HONOLULU -- One of the most closely guarded secrets about the state traffic camera program is how fast drivers are allowed to travel before receiving a ticket.

KITV4 News reporter Daryl Huff was told by officials that the number is around 5 or 6 mph. The number is trivial, though; the important thing is that, for the first time, the state admitted driver may exceed the speed limit without being fined.

Operators of the traffic van cameras do not look for speeders. They point at every car they can, with their computers saving photos and issuing citations for every vehicle over the pre-set speed.

According to data from more than 1,200 citations, the ticket trigger was set at 9 mph over the speed limit when the program debuted Jan. 2. In an average day during the period, 80 tickets were issued.

After eight days, the trigger was dropped to 6 mph. An average day at that mark saw 248 tickets issued.

The state said that the threshold may have changed since then and will change again, because its a key part of an experimental program.

"The threshold is a significant variable in our data and we will be adjusting it and tweaking it as we go along," transportation director Brian Minaai said.

Minaai said that having one threshold for all speed limits makes for simpler data, and because this is a test program, the state will try several different combinations of thresholds at different speed zones, locations and times.

"Later, I hope to focus on the aggressive, excessive speeders, so obviously that tolerance may be higher," Minaai said.

According to data from before the cameras were in place, 99 percent of tickets written by officers were to people going at least 10 mph over the speed limit.