As Hawaii’s speed cameras officially began issuing citations November 1, drivers are discovering a troubling pattern: tickets from the warning period are still arriving many months late. One longtime resident told us he received his April citation in October, a full six months after the alleged violation. His question: “How does getting a ticket six months later help anything?”
The pattern is consistent across Hawaii. Warning letters from April are still arriving in October, confusing drivers just as the real citations begin. Rental car companies will be adding processing fees that can reach $50 to $100, and the standard fine remains $250. No explanation from the Department of Transportation.
Why Hawaii’s delayed speeding tickets are causing frustration.
What the Hawaii Department of Transportation does say is that the program’s goal is safety, not revenue. But delayed notices undermine that claim. When drivers learn months later that they were cited, there’s no immediate deterrent or opportunity to adjust their behavior. For a system advertised as educational, the delay instead feels punitive and reminiscent of the van-cam program that public anger shut down two decades ago.
HDOT’s February 28, 2025, report claimed that red light cameras at 10 Honolulu intersections reduced major crashes by roughly 69% since their activation. Those gains are real, but the department has not publicly explained why some citations are taking months to be processed.
HDOT’s lack of transparency fuels frustration.
HDOT has not publicly addressed the delays. Whether they stem from staff shortages, data backlogs, or vendor issues, the lack of transparency is fueling frustration and reviving memories of Hawaii’s failed van-cam program from two decades ago.
Confusion over enforcement.
When Hawaii Speed Camera Fines Begin: What Drivers Need To Know first ran, many readers asked about the threshold. HDOT officials suggested a buffer of about five miles per hour over the limit before triggering a citation, though this isn’t written into law. Still, drivers remain uneasy. Some say that abrupt limit changes, especially along some streets, make it nearly impossible to stay exactly on the number.
Others want clarity on what counts as a red light infraction. Visitors have asked whether turning right on red after a rolling stop will result in a ticket. HDOT’s documentation shows that both speeding and red light violations are enforced at the same intersections. Still, red light citations apply only if the vehicle enters the intersection after the light turns red, not while it is still yellow.
Rental car companies and citations.
Since enforcement is tied to the license plate, citations are sent to the registered vehicle owner, usually the rental car agency. Most rental agreements allow companies to pay the ticket and charge the renter later, often adding a processing fee of $50 to $100. For visitors, that could mean receiving a notice or fee long after the trip ends.
Readers speak out.
Many drivers, both resident and visiting, see the rollout as unfair. Some call it a money grab. Others defend it as long overdue. One reader told us she has nearly been hit multiple times by drivers running red lights in town and welcomes the cameras at every intersection. Another said the limits are simply too low and that going five over on Beretania or Kapiolani shouldn’t cost $250.
A 67-year-old Oahu driver told us, “I drive to keep the flow. I don’t want people flipping the old man off. I adjust slower or faster to avoid hazardous conditions. Oh yeah, as a 67-year-old, I barely remember yesterday, let alone April.”
Across social media, the conversation continues to grow. Some drivers argue the state should first fix missing or obscured speed limit signs before issuing fines. Others note that Hawaii’s court system could face a backlog if thousands of drivers choose to contest late tickets.
Many readers feel this is more about squeezing wallets than preventing crashes. One commenter on a previous article wrote, “It’s all about getting more money and nothing more.”
Is Hawaii’s speed camera program about safety or revenue?
Supporters argue that automated enforcement frees HPD officers for higher-priority work and reduces injuries at high-risk crossings. Critics, however, say the system unfairly penalizes safe drivers who briefly exceed limits to merge or keep up with traffic flow. Both sides agree on two points: communication from DOT must be clearer, and this has become somewhat nerve-wracking for all drivers. Publishing an online dashboard with citation counts, crash data, and average review times would go a long way toward transparency.
Local perspective.
As Kauai residents who regularly drive in Honolulu, we know just how challenging it can be. Speed limits change quickly, merges come fast and with little notice, and it’s easy to find yourself in the wrong place at the wrong time. This new camera system concerns us too, because it adds pressure in spots that already demand extra attention.
What to do if you receive a notice.
Drivers who receive a citation can review the photo and time stamp online through the state’s traffic portal. If the violation seems incorrect, request a hearing immediately since deadlines apply. Rental car customers should contact the agency to verify proof of the alleged infraction before paying additional fees.
What happens next.
Hawaii DOT has not issued a statement addressing whether citation processing should expect to face similar delays, while that seems highly likely.
Lawmakers are considering broadening use of automated speed enforcement systems in Hawaii. While stopping short of saying cameras will be everywhere statewide, advocates say future legislative language will provide the framework for that possibility. But if delayed citations continue, legislators may face pressure to pause or audit the program, as was the case some twenty years ago.
Reader voices from our earlier story.
Readers from our prior coverage shared strong reactions, from frustration over delayed notices to anger about unclear signage and rental car billing. Visitors said surprise rental charges hit weeks after they returned home. Residents questioned inconsistent speed limits and camera placement, while others insisted the cameras are long overdue to curb reckless driving.
Have you received a citation weeks or months after the fact?
Visitors, did you get billed long after leaving the islands? Residents, have you received multiple citations at the same intersection? Share your experience, when it happened, how long it took to arrive, and whether the evidence matched what you remember. The more we know, the better we can help Hawaii’s drivers hold this system accountable.
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For every photo enforcement which is 10!
