Hawaii Point Reduction: Managing a Record With No Points

First, where the points went

Before 1997, a Hawaii driver collected points per violation and lost the license on hitting a limit within a set period. HB2560, a House bill from 2008, records in its findings that the legislature scrapped that scheme in 1997 so traffic cases could be handled more efficiently.

HB2560 itself would have revoked the license of anyone with five or more moving infractions over five years. Nothing suggests the bill ever became law. If a guide quotes a fixed number of infractions that costs you your license, treat it with suspicion.

Your traffic abstract is the record to watch

HRS 287-3 makes the traffic violations bureaus of the District Courts produce a certified abstract on request. It lists every moving violation you were charged with, any conviction that followed, and any administrative revocation. Employers and insurers lean on it, and the public can buy it for $20.

Because charges show up before they are decided, a ticket you are contesting sits on the abstract until the case ends, and a dismissal is recorded as such. For a fuller picture there is the traffic court report, which adds parking and equipment matters. Only you can request it, only at a counter, and it costs a dollar for page one plus 50 cents per page after that.

How long a violation follows you

According to the Judiciary, state law requires courts to hold onto certain moving violation information for a decade or more so the state can impose sanctions. Commercial drivers face longer federal retention, as much as 55 years for some records.

Assume your insurer will see a conviction for years. The useful question to ask your insurer is how far back it looks when it sets your rate.

Worked example: a speeding conviction this year can still be on file when your teen joins your policy a decade from now. Ask the insurer which years it actually counts before assuming an old ticket no longer matters.

If you are worried about a suspension

With no points threshold, Hawaii works offense by offense, backed by judicial review. HRS 286-128 lets a district judge go over a repeat violator's history and order retraining, and failing to show up for it can mean up to a year without a license.

Some offenses come with a suspension built in. A first excessive speeding conviction means 30 days, and a third inside five years means a revocation lasting somewhere from 90 days to six months. An OVUII arrest triggers administrative revocation. And an unpaid traffic judgment can put a stopper on your license that keeps you from renewing it.

• First excessive speeding conviction (30+ over, or 80+ mph): license suspended 30 days
• Third excessive speeding conviction within five years: revoked for 90 days up to six months
• Provisional driver breaks license conditions: a three month suspension, and a six month revocation the next time
• Provisional driver convicted of a driving offense for the first time: suspended or revoked
• Skipping retraining a judge ordered: suspended for as long as one year

If the ticket came from another state or the military

Under HRS 286-128, convictions from other states and territories that share records with Hawaii can be entered on your Hawaii record just as if they happened on the islands. The same goes for traffic convictions from a court-martial or a U.S. commissioner, whether the offense was on a base or off it.

Licensed in another state? Hawaii may send your conviction back home, and your home state is free to run it through its own points rules. Ask that state's licensing agency what it does with out-of-state convictions.

Can any course help?

Nothing you take will erase a violation from a Hawaii abstract. Completing retraining a judge ordered keeps you out of further trouble for ignoring the order, but the conviction underneath it stays on file.

A voluntary defensive driving class might lower your premium, if your insurer offers that, and it might keep you from getting the next ticket. Ask the insurer first. No Hawaii statute that we could confirm forces a discount.