Kokua Line: Does HPD ticket for expired safety checks?

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Question: Are vehicle owners not being cited for expired safety check stickers anymore? In the past few days I have seen expired safety check stickers with these month/year expiration dates: 03/21, 01/23, 03/23, 08/23, 10/23 and 12/23. And whose job is it to cite these drivers? As a person who has always been careful about keeping her vehicle's safety check up to date, I would probably be the first one to be ticketed if I let mine lapse!

Answer: This violation is enforced on Oahu by the Honolulu Police Department, which continues to issue thousands of tickets a year for expired safety checks, as well as for delinquent vehicle tax (indicating lapsed or nonexistent registration). Kokua Line receives many complaints about expired tags of both types, calling for greater enforcement.

The city last week urged Oahu car and truck owners to renew on time, so we followed up with HPD on your questions and also to ask whether police are stepping up enforcement. Here's HPD spokesperson Michelle Yu's emailed response Monday:

"HPD police officers and parking enforcement officers may cite for Delinquent Vehicle Tax, HRS 249-0002, and Expired Safety Check, HRS 286-25, on state and city roadways. The fine is $70. HPD has issued 14,289 citations for expired vehicle tax and 14,889 citations for expired safety checks since Jan. 1. No special enforcement is planned."

A current safety check sticker should be on the vehicle's rear bumper, and a current registration sticker should be affixed to the rear license place. Each sticker notes a month and year of expiration. A sticker that says 05/24 (safety check) or May 2024 (registration) expires on the last day of this month.

Proof of current vehicle insurance, current safety inspection and current payment of vehicle-weight tax (registration) all are required to make or keep the car or truck street legal. The vehicle can't be registered without a current safety check, and it can't pass the safety check without current insurance.

On Friday, Honolulu's Department of Customer Services issued a news release urging the owners of 895,140 cars and trucks registered on Oahu to pay attention to when their tags expire.

"The reminder is in direct response to the 40,457 vehicles with expired registrations on Oahu, where 73 percent of those vehicles with expired tags have not been registered in at least five years," the news release said.

"To renew the registration of a vehicle that is more than a year overdue, taxes and fees for past years must be paid. Appeals of past taxes and fees must be done through the First Circuit District Court of Oahu," it said.

Vehicle owners receive renewal notices from the city's Motor Vehicle Registration Branch 45 days before their registration expires and have four ways to renew: at DMV Now self-service kiosks at some Safeway and Foodland stores, online via a link found at , in person at a satellite city hall or by mail, the news release said.

Along with the overdue vehicle-weight taxes, there's a $16 late fee for past-due registration of a passenger vehicle and a $40 late fee for a commercial vehicle.

For more information, see the CSD website.

Q: I am an adult getting my driver's license for the first time. Will I be able to pay cash?

A: Yes. Oahu's driver licensing centers accept payments "made by cash, check (drawn on U.S. funds), money order, traveler's or cashier's check (returned checks incur $25 service fee)" and certain credit/debit cards, according to the website for Honolulu's Department of Customer Services. As for the latter, "we accept Visa, MasterCard, or Discover credit cards or debit cards. A service fee of 2.35% will be added to the transaction amount," the website says.

Mahalo

Mahalo to the people of upper Kilauea Avenue who came to my aid Sunday after a hard fall. They jumped in to help me up, check my injuries and apply first aid. It's a neighborhood of true aloha. — Joyce S.

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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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