STAND. COM. REP. NO. 884

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 1999

                                   RE:  S.B. No. 709
                                        S.D. 1




Honorable Norman Mizuguchi
President of the Senate
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 1999
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred S.B. No.
709, S.D. 1, entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to authorize additional
experimentation in the use of new traffic enforcement
technologies.

     Specifically, this bill allows the use of other photo
technology systems to enforce the unlawful crossing of
longitudinal traffic lane markings, which use would be in
conjunction with the photo red light and photo speed imaging
detector systems of the renamed traffic enforcement demonstration
project.

     Current law requires police officers to physically pull over
vehicles and hand traffic citations to violators unlawfully
crossing longitudinal traffic lane markings.  Police officers
often cannot enforce these violations because road configurations
prevent the officer and motorist from stopping safely on the side
of the road.  In addition, stopping a motorist on the freeway is
dangerous and causes traffic slowdowns because of rubbernecking
and safety concerns.


 
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                                   STAND. COM. REP. NO. 884
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     A photo technology system would produce a photo identifying
a violator and the violator's vehicle unlawfully crossing
longitudinal traffic lane markings and also enable a citation and
summons to be mailed to that violator.

     Your Committee finds that permitting the use of photo
technologies in enforcing the violation of unlawfully crossing
longitudinal traffic lane markings allows for more effective,
efficient, and safer enforcement of the law.

     In addition, your Committee finds that concerns relating to
holding a registered owner responsible where the owner allegedly
was not the driver at the time of the alleged violation have been
addressed by allowing the registered owner to submit a sworn
affidavit identifying the operator of the vehicle at the time of
the violation.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your
Committee on Judiciary that is attached to this report, your
Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No.
709, S.D. 1, and recommends that it pass Third Reading.

                                   Respectfully submitted on
                                   behalf of the members of the
                                   Committee on Judiciary,



                                   ______________________________
                                   AVERY B. CHUMBLEY, Co-Chair



                                   ______________________________
                                   MATTHEW M. MATSUNAGA, Co-Chair

 
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