SB2601

THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	2601
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2008
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

relating to highway safety.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. Section 286-21, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§286-21 Vehicles or mopeds without required equipment or in unsafe condition. No person shall drive or cause to move on any highway any motor vehicle, moped, trailer, semitrailer, or pole trailer, or any combination thereof, unless the equipment thereon is in good working order and [~~adjustment~~] adjusted as required in this part so as not to endanger the driver or other occupant or any person upon the highway."

SECTION 2. Section 286-22, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsections (a), (b), and (c) to read as follows:

"(a) The chief of police or any police officer of any county may, at any time when the chief of police or police officer has reasonable cause to believe that a vehicle or moped is unsafe or not equipped as required by law, require the owner or driver of the vehicle or moped to submit the vehicle or moped to an inspection or make the necessary corrections or repairs.

(b) If the vehicle or moped is found to be in an unsafe condition or if any required part or equipment is not present or if any required part or equipment is present but not in proper repair, the officer shall issue a citation to the owner or driver stating the reasons that the vehicle or moped is deemed unsafe and shall require that a new certificate of inspection as provided in section 286-26 be obtained within five days or that the defect be cured.

(c) If upon inspection, the chief of police or any police officer determines that any vehicle or moped is in such unsafe condition as to constitute a menace to the public and cannot reasonably be restored to a safe condition as required in this part, the chief of police or police officer shall remove the sticker which signifies the certificate of inspection and inform the director of finance who shall forthwith suspend the registration of the vehicle or moped and give notice of the suspension to its owner. Whenever the director of finance has suspended the registration of any vehicle or moped under this part, the owner of the vehicle or moped shall immediately surrender and forward to the director of finance the certificate of registration and the license plates last issued upon registration of the vehicle or moped for the current year."

SECTION 3. Section 286-23, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:

"(b) No person shall operate any vehicle or moped after receiving a citation with reference thereto as provided in section 286-22(b), except that if the driver is authorized to do so by the police officer, the driver may return the vehicle or moped to the driver's residence or place of business or the residence or place of business of the owner of the vehicle or moped, or to an automotive repair shop, if within a distance of twenty miles, until a certificate of inspection is obtained or the necessary corrections or repairs are made."

SECTION 4. Section 286-25, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§286-25 Operation of a vehicle or moped without a certificate of inspection. Whoever operates, permits the operation of, causes to be operated, or parks any vehicle or moped on a public highway without a current official certificate of inspection, issued under section 286-26, shall be fined not more than $100."

SECTION 5. Section 286-26, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (g) to read as follows:

"(g) The director of transportation shall adopt necessary rules for the administration of inspections and the issuance of certificates of inspection[.]; provided that the rules regarding inspections of mopeds shall be limited to implementing the requirement that mopeds be operated only with an exhaust system that meets original manufacturer specifications."

SECTION 6. Section 286-85, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:

"(a) No person shall operate a reconstructed vehicle or moped upon a public highway unless it has been inspected and certified by the designated county agency as meeting the specifications and requirements established in rules and regulations adopted by the state director of transportation."

SECTION 7. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 8. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________