[§291D-1]  Purpose.  Act 222, Session
Laws of Hawaii 1978, began the process of decriminalizing certain traffic
offenses, not of a serious nature, to the status of violations.  In response to
a request by the legislature, the judiciary prepared a report in 1987 that
recommended, among other things, further decriminalization of traffic offenses,
elimination of most traffic arraignments, disposition of uncontested violations
by mail, and informal hearings where the violation or the proposed penalty is
questioned.  The legislature finds that further decriminalization of certain
traffic offenses and streamlining of the handling of those traffic cases will
achieve a more expeditious system for the judicial processing of traffic
infractions.  The system of processing traffic infractions established by this
chapter will:



(1)  Eliminate the long and tedious arraignment
proceeding for a majority of traffic matters;



(2)  Facilitate and encourage the resolution of many
traffic infractions through the payment of a monetary assessment;



(3)  Speed the disposition of contested cases through
a hearing, similar to small claims proceedings, in which the rules of evidence
will not apply and the court will consider as evidence the notice of traffic
infraction, applicable police reports, or other written statements by the
police officer who issued the notice, any other relevant written material, and
any evidence or statements by the person contesting the notice of traffic
infraction;



(4)  Dispense in most cases with the need for witnesses,
including law enforcement officers, to be present and for the participation of
the prosecuting attorney;



(5)  Allow judicial, prosecutorial, and law
enforcement resources to be used more efficiently and effectively; and



(6)  Save the taxpayers money and reduce their
frustration with the judicial system by simplifying the traffic court process.



The legislature further finds that this chapter will
not require expansion of the current traffic division of the district courts,
but will achieve greater efficiency through more effective use of existing
resources of the district courts. [L 1993, c 214, pt of §2]