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Kokua Line June Watanabe |
Officer says car was
partially parked illegallyQuestion: On Sunday, May 17, while attending church, my friend's car got towed. It was parked on the Pali Highway, town-bound, near Niolopa Street in Nuuanu. The signs say, "No parking 6:30-8:30 a.m. Sat., Sun., and Holidays excepted." So, clearly you can park there on Sunday morning. People park on the Kailua side every Sunday but rarely on the town-bound, although it's allowed. She was not between the sign and the corner that says "No Parking." Several people saw she was parked legally. I know she can contest the ticket, but how does she get her $150 back for the tow? Does the city reimburse her for this? She has to pay $20 for a court appearance when she didn't do anything wrong.
Answer: She should file a CC-16 claim form with the city corporation counsel, which is available at any satellite city hall or the Corporation Counsel's Office.
If she contests the ticket and the court finds in her favor, she can probably use that to bolster her claim for a reimbursement.
However, the court makes no judgment, and takes no position, on the reimbursement, emphasized Carol Nakagami, manager of the Traffic Violations Bureau. That's because a ticket can be dismissed for various reasons, which may or may not have anything to do with the merits of a case, she said.
In the meantime, we asked the Honolulu Police Department about the contention that your friend's car was wrongfully towed.
According to a police supervisor at HPD's Honolulu District, an officer responded to a complaint about a lone car parked along Pali Highway, creating a hazard. The problem was that the car, according to the officer, was only partially in the allowable parking area -- the rest of it was in a tow-away zone.
He made an attempt to locate the owner, going so far as to ask people at the adjacent Temple Emanu-El if anyone there owned the car. When no one responded, he waited for a while to see if the owner would show up, then called for a tow truck, according to the supervisor.
Q: I thought that if something extended three feet beyond a vehicle, the driver needed to put a red flag or something dangling from the wood or equipment as a warning. But I see so many trucks and vehicles that have nothing to indicate they're carrying equipment or wood longer than the vehicle which could cause a safety hazard. Has that law been changed?
A: The law has not been changed, but the requirement calls for a red flag or light for any load extending four feet beyond the body of a vehicle. Depending on what the load is and what kind of vehicle it is, e.g., a farm or construction vehicle, an escort vehicle also may be required.
Auwe
To the driver of a car that hit my brother's SUV earlier this month, causing it to flip over in the Ewa-bound lane of the H-1, right after the Waikele cutoff. It was really sad that the people in the car did not even stop to check if my brother and his girlfriend were OK or to help them out. I hope nothing like that ever happens to them. -- No Name
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