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Kokua Line
Question: Many friends have complained to me about so many cars driving around without front license plates. I never noticed this until a recent visit to a shopping center parking lot, where I counted almost 10 cars without front plates -- those cars with custom paint jobs were the biggest offenders. Vehicles must have
plates on front, rearIsn't it illegal to drive without front license plates? If so, why aren't police enforcing the law? Could it be because recent news about installing traffic cameras to catch speeders and red-light runners has more people thinking that by removing their front plates the cameras would not be able to track them down?
I have also noticed numerous vehicles displaying their front plates inside their cars on the front-rear dashboards. Is this legal?
Answer: Although some states require only a rear license plate, Hawaii requires both front and rear plates.
As David Mau, the city's assistant motor vehicle and licensing administrator, points out: If both weren't required, "we wouldn't issue two plates."
Not only that, but they must be securely fastened "at a location provided by the manufacturer or, in the absence of such location upon the bumpers of the vehicle." (Hawaii Revised Statutes, Section 249-7).
In other words, placing it on the dashboard is not acceptable.
And despite what you think, police do cite motorists with missing plates.
In 1999, 1,643 citations were issued, said Sgt. Clyde Yamashiro, of the Honolulu Police Department's Traffic Division. Between January and July this year, 925 citations were issued.
Exceptions are given to out-of-state plates on vehicles that have come from states that don't require front plates, Yamashiro said. In those cases, a grace period is allowed, he said.
Meanwhile, the state's move to install traffic cameras at key intersections is still in the works. The target date for Honolulu is now at the end of this year or early next year, Yamashiro said.
Taking off the front plate won't necessarily help violators escape the long lens of the law because rear-view photographs also will be taken, he said.
"It depends on how the system is set up," Yamashiro said. The state Department of Transportation is the lead agency for negotiating with the vendor who will provide the cameras. The vendor then will work with each county in setting up the cameras, Yamashiro said.
About 25 intersections on Oahu are expected to have the cameras, primarily those that have proven to be dangerous because of red-light violations, for example.
Lots of aloha
On Wednesday, we printed a request by a woman for a monthly ride to a North Shore nursing home to visit her husband. We immediately received nearly two dozen calls from readers, a couple directing us to the Handi-Van and other agencies, but the majority just willing to help as individuals. They live in various parts of the island, including Manoa, Alewa Heights, Hawaii Kai, Pearl City and Kaneohe.We've passed on the names and numbers to the 80-year-old woman, who was overjoyed at the response. To those who offered help: mahalo for caring.
Mahalo
To the person who turned in my package that I had left in the bottom of the shopping cart. It's nice to know there are honest people out there who didn't just take the package, but turned it in to customer service at Longs Kahala. -- No name
Need help with problems? Call Kokua Line at 525-8686,
fax 525-6711, or write to P.O. Box 3080, Honolulu 96802.
Email to kokualine@starbulletin.com