Question: A police officer stopped me during rush hour on King Street for not stopping for a pedestrian who had just stepped off the curb. I was in the far right lane of six lanes, and the pedestrian was on the far left side. He was not on my half of the roadway, so I kept going. But the officer told me that on a one-way street, there is no “half” and I should have stopped. He just gave me a warning. This seems to be a really obscure part of the law. Can you let people know?

Answer: The officer was incorrect, said Maj. Kurt Kendro, commander of the Honolulu Police Department’s Traffic Division.

Kendro pointed to Section 291C-72 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes, which says a driver shall stop for a pedestrian in a crosswalk who is on the half of the roadway on which the vehicle is traveling, or approaching so closely from the opposite half “as to be in danger, and shall not proceed until the pedestrian has passed the vehicle and the driver can safely proceed.”

The law doesn’t define “halfway,” he said, while Section 291C-1 defining roadway does not differentiate between one-way or two-way streets.

“Consequently, halfway would be the measurement of the width of the roadway divided by two, regardless of whether it is a one-way or a two-way street,” Kendro said.

Question: I was planning to sell unneeded personal items at a trade show at the Blaisdell Center. One sponsor said I “should” get a Hawaii tax license, while another said I “must” get one and charge the general excise tax on anything I sell. I am not a business and do this at the most only twice a year. The way I interpret the law, my selling items would be a “casual sale,” and I am not required to charge the excise tax. Has this changed?

Answer: The law hasn’t changed, so it comes down to an interpretation of a “casual sale.” Selling at a trade show once or twice a year apparently would kick you into the category of a “business.”

Under Section 237-1 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes, a casual sale is “an occasional or isolated sale or transaction involving … tangible personal property by a person who is not required to be licensed” or “tangible personal property which is not ordinarily sold in the business of a person who is regularly engaged in business.” State Department of Taxation spokeswoman Mallory Fujitani also pointed to the department’s Hawaii Administrative Rules. Section 18-237-1(a) defines casual sale as “an occasional, isolated, irregular, infrequent or incidental sale or transaction involving tangible personal property which is not ordinarily sold in the usual course of trade or business.”

Fujitani said Section 8-237-1(a)(1)(E) of the rules says: “Where a person engaged in a trade or business sells tangible property which is not usually carried in his merchandise inventory, but by reason of the frequency, number and size, the sales thereof show a pattern of conduct that he sells tangible property other than inventory merchandise, the transaction will be deemed to be in the usual course of business and not a casual transaction.”

By the same token, while an occasional garage sale may qualify as a “casual sale,” if someone holds garage sales on an ongoing basis, then they are in business, Fujitani said.

Meanwhile, “A trade show is for ‘businesses’ to show and sell their products,” she said. “If a person regularly participates in sales at a trade show, they are considered to be doing business and should get a business license.”

MAHALO

To the compassionate lady and kind gentleman who assisted in raising me after I had a serious fall on the paved walkway near Pah Ke’s restaurant in Kaneohe on Tuesday, Aug. 30. My husband was unable to help me, as he was recovering from numerous health problems. He joins me in expressing our deep gratitude for your kindness.

— Lydia S. Murray