Another week, another reach into the reader mailbag. Lots of great questions coming in. If you have any burning questions about traffic and traffic law, send them my way.
Question: How will the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting here Nov. 7-13 affect traffic? Will we know the routes the dignitaries will be taking?
Answer: It’s a question I ask traffic officials all the time, and I always get the same answer: We don’t know, but we’re pretty sure where they’ll be going.
Because of the high profiles of the dignitaries flying in for the international forum, including President Barack Obama, the Secret Service is mum on what routes any dignitary would take to their hotel.
The best advice I can give is to think about what route you would normally take from the airport to Waikiki, and avoid that same route at all costs. There aren’t that many ways into Waikiki, so use your best judgment and stay off the roads.
Transit officials say they will try their best to give the public as much of a heads-up as they can. But this early in the game, lips are sealed.
Q: While driving, can the speakerphone on a cellphone be activated to answer a call? Can a driver pick up the phone to push the speakerphone button, set the phone down and answer the call while continuing to drive?
A: No. To be safe, the phone should be down or in a dock — not held — before the speakerphone button is pushed.
City ordinance defines "using a mobile electronic device" as holding it while operating a motor vehicle.
So as long as you’re not holding the device, you’re not in violation. Push the button and talk away.
Q: Can you please explain why Honolulu police officers seem to think they are above the law, riding bikes down sidewalks on both sides of the street on Kuhio Avenue?
A: It’s true that I wrote last week that it’s against the law to ride a bike on a sidewalk in a business district, such as Waikiki.
The Honolulu Police Department, it turns out, is not above the law, but is issued what’s called a "street usage permit" from the Department of Transportation Services, said a police spokeswoman. This allows officers to ride their bikes on the sidewalk.
"They utilize the sidewalk frequently because a majority of the crimes they respond to happen either on the sidewalk or in a beach or park grounds," said HPD spokeswoman Michelle Yu. "They’re not just using the sidewalk to get from point A to point B."
They also want to be more visible as a deterrence, and bicycling along with everyone else would only make them blend in with other cyclists, she said.
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Reach Gene Park at gpark@staradvertiser.com, or Twitter as@GenePark.
