Kokua Line
Kokua Line
Cops regularly cite
drivers with blue lightsQuestion: I am seeing more and more non-law enforcement vehicles on the road with blue lights on or in them. According to the Hawaii Revised Statutes, it is illegal to have in the vehicle, or to affix to a non-law enforcement vehicle, any device or lens that produces a blue light. As with the recent incident on Lagoon Drive with state law enforcement officers, a vehicle was reported to have a blinking blue light on the windshield wiper. Is HPD going to start cracking down on the illegal blue lights?
Answer: Police regularly cite motorists for having illegal blue lights in their vehicles, according to Jose Gaytan, executive officer for the Honolulu Police Department's Traffic Division.
Hawaii Revised Statutes 291-31.5 authorizes only county police departments and state Department of Public Safety vehicles to have a blue light attached to a vehicle.
The concern is that someone may try to impersonate a law enforcement officer, although that does not appear to be the intent of most violators, Gaytan said.
Specifically, the law says "no person shall knowingly operate, affix or cause to be affixed, display, or possess any lamp, reflector, or illumination device which appears to be the color blue upon any motor vehicle, motorcycle, motor scooter, bicycle, or moped."
In April, the Hawaii County Police Department issued a news release reminding the public of the prohibition, noting that police officers on the Big Island had noticed an "increase in the number of vehicles displaying blue-colored headlamps, fog lamps, lights shining through the windshield or attached to the chassis of motor vehicles."
On Oahu, Gaytan said, most violators appear to be those who just want to accessorize, or "soup up," their vehicles, unaware of the law prohibiting their use.
Gaytan cited HPD statistics compiled between April and August of this year, showing 58 blue-light citations issued in April, 80 in May, 50 in June, 61 in July and 43 in August. The majority of violations involved headlights. "People go to the accessory stores and they get the wrong lens," Gaytan said.
(High-intensity headlights -- some of which may have a bluish tint -- installed at the factory by manufacturers are allowed, but if they're purchased as an accessory, they have to meet all the standards set by the U.S. Department of Transportation (Kokua Line, Dec. 2, 1999). Similarly, Gaytan said, only "illuminated controls" installed by the manufacturer would be allowed.)
The problem is that there is no law against dealers selling blue light accessories, much as there is no law against selling drug paraphernalia, Gaytan noted.
If you see an illegal blue light on a vehicle, especially if you believe someone may be trying to impersonate a police officer, call 911, giving the license plate number and location, Gaytan said. But if it appears to be just an illegal accessory, you can write a letter to HPD, giving the same information. Police can then write to the registered owner and inform them of the law.
A violator faces a possible maximum penalty of a $1,000 fine and/or one year in jail.
Honolulu Police Department
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