Pursuant to Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS) Section 287-3, a certified traffic abstract shows "all alleged moving violations and any convictions resulting there from, arising from the operation of a motor vehicle [while under the influence of an intoxicant] and any administrative license revocation." Parking and equipment violations do not appear on the traffic abstract so it is sometimes called an "abbreviated" abstract. Traffic abstracts are usually used for insurance, employment, and other such purposes.
A traffic court report (sometimes called a "complete" abstract) is provided as a convenience to individuals who want a case record history that includes equipment and parking citations in addition to the information contained in the traffic abstract.
The traffic court report is provided only to the individual in person at District Court, after verification of identity with a picture ID. Traffic court reports may not be ordered by mail. Traffic abstracts are available at District Courts on all islands if you would like to obtain a copy of yours to see what is currently listed on it.
[Let CarInsurance.com help you find affordable auto insurance now.] So traffic or abbreviated abstracts contain information about your moving violation citations and convictions. Meanwhile, traffic court or complete reports include this data, along with information concerning parking citations and equipment violations. Insurance can view the abbreviated abstract and use the violations listed there to rate you on.
The Traffic Violations Bureau of Hawaii is who you contact for information on driving records (abstracts). They advised us that civil moving violations remain on your record for three years, while other violations stay on the record for five years. A DUI conviction stays on a Hawaii traffic abstract for the longest period of time and is on there for 10 years. So if your speeding ticket was a civil violation it appears it would stay on your abstract for 3 years but if it was considered more, such as a traffic crime it likely would stay for 5 years.
HRS Section 287-3 requires that Traffic Violations Bureau abstracts contain "all alleged moving violations." In addition, for state sanctioning purposes, Hawaii courts must retain at least ten years of information about certain moving violations, such as the DUI as we mentioned. If you either want to order a copy of your abstract or just want to find out for certain how long your type of speeding ticket will remain on your record, contact the Traffic Violations Bureau directly at 808-538-5500.
The Hawaii Driver's Manual states that a person charged with a violation of the Hawaii Vehicle Law will be issued a written traffic citation in most cases. Two types of traffic citations are: the less serious "traffic infraction" and the serious "traffic crime."
The less serious traffic offenses will be subject to civil rather than criminal proceedings with such sanctions as fines and driver's license and vehicle registration stoppers. People receiving traffic infraction citations may pay, write a statement, or appear in person. However, a person receiving traffic crime citations may face the possibility of jail and, therefore, court appearances are required.
If you have a question about your traffic citation, whether it is for a traffic crime or traffic infraction, call the number listed on the citation or the District Court on the island: Kauai 246-3330, Maui 244-2800, Hawaii 961-7470, Oahu 538-5873.
You are likely aware that Hawaii does not have a points system. Even without HI using a point system, the effects of getting traffic tickets are still the same - you will pay fines, your driving record will show you are not the safest of drivers, and your license may be suspended if you are convicted of too many offenses
As for your insurance rates, typically an insurance company can rate for 3, 5 or even 7 years on a violation depending upon how long it remains on your driving record. So if your speeding ticket is off after 3 years than normally it could only be rated on for that 3 year period. If it remains on the abstract for 5 years than it would be up to the rating system of your insurance company to determine if it would be rated on for the full 5 years or less. If they only usually rate for 3 they would do so even though the offense stayed was on your abstract for 5 years.
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Speak to your insurance agent about how this speeding ticket is affecting your rates and how long it will continue to raise your rates (if it indeed has already). You may want to shop around for cheaper insurance or one that offers more discounts and thus at least helps reduce the affect of the speeding ticket on your Hawaii driving record. | 
