Cameras are now watching O'ahu highways for speeders

*	What you need to know about monitor cameras

By Brandon Masuoka
Advertiser Staff Writer

A camera system designed to catch speeders was unveiled yesterday on the Pali and Likelike highways, and the state expects to learn as early as today how many drivers were nabbed on film.

Luis Nieves, a certified camera operator with Affiliated Computer Services, tested out Poltech's LaseCam NT from the back of a van last week. The camera system went into operation on the Pali and Likelike highways yesterday. Richard Ambo* The Honolulu Advertiser

Unmarked vans carrying the camera system yesterday were at Pali Highway near Homelani Place from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., and Likelike Highway near the Burmeister Overpass from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., said Scott Haneberg of the Department of Transportation's photo traffic enforcement program.

The number of speeders caught on camera won't be known until the photos are downloaded and inspected for license plate numbers today, Haneberg said.

The $5 million, three-year pilot photo traffic enforcement program will be run by a private company that will get a portion of the fines collected from drivers who speed and run red lights.

Department of Transportation spokeswoman Marilyn Kali earlier said the goal of the program isn't to issue more citations, but to cut down on violators and save lives.

The camera system designed to catch drivers who run red lights will be hook-

ed up in several days, Haneberg said. The red-light system was supposed to be turned on at the intersection of Vineyard Boulevard and Punchbowl Street yesterday, officials had said.

Within a few months, cameras could be operational at 15 intersections and on 12 vans. The program will be expanded to up to 30 intersections and the Neighbor Islands sometime next year.

There will be a two-week "warning period" before offenders are cited, Haneberg said. Officials plan to notify drivers who were caught speeding or running red lights during the warning period, Haneberg said.