Happy Friday
According to the state, between 2015 and 2020, 1,879 crashes occurred from traffic signal violations. A third party study has suggested that automated traffic enforcement (such as traffic light cameras) can help reduce costs, lessen danger to officers and increase traffic law awareness among drivers. And so, following a pilot program started last year, the city flipped the switch this week on issuing tickets to drivers using red light cameras installed at certain intersections.
Where are the red light cameras that are now active and how many citations have they issued so far?
So glad you asked. Here is the current list:
▪ Vineyard Boulevard and Pālama Street Live for citations. 602 citations.
▪ Vineyard Boulevard and Liliha Street Live for citations. 243 citations (north-west approach) 581 citations (south-east approach).
▪ Vineyard Boulevard and Nu‘uanu Avenue. 131 citations.
▪ Pali Highway and Vineyard Boulevard, 7 citations (north-west approach), 70 citations (south-east approach).
▪ Pali Highway and School Street. 444 citations.
▪ Likelike Highway and School Street. 0 citations (north-east approach) 4 citations (south-west approach).
▪ King Street and Ward Avenue. No warnings or citations to date.
▪ Kapiʻolani Boulevard and Kamakeʻe Street. 85 warnings.
▪ Beretania Street and Pi‘ikoi Street. 112 warnings (west-bound approach), 220 warnings (north-bound approach).
▪ McCully Street and Algaroba.
Keep in mind, these numbers are increasing daily and are pretty low as the program only just started. First-time fines are up to $200 and subsequent violations cost more.
Will there be traffic light scams?
Undoubtably, as they have been successful in the past.
They're pretty simple - here's how they work:
You may receive a phone call from a bad actor who identifies themself as a police officer, possibly even giving you a (phony) identification number. They tell you that you have an overdue red light camera fine. The only way to avoid a significant late fee, a court case, or even jail time is to pay the bill right then and there over the phone with a credit card. If you don't pay up, you're threatened with a warrant for your arrest.
Of course, there was no camera, no photograph, and no overdue bill. The scammer really has no ability to arrest you, fine you, or take you to court. No police department calls people to collect on overdue fines or tickets. They use the postal service or in more serious cases, a process server or law enforcement officer.
Use common sense. Never, ever provide personal or financial information over the phone, email, text, or mail when solicited by a stranger. Find out as much as you can about the caller. Get a contact number, name, account number, job title, and any other relevant information that will help you identify them later. Here's a tip - tell them a story about wanting the information in case you need to call back later, if you must. (Hint: they usually hang up when you start asking these types of questions)
If you believe you may have been duped by a traffic light scam, call your credit card company immediately and cancel your card. Look carefully at your statements to see if there are any fraudulent transactions and report them as soon as possible. Consider getting fraud alerts placed on your credit report by contacting your credit bureau - they're free and well worth your time.
Stay safe out there,
-A