Question: I got into an automobile accident recently. I called 911, and they sent a police officer. I asked the officer if I could have a written report, but he said they don’t do any written reports for automobile accidents. He said it was up to me and the other party to exchange information, which I did. Is that the law now? I was caught off guard.
Answer: There must have been a miscommunication between you and the officer, because the Honolulu Police Department says motor vehicle collision reports are available to the involved parties.
But whether such a report is made depends on different factors, including the extent of vehicle damage and whether there were injuries, said HPD spokeswoman Michelle Yu.
If the damage appears to be under $3,000 per vehicle, no one is injured, and the drivers agree that no report is necessary, the parties can exchange information and no report will be made, she said.
"It’s not infrequent that drivers will agree at the scene that no report is necessary, but change their minds later after talking to friends or realizing that the damage was worse than it appeared," she said. "In these cases, a police report can be made away from the scene."
HPD’s website — www.honolulupd.org/information/index.php?page=reports — says motor vehicle accident reports are available from the Records Division seven days after the accident.
Copies may be provided to the named drivers, passengers, pedestrians and other parties or entities in the report.
To get a copy, you have to go in person to HPD’s Records and Identification Division, 801 S. Beretania St.
You must present a valid photo ID. If you are requesting a report for another person, a notarized letter of authorization is required.
Motor vehicle accident reports cost 50 cents for the first page and 25 cents for each additional page.
Copies also are available for two other police reports: criminal reports and miscellaneous crime/public reports.
For more information, check the website or call the Records Division at 723-3258.
Sunday Roofing
Tim Lyons, executive director of the Roofing Contractors Association of Hawaii, said noise was "likely the least of the problems on the job," in response to our May 27 column in which someone complained about a roofing company working all day on a Sunday. (See bit.ly/1nP5gFk.)
State noise law prohibits construction on Sundays without an approved noise variance or unless it’s related to emergency repairs of public utilities or damage caused by natural disasters.
"It is possible that a licensed shop did the job if they were trying to appease an already upset customer that their job had not been done yet but unlikely," Lyons said. "Most legitimate shops would not do Sunday work because, unless it is all fresh new crew, they have already worked 40 hours and no one prices jobs to be able to pay time and one half."
Lyons says unlicensed contractors like to work on Sundays because they know that not only does the state Department of Health not work on Sundays, but neither does the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, which enforces federal safety laws for fall protection, or the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, which enforces licensing of contractors.
The Roofing Contractors Association of Hawaii is a trade association with members statewide, including 27 on Oahu.
See rcah.org for more information.
Mahalo
To the young woman who found my bag containing my wallet and other valuables at the Manoa Starbucks and took it over to Capt. Guy Seto Mook of the Manoa Fire Station. Capt. Seto Mook then made the effort to track me down via the firefighter coconut wireless. Thank you all for saving me from the extra grief and time to get all of my bank cards and identification replaced. — Absentminded Retired Fire Captain
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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.