There should be 30 police officers we don’t need because, the photo enforcement camera works 24 hours and doing Police officers jobs…
Many of my friends and family believe that this camera tracking system is just a money grab!!! Me included! We should all vote on this matter through a fair and honest process that all can see that is unbiased!!! I believe that this camera business is not for our safety but for profit !!! There are better ways to make things safer without scamming the hard working people out of their hard earned moneys!!! Let’s have an open and honest unbiased vote by ” we the people”!!! Remember them!!!
I tried to book through Hawaiian Airlines last week. I saw the seats, but the catch was when I was ready to choose seats before paying, it said that I was not able to choose seats. But if I didn’t choose seats before paying, I was going to be assigned a seat. The system is definitely flawed. It was so bad that we went with Southwest Airlines. My daughter and I do have legitimate ADA requirements needing wheelchair assistance. So for us, going through Southwest Airlines and leaving from LAX was a better option. Note, we hate flying out of LAX and Hawaiian was always our Airlines of choice to go to Hawaii. We were really frustrated by this.
Cited for infraction in April recd in Oct the warning indicated going 40mph in a 25 mph however I believe in April the speed limit was 35 mph. The transportation dept will be having ll kind of issues, not notice envelope also indicated it’s coming from Arizona
The answer is obvious: They’re on Hawaiian time. No sense of duty or urgency, even when revenue is involved. It’s a mere symptom of a larger problem in government bureaucracy in the Islands.
It’s like using camera’s instead of hiring a cop to radar and pull over red light offenders 24/7. Saves Hawaii police force from hiring more traffic patrol and sends out tickets to who knows. The situation is prove the camera wrong or pay the citation. If you don’t want a citation then walk, ride ride share, or in fact take The Bus. Maybe the real question is Do You Feel Lucky? It might be that it might depend on If but only on When? It might come down to the fact that if you can’t afford the citation or increased insurance rates then don’t drive.
I lived in a lot of places and Hawai’i literally has the worst drivers ever. Not even close. Clueless rules of the road awareness, yellow or even red light still means green, stop signs are optional, people cut you off on a straight thru green when they’re turning right on red. Cars don’t stop with pedestrians in the crosswalk – yet everyone is pitching “aloha”. Well, you can’t have that if you can’t do the other things, aka Pono!
Also, because Hawai” lacks a points based system for driving, the accountability is a joke. Ask the family that lost loved ones on Big Island the other week.
“Slow down, this isn’t the mainland” should be a lot of locals looking in the mirror, because it’s locals I see that are the guilty party.
It’s not the ticket fine, it’s the insurance companies driving this. They are sponsoring this hijacking of Hawaii people.
They raise your insurance a $1000 a year for 3 years. They know you haven’t had a accident or claim in 20+ years or ever, but get to enrich themselves on the backs of regular folks just trying to get things done. Hawaii speed limits are artificially low. H-1 70 MPH signs are in storage somewhere after being taken down after the gas crunch crisis. The drivers causing the deaths are driving without insurance or licenses. If they just got the 100 worst drivers with 30+ moving violations, 5 DUI’s,bench warrents, etc off the road, then deaths would go down.
Don’t the state mandate proof of insurance for new Hawaii drivers and people who insure newly obtained vehicles. Hopefully it’s not like homeowner policies.. It isn’t like other states that also have had red light combination speeding camera’s for years. Somehow when it affects Hawaii’s residents and locals then the system all falls in the blame the big corporate pockets. Don’t Hawaii have a state board of insurance that regulates rates for those insured? The state imposes the fine not the insurance company. If you got a ticket in any other state the insurance company would raise your rates the same. It was your states decision to adopt the system not the insurance companies.
They initially said that these automated tickets won’t be moving violations that affect your insurance. Who knows tho…
Can you trust Hawaii? Everything they do the story changes 5 times. No consistency. No responsibility or liability. Enter at your own risk and IMO just a place to get victimized or scammed. Hawaii’s system engineered to grab more money and leave individuals feeling like fools. Nothing New. It was the tourist’s ultimate decision to book and enter this place of chance. Pay, Pay and pay more in every way Hawaii can think of. Yeah the beauty blankets the greed but sooner or later the risk outweighs the experience. How many people will pay thousands to fly back to fight the citation? Hawaii wins visitors loose. Maybe the state should list what constitues a redlight violation at car rental places but no just add speeding as a secondary measure.
Are they getting pictures of the driver as well as the license plate? If not, how can they prove it was you that broke the law?
They can’t. But that doesn’t matter. They say you’re still responsible. These traffic cameras are common at intersections on the mainland. They’re everywhere. It seems like many people don’t understand how they work. Tickets issued automatically by the camera system Do Not go on your record. They know they cannot do that because, as said, they really don’t know who was driving. These tickets serve two purposes:
1. To generate money
2. To get people to slow down and pay attention.
Just follow the rules of the road and you don’t have to worry
Every municipality in the country that installs these cameras always says it’s about safety, but that’s really a deception. It’s about the money! When there is pushback from the public, the municipalities always respond by saying “hey, we can’t take the cameras out, look at all the money we’ll be losing”. Look for them to increase the fines over time, not to improve safety more, but to just increase the revenue received.
This is nothing more than an inept money grab. Like everything else in Hawaii they screwed this up too. Why do people the keep putting the same people in office?
In the 18 years I have bee going there they have learned nothing.
You get what you vote for.