QUESTION: Last year you wrote about a mainland contractor being way behind in updating the city’s motor vehicle safety check database, so when vehicle registration renewal forms were sent out, they indicated safety checks were required even though the inspections were current. This is happening to me again within two years. My safety check was done in July, almost eight months ago. If I send in my pink copy that is required to be kept in my vehicle, I will be breaking the law by not having that copy in my vehicle. The last time this happened, I went to the satellite city hall to renew my registration. But I normally renew by mail as it is very inconvenient for me to rush to the satellite city hall after work. How do I prove I have a safety check when I have to send in the form to renew the registration?
ANSWER: As we described last August the city continues to have problems with Perfect Image, the vendor holding the contract to enter safety inspections into the database.
“The Department of Information Technology has sent another letter of deficiency to our key-punch vendor for not meeting minimal contract performance standards,” said Dennis Kamimura, administrator of the Motor Vehicle and Licensing Division. It was warned that future delays “will result in termination of the city’s contract.”
However, Kamimura said your eight-month delay may not have been Perfect Image’s fault. The inspection station may have lost the certificate, the data written on the certificate may have had errors or was illegible for updating, etc.
Generally, it takes about 2 1⁄2 months after inspection for the data to be put into the system, Kamimura said.
Inspection stations are required to submit safety inspection forms to the counties by the 15th of the month after the month of inspection. The contractor is required to pick up the forms, then key-punch them all before the end of the following month.
For example, inspections completed in January should be sent to the city by Feb. 15. The vendor then is expected to update the computer files by mid-March.
As to proving you have a current safety check, Kamimura said the station providing the safety inspection should have given you two copies of the completed form. The goldenrod-colored one says “hold to send with car registration.” The pink one says “keep in car at all times.”
The law does require the certificate of inspection to be kept in the vehicle, so technically, you “may be” issued a citation, even if you have a current safety sticker affixed to your car, if you don’t have that certificate to show a police officer, Kamimura said.
NEW SYSTEM COMING
The state Department of Transportation’s planned statewide Electronic Periodic Vehicle Inspection Reporting Program, which should take care of the problem with backlogs, isn’t expected to be implemented until late this year at the earliest.
The DOT’s call for “requests for proposals” for the new program is targeted for this summer, with implementation during the latter part of this year,” Kamimura said.
The electronic program would require all safety inspection stations to computerize inspections, thus reducing the time it takes to update records to overnight.
MAHALO
To a very nice young man. My wife and I had taken our 9-year-old grandson to the park on Sunday, Feb. 26, and promised him pizza afterward. But after we ordered, we found out the new pizza place, at Waialae Avenue and St. Louis Drive, was not set up for credit cards. We had no cash on us. A young man eating his lunch overheard our predicament, then generously paid for our order. The pizza owner said, “Looks like there are still some good people out there.” I totally agree. — Felix
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