Question: My daughter got involved in a fender-bender, and we are in a case of “he said, she said.” Thank goodness nobody got hurt. But the other driver could not speak English, and the police and my daughter had to wait for his wife to come to translate what happened. How can someone get a driver’s license without being able to speak (and I assume write) English? Doesn’t he have to take a written exam and a road test? How can I put in an official complaint with the city or state?
Answer: Without knowing the exact circumstances of the man’s license, we can’t respond to how he obtained it or with whom you should file a complaint.
Written general knowledge tests for driver’s licenses are offered only in English, said Dennis Kamimura, administrator of the city Motor Vehicle and Licensing Division.
However, drivers are offered this option (see www1.honolulu.gov/csd/vehicle/dlinformation.htm): “If you are unable to read and/or write and understand the English language, provisions may be made for an oral examination (restrictions may apply).”
That does not mean an applicant is allowed to bring an interpreter, as in some mainland jurisdictions.
“The oral examination is conducted in English,” Kamimura said. “The staff reads the question and provides the optional answers.”
During the fiscal year ending June 30, 2011, 459 oral tests were administered to non-English speakers as well as to English speakers who had difficulty reading.
Beyond that you may be surprised to learn there are provisions for the written exam to be given in a foreign language.
Section 19-122-10(h), Hawaii Administrative Rules of the state Department of Transportation, provides that “an applicant who has difficulty understanding the English language may be examined in the language chosen from those available and approved by the director in any of the knowledge tests except the hazardous materials endorsement test.”
So far, there’s been no push for providing that option, “although there have been inquiries referred to the state DOT,” Kamimura said.
He said the provision pertains only to the written test: “We do not require our driver license examiners to communicate in any language other than English,” he said.
Regarding filing a complaint, Kamimura said jurisdictions that have tried to implement an “English-only” rule for driver licensing have been overturned by federal and state court rulings. “I would not recommend that Hawaii’s statutes be amended,” he said.
Meanwhile, the United Nations Convention on Road Traffic allows foreign motorists from signatory countries who visit the United States as “bona fide tourists” to legally drive using a valid domestic driver’s license for a maximum of one year from their date of arrival.
Foreign license holders must show proof of their status and length of stay by providing a passport to a law enforcement officer, Kamimura said.
Mahalo
To those who helped me after I fell on Tuesday, April 24, as I was jogging on Isenberg Street near Young Street. I fractured my nose and had a cut on it that required stitches. Thank you to the kind strangers who asked if they should call 911, offered me a ride and provided a bag full of ice for my nose, and to the lady who stayed with me until my friend was able to pick me up. — Brad Smith, Honolulu
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