Traffic Tickets on Verge of Entering Computer Age : Law enforcement: The Highway Patrol will test a hand-held device that prints out violations. Motorists may eventually be able to pay fines without leaving their cars.

A hand-held computer that will allow police to print out instant traffic tickets and eventually let motorists pay fines on the spot with credit cards was unveiled by the California Highway Patrol on Monday.

The program--the first of its kind in the country--will be tested in a $60,000 pilot project in Ventura County. The CHP has equipped officers with 12 computers and portable printers to cut down on the time and paperwork required to process handwritten tickets.

If the program proves successful, the Highway Patrol plans to implement automated ticketing throughout California within three years, said Maury Hannigan, commissioner of the Highway Patrol.

The computers, about seven inches long, can provide information on a driver’s hair and eye color and vehicle type with the punching of a few keys, said officials demonstrating the equipment at the Conejo Commercial Vehicle Inspection Facility on the Ventura Freeway.

And when the Department of Motor Vehicles begins issuing licenses with magnetic strips in selected counties in December, law enforcement officials hope to use the computer to tap into the National Crime Information Center and obtain records of previous arrests and outstanding warrants.

Within five years, the computer could be used to accept credit cards from motorists who opt to post bail without leaving their cars, Lt. Claude LeMond said.

“The 21st Century is less than 10 years away and law enforcement needs to take advantage of technological advances if it is to keep pace with today’s world,” Hannigan said.

It now takes as much as a month for motorists to receive information about their fines or court appearances, said Sheila Gonzalez, executive officer of the Ventura County Superior and Municipal Courts. Ventura County alone processes 6,500 tickets, many of them difficult to read or containing errors, she said.

With the computers, violators will be able to receive information about their fine within 24 hours, she said.