The Hawai'i Driver’s Guidebook

The Police & the Law

(HDM=Official State of Hawai'i Drivers Manual)

As with most everything else on the Islands, the police are mostly laid-back and casual.

You need to be aware that almost every ROAD WORK location in Hawai'i has police directing traffic.    You may debate the real necessity of police officers directing the public around four locals filling a pot hole, but nevertheless they will be watching you as you drive by (got your seat belt on?!).

You may or may not have noticed that some POLICE CARS are somewhat different in Hawai'i, like on the Big Island.   Some officers may use their personal vehicle to patrol in, so that corvette stingray or Chevy blazer behind you with no police markings (other than a small blue light on the roof) may be a cop! (When they’re off-duty they unscrew and remove the roof light).

Right or wrong, like it or not, cops will treat you (haole) different than locals. And if you get pulled over by a HAWAI'IAN COP (maka'i), be courteous and serious - no joking around.  If they want to give you a ticket, they will find a way - trust me. I got one on the Big Island for "unsafe passing (passing too late) in a passing lane". The cop who pulled me over was in a purple Corvette stingray.

One of the many duties of the Hawaiian police is to "try" and reduce the number of abandoned vehicles littering the Islands.  It is a very slow and inefficent process, but eventually (sometimes before it completely rusts away) the vehicle may be actually towed-away.  The process starts with either a neighbor's complaint or an officer noticing what looks like (e.g. no tires, broken windows, no license plates, etc.) an abandoned vehicle.  The officer marks the vehicle with either a tapped or chalked "AV" for Abandoned Vehicles.  This starts the queue for the towing, but may take several weeks to months (even years!) to occur, so often the AV is just a notice that the vehicle is available for stripping.  Even a rental car is subject to this if you abandoned it on the side of the road when it breaks-down or whatever.  However you would need to be very, very unlucky and have a shabby looking vehicle for this to happen.

If you do get a TRAFFIC TICKET, Hawai`i conveniently allows you to just send the money in. You may also have the option to send in an explanation to the judge, who if impressed, may reduce or even throw-out (not likely) your offense.

FYI:  Hawai'i does occasionally do traffic roadblocks to catch DRUNK DRIVERS (.08 percent blood alcohol limit).   And, everyone may seem be trying to sell you Maui Wowie (DOPE), but it's still not legal.

They do check for SPEEDING here, especially on Ohau.  They use radar and did have "van cams" on Ohau for awhile, and they may appear again.  The traffic on Ohau is different (more crowded and hectic) from all the other Islands.  You need to watch out for speeding young people especially in late model hondas -- the race car of choice.  The use of the drug "ice" is a big problem here on the Islands and that just complicates the driving situation when those using the drug choose to drive.

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