Question: Is the city Motor Vehicle and Licensing Division backlogged in updating safety checks into the computer records, or are the safety check stations lax in transmitting that information? I received notice that my car registration is due but that “current validated safety check form required.” I already updated my car safety check. Can I still renew my car registration online?
Answer: The problem is not with the safety inspection stations, but with the mainland company that was hired by the city to input the information into the computers, said Sheri Kajiwara, director of the city Department of Customer Services.
Perfect Image is the company in question, and the problem is similar to what Kokua Line reported in 2010 (is.gd/yz0ibT) and last year (is.gd/tFCN8Z), she said.
In this case the company fell behind in recording safety inspections done in January and February.
Her staff, with help from the city Department of Information Technology, is “working internally to get caught up and have another six weeks’ worth to input,” Kajiwara told us Thursday. “This should be done in about two weeks.”
Asked about the effect on safety checks done in March, she said, “No ripple effect is expected, as we will be caught up at that point.”
She pointed out there is a standard lag time in recording inspections, because inspection stations have until the 15th of the following month to send the paperwork in.
Also, because most car registrations are renewed in a different month from the safety check renewal, Kajiwara said she did not expect the current delay to affect many people.
The vehicle owners affected renewed their safety inspections in January or February and had to renew their registrations the same month, she said. So, although 40,000 to 50,000 motor vehicle registrations are renewed every month, this does not mean 100,000 people are being inconvenienced, she said.
Lines at driver’s licensing stations and satellite city halls “were longer than normal recently,” Kajiwara acknowledged, “but not due to safety checks. It was a combination of spring break, two holidays in one week, and end-of-month rushes.”
Meanwhile, you can still register online or by mail.
If your updated safety check is not recognized in the system, simply mail in the registration form, with payment, enclosing the valid goldenrod-colored safety check form, marked “for vehicle registration,” provided by the inspection station, Kajiwara said.
“You will be processed as normal,” she said. “Keep the pink form (marked ‘keep in vehicle’) in your car as usual.”
If you prefer to renew online, first mail the goldenrod form to Division of Motor Vehicles and Licensing, P.O. Box 30320, Honolulu, HI 96820-0320.
“Allow about five days or so for the data to be entered, then proceed to renew online as usual,” Kajiwara said.
The third method of renewal is to go in person to a satellite city hall. Just be sure to bring along that valid goldenrod form.
The Problem and Solution
Asked whether there would be any repercussions for Perfect Image for the backlog, Kajiwara said, “They get paid per entry, so payment is decreased when they are behind.”
All four counties have been waiting for the state Department of Transportation to institute a planned statewide Electronic Periodic Vehicle Inspection Reporting Program, which would eliminate the need for a company to input the information.
All safety inspection stations would electronically send in inspection information.
We were told last year that the DOT expected to get that program running by the end of 2012. However, after the DOT awarded a contract, a protest was filed by an unsuccessful bidder.
We are awaiting a response from the DOT on the status of the electronic program.
Mahalo
To members of the public, who have called the city not with complaints, but with words of encouragement, especially Crystal Roller. Crystal saw a story about the delays in recording safety checks and volunteered to help input data. — Sheri Kajiwara, director, Department of Customer Services
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Write to “Kokua Line” at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
