Question: I parked in a metered stall on Nuuanu Avenue, fronting the Mei Sum dim sum restaurant. I put 70 cents in the meter and got 11 minutes of parking time. Are the meters broken? How much time do you get for every dime or quarter you put in?

Answer: Seventy cents should have given you 28 minutes of parking time.

The public can call 911 or the Honolulu Police Department’s Parking Enforcement and Collections Section at 832-7836 to report broken or malfunctioning parking meters, said HPD spokeswoman Michelle Yu.

Section 15-22.4 of the Revised Ordinances of Honolulu sets the rates for parking meters.

The rate in the downtown and civic center of Honolulu — bounded by River Street to Vineyard Boulevard, Vineyard to Punchbowl Street, Punchbowl to Beretania Street, Beretania to Alapai Street, Alapai to King Street, King to Punchbowl, and along Punchbowl to the waterfront — is $1.50 an hour.

That breaks down to 25 cents for 10 minutes; 75 cents for 30 minutes; $1.50 for 60 minutes. (So 5 cents would give you two minutes and 10 cents would give you four minutes.)

The $1.50-per-hour rate also applies in the Waikiki and City Hall parking meter zones. It’s cheaper if you’re parking in metered stalls outside the downtown, civic center, Waikiki and City Hall areas. The rate in those other areas is 25 cents for 20 minutes and 75 cents for 60 minutes (four minutes for a nickel and eight minutes for a dime).

Question: I went to have my annual safety inspection for my pickup truck and was told the decals in the lower left corner of the rear window had to be removed. When I questioned that, they pulled out the "Manual for Inspectors of Passenger Cars and Light Trucks," referencing the section on Glazing Materials that quoted Section 15-19.30 of the Revised Ordinances of Honolulu about "windows to be unobstructed." However, I found a Hawaii News Now story from April, quoting a non-official source as saying that "trucks, minivans and SUVs are exempt, and can have decals on the rear-side and rear-facing windows. Cars and station wagons cannot." Could you please get a current ruling from the city’s Motor Vehicle &Licensing Division? If there is an exemption, can they please notify inspectors?

Answer: The city is siding with the safety inspection station in this case.

Section 15-19.30(a) of the Revised Ordinances specifies that nontransparent material shall not obstruct the driver’s clear view of the highway, while subsections (b) and (c) refer to the front windshield, explained Sheri Kajiwara, director of the city Department of Customer Services.

The city’s ordinance "takes precedence over the less restrictive" state law — Section 291-21.5(d)(9) of the Hawaii Revised Statutes, which allows decals on the rear window regardless of obstruction for trucks, vans, buses and minivans with rearview mirrors on both sides, she said.

Kajiwara said safety check inspectors are required to sit in the driver’s seat of vehicles. If a decal can be seen on the back, left side or right side windows by the inspector, it must be removed to pass the inspection, she said.

"This procedure was distributed to all safety inspection stations a few months ago but a reminder will be incorporated into the next iPad release," she said.

Mahalo

To the owner of Fabric Mart for holding my wife’s purse in safekeeping until she returned. I understand you tried to run after her in the parking lot when she left without her purse. I was so afraid that she would be victim of credit card theft and/or ID fraud. Much mahalo. — Pauline L.’s Husband

Mahalo

To the young couple who called 911, and the husband and wife who helped my husband, when he tripped and fell on the sidewalk near the Verizon Wireless Store on Keeaumoku Street and Kapiolani Boulevard back in September. — R. Kida

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