Question: Is it legal to make a left turn on red at the corner of Piikoi Street to Beretania Street? A driver in the back of me tooted because I waited for the light to turn green. I was in the far left lane.
Answer: Yes. Piikoi and Beretania are one-way streets. Under Hawaii state law it is legal to turn left on a red light from a one-way street to another one-way street on which traffic flows to the left, after stopping and yielding to pedestrians. Counties may outlaw such turns but must erect signs saying so.
Michelle Yu, a spokeswoman for the Honolulu Police Department, confirmed that “drivers may legally turn left on red from Piikoi Street onto Beretania Street, as there is no sign that prohibits this.”
HPD’s website summarizes the relevant law, HRS 291c-2(3)(c), which you can read at 808ne.ws/hrs291c:
”Unless there is a sign posted prohibiting it, the driver of a vehicle on a one-way street which intersects another one-way street on which traffic moves to the left, can turn left while the light is red. The driver must first come to a complete stop at the stop line prior to the intersection when the light is red. If there is no stop line, the driver must come to a complete stop prior to entering the intersection. Before turning left, the driver shall yield the right-of-way to pedestrians.”
The way the law is worded, the turn is allowed but not required.
Airline alcohol
While it’s true that U.S. airline passengers generally are allowed to pack limited types and quantities of alcohol in carry-on or checked luggage, it’s also true that they can’t drink what they brought during the flight.
Kokua Line heard from a flight attendant who wished we had emphasized that latter fact when we answered a question about the legality of packing a specific whiskey brand (808ne.ws/kline11). Here’s her comment:
“I think you missed a moment in your answer Monday regarding bringing Fireball on board airplanes. I am a flight attendant for a major U.S. carrier and it would be wise to remind the flying public — especially younger travelers — that consuming your own alcohol on board is a federal offense. Many people don’t read the fine print on anything — never mind on the safety card (it’s on the back) — but a reminder from you would go a long way!
“If you need the ‘why’ on this, it’s no different than being in a bar or nightclub and it’s not about us making money from alcohol sales. It’s about controlling the amount consumed and behavior problems that can ensue from overdrinking. Remember that altitude affects the way alcohol affects you! (One drink in the air is like two on the ground is our general approach.)”
So, air passengers, be forewarned. Just because the U.S. Transportation Security Administration allows alcohol through a security checkpoint doesn’t entitle you to consume it on the plane.
The federal offense to which the flight attendant referred is found in the Federal Register at 14 C.F.R. 121.575 (808ne.ws/cfr14), which states that “no person may drink any alcoholic beverage aboard an aircraft unless the certificate holder operating the aircraft has served that beverage to him.”
The same regulation prohibits the airline from serving alcohol to any passenger who appears to be intoxicated.
Mahalo
On a wet Saturday afternoon in Chinatown, a lovely young man with a bright green umbrella came to my rescue. I was standing in a parking lot trying to pay for parking. The machine would not accept my credit card, and he appeared with his umbrella to shield me from the rain while I waited. I send to him a heartfelt thanks from a little old lady. — I.G.W.
Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
