By Gordon Y.K. Pang
Advertiser Staff Writer

Q. Are there laws against obstructing your rear view mirror in passenger vehicles? I see rear windows plastered with stickers that obviously block the driver's view. I thought at one time it was illegal to have the "Baby On Board" signs, held up by suction cups, directly in the path of the rear view mirror? What about drop-down DVD screens for the rear seat passengers? They must partially obstruct the driver's view.

A. Motorists may not drive a vehicle with any sign, poster or other non-transparent material on the front windshield, side wings, side or rear windows that obstructs a driver's clear view of the highway or any intersecting highway, according to Capt. Jose Gaytan of the Honolulu Police Department's Traffic Division.

Gaytan said there is no law that specifically prohibits DVD screens in the area of a rear passenger seat. But if the screen, or any other object, obstructs the view of the driver, it may be a violation of Section 15-19.29 of the Revised Ordinances of Honolulu. The law states, in part, that "the vehicle shall be equipped with a mirror or mirrors so located as to reflect to the driver a view of the highway for a distance of at least 200 feet to the rear of such vehicle."

Q. Any chance the potholes at the Makiki District Park parking lot could get filled or patched? The last time we asked for repairs, it took almost a year and they were filled with a compacting sand which didn't last. I've already fixed a tire rod and gotten a wheel alignment on my car.

A. The area was inspected several weeks ago. At the time, the city road crew was short on cold-patching material, but more materials should have come in by now. Vicki Borges, special assistant to Mayor Jeremy Harris, said the crew would patch the holes once the materials arrived.

Q. Here's a possible solution to traffic build-up on Kina'u Street at the intersections of Kina'u and Pensacola and Kina'u and Ke'eaumoku. How about making two right-turn lanes leading makai onto both Pensacola and Ke'eaumoku? This might smooth out traffic at these intersections.

A. The city Department of Transportation Services investigated your idea and determined that the sharp curb corners at the intersections of Kina'u-Pensacola and Kina'u-Ke'eaumoku streets cannot properly accommodate two adjacent right turn lanes without roadway modifications. Currently no such modifications are being planned.

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