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Handle locks not
allowed on gas pumps

Question: I have a confusing discovery that I have noticed at all the gas stations on Oahu -- or at least the ones that I have been to. The locking mechanism on the gas pump handle has been removed, so I have to hold the handle to fill up my vehicle. Is there a specific reason for this?

Answer: You're not supposed to be able to fill your tank unless you manually pump it yourself.

Officials with the Honolulu Fire Department and the state Department of Agriculture's Measurement Standards Branch were surprised by your question because the Uniform Fire Code does not allow such "latch opening mechanisms" at self-service stations for safety reasons.

Under the fire code, the mechanisms are required to be removed so that gasoline dispensing nozzles cannot be left open, explained William Pierpont, manager of the Measurement Standards Branch and acting administrator of the Quality Assurance Division.

Although the Measurement Standards Branch does monitor gas pumps, enforcement of the fire code comes at the county level.

Capt. Kenison Tejada, spokesman for the Honolulu Fire Department, said there could be a "stray one here and there that got through the cracks," but none of the self-service gasoline stations should have such locking mechanisms on their pumps.

"I've personally never seen one," he said.

If such a locking mechanism is found, the station would be given a notice of violation, Tejada said.

"The public would be doing us a favor ... if they call us and let us know" about such violations, he said.

Meanwhile, Pierpont said the Measurement Standards Branch has nothing to do with enforcing the Uniform Fire Code.

When it looks at a gasoline pump, "our biggest concern is whether it's appropriate for its intended use" and to make sure it's registered, been installed correctly and, most of all, that it's dispensing fuel accurately, he said.

"Whether there is a latch or whether it has been removed is not an attribute that we would check, because it doesn't affect the accuracy of the way in which the fuel is delivered," Pierpont said.

Q: Do you know whether the current Honolulu trespassing law is city, state or federal?

A: Criminal trespass is covered under state law, specifically Sections 708-813 to 708-815 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes.

The offense ranges from a violation to misdemeanor.

For example, "simple trespass," a violation, is if a person "knowingly enters or remains unlawfully in or upon premises." First-degree criminal trespass, a misdemeanor, is when someone knowingly enters and remains unlawfully in a dwelling or hotel/apartment building; or upon premises that are fenced or enclosed in a way to exclude intruders and while in possession of a firearm; or in any public or private school after reasonable warning is given or from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., when no warning is necessary.

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