Hawaii would oversee speed devices and set penalties for tampering

The transportation director would run a statewide program to approve and monitor active speed assistance devices and choose one vendor to install and maintain them. The program covers active speed assistance devices installed under the state's traffic laws. The program must set safety, accuracy, tampering protection, reliability, and data-handling standards. The vendor must be audited each year; the transportation department may require it to pay some or all audit costs. The director must adopt rules for the program. The program section takes effect when the act is approved; it was signed on July 15, 2026.

People who intentionally, knowingly or recklessly tamper with or bypass an installed device, causing it to become inaccurate or stop working, would commit a misdemeanor. This applies to a device installed on a motor vehicle under the state's traffic laws. The conduct must make the device inaccurate or inoperable. Any active speed assistance permits the person holds at sentencing must be suspended. The permits held at sentencing would be suspended then.

A person ordered by a court to use a speed assistance device would be barred from driving or controlling a vehicle without one and face mandatory penalties if convicted. The rule covers anyone whom a court has ordered to install a speed assistance device. For a first conviction, or one not preceded by another conviction under this section in the prior ten years, penalties include at least three days in jail, a $250 to $1,000 fine, and a one-year license suspension. A conviction within ten years of one prior conviction brings 30 days in jail, a $1,000 fine, and a two-year suspension; after two or more prior convictions, penalties include six months to one year in jail, a $2,000 fine, and a four-year suspension. There is no possibility of probation or a suspended sentence. Repeat-offense penalties depend on whether prior convictions occurred within the ten years before the new offense. License suspension starts when the person is released from jail.

The courts could issue device permits allowing some drivers to keep driving during a license suspension, and would issue one to qualifying excessive-speeding offenders. The permit options apply to people convicted of racing or excessive speeding who meet the stated requirements. For a racing offense, the court may issue a permit after the person proves they had a valid license at sentencing, installed the device in any vehicle they drive on public highways, and have required motor vehicle insurance or self-insurance. For excessive speeding, the court must issue a permit after proof of device installation and required insurance or self-insurance. The driver pays installation and maintenance costs, and the court may later revoke a permit. A permit allows driving on public highways during the license suspension period.