By Christine Donnelly

Copyright staradvertiser

Question: I want to express my concern to find out if they could do anything or have police make sure people with high horsepower cars don’t drag race or show off how fast their cars can go during the early morning or late in the night. I live in Wahiawa and it used to be so quiet but now people with HP cars seem to drag race during the night or make so much noise even on the neighborhood streets. They just like to make noise. Also people with SUVs, cars or trucks or whatever are always blasting their car stereo all the time when they drive in Wahiawa. It is so noisy and they no care and feel they can do anything. They should put some kind of noise detection around Kamehameha Highway or make some kind of law to stop this. We’ve got quite a lot of senior citizens, including myself, who are suffering.

Answer: The state Department of Transportation did start installing noise detection cameras on Oahu this week, as part of a pilot program that will collect data for two years, but none of them are scheduled to be installed in Wahiawa, according to details posted by the DOT at 808ne.ws/4prU1Uq.

Drag racing and other types of street racing are illegal, and the Honolulu Police Department does make arrests and issue citations. In late March its Night Enforcement Unit targeted a “night run” occurring in the Kapolei area, for example, that caught suspects driving at high speeds, including 106 miles per hour, 117 mph and 142 mph in a 60 mph zone and 152 mph in a 55 mph zone, according to the HPD website, 808ne.ws/3HZnUeg.

People who observe street racing or other reckless driving should call 911 to report it, providing as much detail as they can, such as the vehicle description and license plate and the location, according to HPD, which says dangerous drivers put themselves and the general public in jeopardy.

Getting back to the state’s effort to reduce excessive road noise, the DOT said in a news release Monday that the noise detection pilot program authorized by Act 63 (23) is beginning in Kaneohe and Waikiki, with the installation of noise detection cameras on the H-3 freeway at the Halekou Interchange (junction with Kamehameha Highway) and on Ala Moana Boulevard near Kalia Road, respectively. Cameras at another eight locations will be installed by January, it said.

“The purpose of the noise detection pilot is to gather data on the types and levels of noise generated by vehicles on O‘ahu roads. No tickets will be issued through this pilot. HDOT selected the locations for installation based on complaints recorded by HPD. An additional 12 locations have been identified for potential data gathering pending engineering assessment,” the news release said.

According to a map on the DOT website, the 10 locations where noise detection equipment is to be installed by January, are:

>> Ala Moana Boulevard near Kalia Road (installed this week).

>> Farrington Highway at Nanakuli Avenue.

>> H-3 Interchange at Halekou Interchange (installed this week).

>> North Beretania Street at River Street.

>> Fort Weaver Road at Papipi Road.

>> Ala Moana Boulevard at Piikoi Street.

>> Likelike Highway/ Kalihi Street at North School Street.

>> Kapiolani Boulevard at Hoawa Street.

>> Paiwa Street at Hiapo Street.

>> Lanikuhana Avenue at Meheula Parkway.

Once the sites are active, the HDOT will use the data collected to prepare monthly reports on the number of times vehicle noise exceeds 90 decibels at each location, and the type of noise detected, such as revving engines, loud mufflers, etc. Hawaii laws prohibit the modification of motor vehicle, motorcycle or moped mufflers or exhaust pipes to increase the volume of noise they emit.

Although offenders won’t be ticketed during the pilot program, the monthly reports will be used to help shape future legislation on vehicle noise, the news release said.

Another 12 locations on Oahu may get noise–detection cameras, but none of them are in Wahiawa either, according to the maps posted on the DOT website. See maps of the Top 10 sites and the 12 proposed additional locations at 808ne.ws/4pyjU5l.

Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 2-200, Honolulu, HI 96813; call 808-529-4773; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.