Kokua Line: Can I add shaka to regular license plate?

May 23—1/1

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HONOLULU DEPARTMENT OF CUSTOMER SERVICES

The initial cost of issuance of the shaka plate is $30.50, of which $20 will go to the nonprofit group ID8. There will be a $25 annual renewal fee.

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Question: Regarding the shaka license plate decal, where would we put this? There's no room on a regular plate.

Q: Can I add the shaka to a disability license plate?

Q: Can motorcycles get the shaka license plate?

Q: If I buy the shaka license plate decal, will I have to pay for it every year, or just this one time?

Answer: Kokua Line received a flurry of questions about the new shaka license plate/decal that Oahu satellite city halls will begin selling today as an express line service, which means no appointment is required.

The shaka, Hawaii's universal symbol of goodwill, is meant in this instance to deter aggressive driving. It is the newest addition to Hawaii's Organization License Plates/Decal Program, which helps qualified nonprofit groups raise money for community health, education or general welfare programs, according to Honolulu's Department of Customer Services.

License plates in this program have two letters and three numbers, leaving room for a decal representing the organization or public good. Standard license plates have three letters and three numbers, with no room for a decal.

So, to answer the first question, the vehicle owner would not add the decal to their current regular plate, but would get a new organization license plate with the shaka symbol on it, Harold Nedd, a CSD spokesperson, said in an email Wednesday.

Likewise, a motorist can't add an organization's decal to a disability license plate, a veteran license plate, or a different kind of speciality license plate, he said. So the answer to the second question is no.

The answer to the third question also is no; the shaka plate is not available for motorcycles, he said.

As for the last question, there will be a $25 annual renewal fee, as there is for any special license plate that helps support nonprofit organizations, according to CSD. Twenty dollars of the renewal fee goes to the nonprofit. More than a dozen other groups have organization plates/decals, which you can read about at .

The initial cost of issuance of the shaka plate is $30.50, of which $20 will go to the nonprofit group ID8, "to fund its efforts to help curb road rage incidents on Oahu," according to a CSD news release. Applicants must bring their current vehicle registration and submit a completed Application/Replacement for Organization License Plates/Decal(s), which is available at satellite city halls or online at .

If the motorist is buying the shaka plate within their car's 45-day registration renewal period, they also will be charged the registration fee, Nedd said.

Based on the number of questions we've received, and promotion by ID8, this plate seems likely to be popular. ID8, formerly known as Bizgenics, produces Project Shaka programs such as the documentary, "Shaka, A Story of Aloha," according to its website, .

Q: Regarding Click it or Ticket, what are we supposed to do if we sometimes have four people in the back seat and only three seat belts? We can't afford two cars.

A: Hawaii Revised Statutes 291-11.6, which mandates the use of seat belts, addresses this situation. There's no violation if the number of passengers exceeds the number of seat belts originally installed in the car or the number available (whichever is greater), as long as every available seat belt is properly in use.

As Kokua Line reported May 15, the national "Click it or Ticket" campaign runs through June 2, with stepped-up enforcement of Hawaii's seat belt law.

Mahalo

We celebrated my wife's birthday at Fete restaurant Thursday night and upon leaving the restaurant and returning to our two-night staycation at the new AC Hotel, heavy rain started and we were trapped without an umbrella on Hotel Street. An extremely generous lady waiting at a bus stop insisted we take her large umbrella for the rest of the way to the hotel. We never got her name but thank her so much for assisting us. — Jerry M.

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Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 7-500, Honolulu, HI 96813; call 808-529-4773; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.

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