GEORGE F. LEE / STAR-BULLETIN
Honolulu Police Department Go-4 patrol vehicles were
sidelined because of safety issues on Friday afternoon.

HPD 3-wheelers
wait for parts

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By Leila Fujimori
Star-Bulletin

An accident earlier this month in which an officer driving a Go-4 lost control of the three-wheeled patrol vehicle after its torsion bar snapped led the police department to pull all 80 of the vehicles out of service Thursday night.

The officer suffered minor injuries.

"Safety of the officers is paramount," police Chief Lee Donohue said yesterday. "Once we determined it was the control arm, we rounded up all the vehicles," Donohue said. He explained that the control arm is part of the steering mechanism.

Police have negotiated with the Canadian manufacturer of the Go-4 to have the part retrofitted in all its vehicles by Gem of Hawaii, the local dealer.

The manufacturer, Westward Industries Ltd., will bear the $200-per-vehicle cost of the replacement, Donohue said. A few of the Go-4s not under warranty may not be covered, he said. The retrofitting should begin within the next two weeks.

During the past two years, one other accident involving HPD Go-4s had been attributed to the suspension and steering mechanism, Donohue said.

In that accident, a Go-4's steering went out and its front end dropped to the road, Donohue said. No one was injured.

Police at that time did not suspect a defect, thinking the problem was with the individual vehicle, according to Donohue.

Until the vehicles are retrofitted, officers will drive cars brought in from other districts, Donohue said.