QUESTION: I’m trying to get more information on the new motor vehicle safety check program that’s supposed to take effect Nov. 1. My understanding is that they will be taking pictures. I feel it’s an invasion of privacy, but I haven’t seen anything about this.
ANSWER: Changes to the safety inspection program include the requirement that a photo or photos of the inspected vehicle be taken, increased fees and overnight filing of the completed inspection.
But it’s not yet certain whether the rule changes will take effect as planned on Nov. 1.
As of Friday the Electronic Periodic Vehicle Inspection Reporting Program still was pending approval by Gov. Neil Abercrombie.
If approval is given before Nov. 1, the new program will take effect on that date.
If not, “the launch of the updated vehicle inspection program will be delayed until his approval is received,” a spokesman for the state Department of Transportation said. “Nov. 1 is not a deadline for the governor, but rather, the recommended start date for the updated inspections.”
If the governor approves the changes after Nov. 1, a revised start date will be determined.
Under the new program, at least one photo of the inspected vehicle must be taken to document that it was present at the time of the inspection. The photo has to include the license plate.
Up to two additional photos also may be taken to document items that do not pass the safety check, such as a broken headlight or other defect, the department spokesman said.
The photo(s) are to be included with the completed inspection report, then transmitted to “a secure server” and uploaded to the motor vehicle registration files, he said.
The new program would eliminate the need to hire a mainland company to enter safety check information into the city’s database, which has resulted in completed safety checks taking up to a month to be recorded, or longer if there is a backlog.
Once the new program begins, a safety check for cars and trucks will cost $19.19, plus tax, and $13.24, plus tax, for motorcycles.
Of the new fee, $1.70 will go to the department for administration and enforcement, $1.69 to the contractor, Parsons Environment and Infrastructure Group Inc., for the equipment and training, and the rest to the inspection station.
QUESTION: My neighbor has two dogs and routinely disposes of dog poop directly in the city’s automated gray trash bin. On one pickup day the refuse truck spilled the load, and the truck tracked the poop in front of my driveway. I confronted my neighbor and told him he should at least put the poop in a plastic bag so it wouldn’t spill. On another day he took his dirty trash bin to the storm drain and cleaned it by shooting it with a water hose into the storm drain. I called my home association, and they said they would send him a letter of complaint but also said to call the state Department of Health’s sanitation branch. But they said they couldn’t do anything because of furloughed workers. Any suggestions?
ANSWER: You can file a complaint with the city Department of Environmental Services. Call 768-3486.
If your neighbor is hosing dog poop into the street or storm drains, he “is illegally discharging pollutants to the city storm sewer system and is subject to enforcement” under Section 14-12.23.(a) of the Revised Ordinances of Honolulu, said Markus Owens, spokesman for Environmental Services.
Enforcement would fall under the Storm Water Quality Division.
“It is possible for us to send out either a refuse inspector or storm water quality investigator to ‘educate’ the resident,” Owens said.
Dog poop should be bagged and disposed of with the regular trash, he said. Double bagging is recommended to minimize odors and flies.
He also reminds pet owners to refrain from dumping the bagged poop into other people’s bins.
As Environmental Services has explained previously, each cart is issued “for the exclusive use of the residents of a particular home.” Dumping malodorous poop into someone’s else cart isn’t considered neighborly.
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