or child of the registered owner was driving the car. The owner is expected to rat on his own family. In a murder case the courts can't make you do that. But apparently the big heads at DOT have deluded themselves into thinking they can legally make you betray your loved ones. 

Due process of law exists to insure that the personal freedom of any person accused on a complaint not be infringed upon unless there is probable cause for a neutral third party to believe that such an accused person has probably committed a crime. Obviously, ACS does not qualify as a neutral third party.

The Libertarian Party of Hawai'i, has been vocal in its opposition to traffic cameras since the idea was first raised here in 1997.

The basic underpinning of our speeding law is that you're allowed to drive safely and prudently, what ever the speed.

Speed does not kill. Loss of control of your car is what causes accidents, and consequentially deaths. 

"You've got no idea how far down the road you've gone and how much you're on the wrong track," said Nito Quitevis, a former commercial driver, traffic investigator and highway safety instructor in Duluth, Minn.

"Speed doesn't kill," he said. "Distractions do. You've created a situation that's absolutely intolerable. Drivers aren't paying attention to the road; instead they are looking for the cameras. You've taken the most courteous drivers in the country and suddenly elevated road rage to Mainland levels."

The safest speed is that of prevailing traffic, even if, that speed is above the current speed limit. You can change the speed limits to that standard and still be very safe. Indy 500 racers travel safely around a track at over 200 mph with just a few feet or less between cars. 

Traffic studies indicate that the variance in speed is a much greater hazard than speed itself.

In summary, Statistics show that the number of highway accidents has actually tripled since the cameras were installed compared to a year ago. In the name of Safety please terminate with extreme prejudice, the dangerous and draconian traffic enforcement demonstration project.

Thank You

John Orendt        

More detailed SCAM CAM NOTES presented to Kalihi Valley No. 16 at 7:00 PM 13 Feb 2002