Wake-up call by work
crews not appreciated

Question: At 1:15 a.m. Sept. 16, our entire family was awakened by a state or city two-man crew installing a stop sign at the corner of Kahekili Highway and Ahaolelo Road. These two guys drove a white, pretty new and big truck with a cherry picker on the back. It took them about 20 minutes of banging on the metal post and sign. The sign had been missing for about four months. I can't figure why they chose to give us a new sign at 1:15 in the morning. Why do they do this work at night -- and why so loudly? It all seems to lack common sense.

Answer: It was a state Department of Transportation crew.

Spokesman Scott Ishikawa apologized for the disturbance.

He said the nightshift crew in question had a job assignment that was canceled and the sign repair was scheduled as backup work.

"We apologize for any inconvenience caused and we will speak to the crew about where they can and cannot work at night," he said.

Q: Is there a Web site to view the rules/regulations regarding car safety inspections? My plastic covering on my brake light is cracked (no pukas) on the side and could be covered by a business card and is where it cannot be seen from the rear, but the guys at the service inspection stations won't pass my car. It's an older car and it would cost $100-plus to replace the covering, even if I could find one.

A: You can check the state Department of Transportation's administrative rules regarding the periodic inspection of vehicles, Title 19, Subtitle 5, Chapter 133.2, on the DOT's Web site -- www.state.hi.us/dot/highways/adminrules/inspect.htm -- as well as the Revised Ordinances of Honolulu, Sections 15-19 and 15-20 on the city's Web site, www.co.honolulu.hi.us/refs/roh/15a10_20.htm.

Under 19-133.2-32, "Inspection of lamps and reflectors" of the Transportation Department rules, it says no inspection certificate shall be issued if: "Any required lamp or reflector is missing, damaged, not properly installed, not of an approved type or color, obscured in any manner, inoperable, or any lens are covered with materials that are non-transparent or which will obscure the function of the lens."

Under Section 15-19.13 of the Revised Ordinances dealing with "Signal lamps and signal devices," it says, in part: "A stop lamp shall be plainly visible and understandable from a distance of 100 feet to the rear, both during normal sunlight and at nighttime, and a signal lamp or lamps indicating an intention to turn shall be visible and understandable during daytime and nighttime from a distance of 100 feet both to the front and rear. When a vehicle is equipped with a stop lamp or other signal lamps, such lamp or lamps shall at all times be maintained in good working condition. No stop lamp or signal lamp shall project a glaring or dazzling light."

All of which boils down to inspectors being able to reject any defect, even a crack, according to an official with the city Motor Vehicle & Licensing Division.

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