Voters Vocal Over Traffic Camera Controversy

Voters Like Red Light Cameras

POSTED: 3:39 p.m. HST February 7, 2002
UPDATED: 4:03 p.m. HST February 7, 2002

HONOLULU -- The traffic cameras moved one step closer to extinction Thursday, and voters who took a recent poll indicated a mix of feelings over the controversy.

Drive time radio announces where the traffic vans are parked and seminars tell you how to beat the ticket they produce.

Everyone talks about them, but what do drivers really think?

The KITV 4 News/Honolulu Star Bulletin poll shows 43 percent of the people surveyed believe traffic cameras are a terrible idea.

(Click here for complete poll results.)

However, 24 percent said the cameras are a terrific idea, and 27 percent are somewhere in the middle.

Of those who think it's a terrible idea, 25 percent said it's an invasion of privacy, 20 percent are unhappy that a private company gets money for each ticket, and 14 percent said the vans are a safety hazard.

In an interesting twist, the people we surveyed had a very different opinion of red light cameras. Those cameras are meant to catch drivers running red lights at intersections. A total of 69 percent said those cameras are a great idea, 11 percent said it's a terrible idea.