Attorney Florence Nakakuni, head of the Honolulu Prosecutor’s Misdemeanor Division joins producer/host Coralie Chun Matayoshi to discuss how the traffic camera program is working, penalties for running a red light and speeding, whether you can get two citations for the same incident, new enhanced penalties for repeat offenders of excessive speeding, and criminal penalties for hit and run. In addition, comprehensive new fireworks laws that add civil citations, increased penalties for repeat offenders and those who cause serious or substantial injury or death, criminal liability for property owners, managers and renters who allow others to store or set off illegal fireworks on their property, and criminal liability for parents and guardians of minors who knowingly allow them to possess, purchase or set off any kind of fireworks. For a complete explanation of the new fireworks laws, please go to:https://www.khon2.com/whats-the-law/new-fireworks-legislation-after-new-years-eve-disaster-2/
Florence Nakakuni is head of the Honolulu Prosecutor’s Misdemeanor division. She was the first woman in Hawaii to be appointed as U.S. Attorney, and we have two things in common – we both worked for the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington D.C. and served as per diem District Court judges together.
Q. The holiday season should be a time for family and celebration but unfortunately our traffic death toll is skyrocketing and who can forget the New Years fireworks explosion that killed 6 people last year? Fortunately, new laws and new ways to enforce risky behavior have been put in place to help avert tragedy. In our podcast, we’ll talk about red light and speed cameras as well as how the new fireworks citation law will work. Drivers speed and run red lights all the time, and police are rarely in the vicinity to catch them. Our red-light camera program has been up and running for a few years and cameras now catch speeding as well. How Is the program working?…