Kokua Line June Watanabe

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Mo-ped drivers face 2 tests to get license

Question: Regarding the mo-ped test: Is it a written test, or do you have to take a road test?

Answer: It's both.

But you can drive a mo-ped with any class of license: a Class 1 mo-ped license, Class 2 motor scootermotorcycle license, Class 3 passenger car license or Class 4 truck license.

Applicants under 18 years old are required to complete a driver-education course. The minimum age to obtain a permit is 15 1/2.

The written exam and skills test for a mo-ped license are the same as those administered to applicants for motor scootermotorcycle driver licenses, said Dennis Kamimura, administrator of the city's Motor Vehicle & Licensing Division.

The written test can be taken at any driver license substation. If you pass that test, you will be given instructions for taking the skills test, which is administered at the commercial driver license stadium site, Kamimura said.

No appointments are taken. Call 832-4117 for more information.

Q: Why is the contractor hired to do trimming maintenance cutting the oleander hedge along the H-1 freeway, eastbound, between Aiea Heights Drive and the Kaamilo Pedestrian Overpass, way below the height of the chain-link fence? The hedge served as a barrier and comfort from all the noise, pollution, etc. Now, we are exposed to all the elements. Added to this, there's no privacy from freeway traffic, and sleep is disrupted. Trimming was performed on Oct. 28, Jan. 23, May 17 and July 25. Why can't the contractor let the hedge grow to a certain height and trim as needed?

A: The state Department of Transportation says frequent trimming is needed.

"The private landscaping contractor usually cuts the oleander bushes and other plants short so that they eventually turn out bushier when they regrow," said DOT spokesman Scott Ishikawa. "If you just trim them sporadically, it looks really shabby after a while."

Another reason, he said, is that if the bushes get too overgrown, they start growing along the edge of the freeway overpass and walls, where they become difficult to reach.

Mahalo

To three strangers who helped me when I locked my keys in the car in the parking lot of Burger King on Beretania Street, near University Avenue, on Sept. 25. The car was not running but the lights were on. Two local guys pulled up in a work truck, and I appealed to them for assistance. They used a tool to slip through my (thank goodness) slightly open window and hit the electronic button to open the window. Unfortunately, the battery was then too weak to start the car. So the two men and a third good Samaritan with jumper cables worked together to give me a jump start. My 10-year-old son witnessed this outpouring of kindness from these three gentlemen, and I am certain it made a lasting impression. Mahalo to them from the bottom of my heart! Lucky we live Hawaii! -- L.S.