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Kokua Line June Watanabe |
Drivers can get tickets
for watching DVDsQuestion: I've seen an increasing number of mostly younger drivers watching DVDs while driving. They place their portable units on their dashboards and actually watch them while driving. This can't be legal. Is there a fine? Do police pull these dangerous drivers over and ticket them? If we see this happening, should we call 911?
Answer: While there is a city ordinance prohibiting TV viewing by a driver, there is no specific law regulating use of a DVD player while operating a vehicle, said Sgt. Clyde Yamashiro, of the Honolulu Police Department's Traffic Division.
However, the driver could be cited for "inattention to driving," he said.
Under Chapter 291-12 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes, the maximum penalty is a $500 fine, 30 days in jail or both for driving "without due care or in a manner as to cause a collision with, or injury or damage to," any person, vehicle or other property.
Meanwhile, under the Revised Ordinances of Honolulu (Section 15-19.39), "No person shall drive a motor vehicle which is equipped with a television receiver screen, or other means of visually receiving a television broadcast, which is located in the motor vehicle at any point forward of the back of the driver's seat or which is visible to the driver while operating the motor vehicle."
The fine for this violation is $52.
If you see a driver watching TV or a DVD player, "the recommendation" is to call 911 with specific information (vehicle description and license number, description of driver, time, date, location, etc.).
Q: In January, portions of the H-1 freeway in the Pearl City area were closed at night for repairs. I read that the state Department of Transportation was going to use a new material to make repairs and that it was going to resurface all the lanes in the area of the repair instead of just filling in the holes. I've driven over those sections of the freeway, and I don't see any noticeable improvement. What gives?
A: The Transportation Department delayed fixing the potholes because it was waiting for a large order of a more durable asphalt mix called Wespro, made by Grace Pacific, according to transportation spokesman Scott Ishikawa.
This new asphalt mix was used along the Salt Lake-Aiea-Pearl City stretch of the H-1 during a three-week period of nighttime work in February, he said.
"While the mix is much more expensive ($600 a ton compared with $65 to $70 for hot mix asphalt), the patch material is much more durable than regular asphalt used for traditional repaving jobs," Ishikawa explained. "It can also be applied during wet weather and won't deteriorate, and can be stored in a proper container for months without hardening." By comparison, he said, hot mix asphalt must be used the same day or thrown away.
"So far, we haven't gotten any complaints since using the Wespro mix on the H-1, which means it appears to be holding, but we'll monitor the situation," he said last week.
The Department of Transportation also will be repaving portions of the H-1 near the Aiea-Pearl City area during an 18-month project to widen the Waimalu viaduct, beginning in May.
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