HONOLULU- West Oahu City Councilman Tom Berg believes the island’s nightmarish traffic congestion could be drastically improved if a computer system allowed police to more easily identify drivers who actually belong on the road.
A resolution introduced by Berg urges the state Legislature to pass a law that would require all auto insurance carriers to provide information for the creation of a system to “easily identify uninsured drivers and motor vehicles.”
Berg’s resolution was passed by the City Council’s Committee on Safety, Economic Development and Government Affairs Tuesday morning.
“When a police officer looks at their computer screen, they can merely punch in a license plate and they'll know without pulling that vehicle over that they're driving without insurance,” said Berg. “We already have the laws on the books but they're not satisfactory.”Currently, all drivers in Hawaii are required to carry a proof of insurance card in order to verify coverage. However a driver can simply cancel his or her policy once a card is obtained.According to the Insurance Research Council an estimated 11 percent of Hawaii motorists drive without insurance. With more than 720,000 cars registered on Oahu in 2010, removing only have of all uninsured vehicles could result in nearly 40,000 vehicles off Oahu’s roadways.“When UH is not in session traffic is much better,” said Berg. “Well the number of uninsured motorists is two (or) three times that level of amount, so you can imagine the relief we'll get.” NO HEARING?Although Berg’s resolution passed a committee vote, a key state lawmaker doesn’t believe the measure will receive much attention at the state Capitol.“Do it as a pilot and if it works then we'll take a look at it, but at this point I don't see it on the agenda for the state of Hawaii,” said Sen. Kalani English, chairman of the Transportation and International Affairs Committee.Berg’s idea of getting uninsured drivers off Hawaii roadways is not new. Similar bills were introduced in the state Legislature in 2001 and 2003 but failed to gain much traction. In 2003 it was estimated the creation of an electronic reporting system for insurance carriers would cost $1.85 per policy per year over a five year period.In Georgia, implementation of an electronic database in 2003 resulted in the number of uninsured drivers dropping from an estimated 22 percent to just 2 percent. Nevada, Utah and Colorado also reported decreases after implementing such computer systems. Berg says the City and County of Honolulu would bear all of the costs for creating an electronic reporting system for uninsured drivers. All that’s needed is enabling legislation from state lawmakers.“We’ll cover all the costs,” said Berg. “All we need is the authority to do it.”Register to log on and leave a commentHave a news tip? Contact Andrew Pereira at 368-7273. Follow Andrew on Twitter at Khon_Reporter or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/AndrewPereiraKhon2
