Comment:
Good morning. I recently found your website and I see that I am not alone in having concerns about loud exhausts. While I have been compiling the license numbers of violators in my neighborhood, I was curious if anyone in this group regularly calls the police to enforce violations and what the outcome is? I intend to take this up with the neighborhood board but meetings are cancelled for now due to COVID. It was addressed at a meeting earlier in the year according to the minutes of the meeting but the officer said he would get back with the board and there was no further discussion. Again, I was just curious as I see no enforcement of this and wanted to know if others have had success with law enforcement before I start taking time out of my day to call in violations. As the car will be long gone after I call, I could see the police saying they can't do anything and doubt they would go to the offender's home and cite him/her there. Any feedback will be appreciated. Thank you.
Quieter O'ahu Response:
Aloha,
No, you are not alone. There are hundreds of others who have expressed their frustration on this site, and that is just a small fraction of the undoubted thousands of others across Hawai'i who have not contacted us.
You raise a good question about HPD responsiveness. As we point out on several pages of our website, HPD is mostly unresponsive, citing "officer discretion" to NOT issue a citation when violators are caught "in the act," and the answer you've received that by the time HPD responds, the violator is gone.
We hear complaints about 3 primary types of vehicular noise:
--The noise of illegally loud aftermarket exhausts on motorcycles;
--The noise of illegally loud aftermarket exhausts on cars and trucks;
--The noise of illegally loud aftermarket stereos, amplifiers, and speakers on cars and trucks.
We use the term "illegally loud" because there are Hawai'i and Honolulu ordinances and statutes prohibiting each. It's not a question of new laws, it's a question of rigorous and uncompromising enforcement.
What HPD doesn't tell you is that they are NOT powerless to confront offenders unless they are caught "in the act." ANY HPD sworn officer, upon suspecting a violation, can issue a citation ordering the suspect for a "reconstruction inspection." This inspection would check to see if aftermarket equipment is louder than originally installed equipment and, in the case of exhausts systems, would result in the revocation of their safety inspection which prohibits illegally loud aftermarket exhausts.
It's an uphill battle but you are correct in working through your neighborhood board. But 1 neighborhood board will be ineffective. We have spoken at numerous neighborhood boards and have recommended establishment of an extra-plenary committee comprised of a representative from ALL of the neighborhood boards to address the issue of noise, and to report their findings as the whole of the neighborhood organization back to their respective boards AND to the city, DEMANDING better and more aggressive HPD enforcement on behalf of 21 neighborhoods. Perhaps yours will be the 1 additional voice necessary to tip the balance and gain some traction for this.
Thank you for your note. We will post your note and our comments, without attribution, on our blog so that others may benefit from your comments.
Mahalo,
A Quieter O'ahu
Good morning. I recently found your website and I see that I am not alone in having concerns about loud exhausts. While I have been compiling the license numbers of violators in my neighborhood, I was curious if anyone in this group regularly calls the police to enforce violations and what the outcome is? I intend to take this up with the neighborhood board but meetings are cancelled for now due to COVID. It was addressed at a meeting earlier in the year according to the minutes of the meeting but the officer said he would get back with the board and there was no further discussion. Again, I was just curious as I see no enforcement of this and wanted to know if others have had success with law enforcement before I start taking time out of my day to call in violations. As the car will be long gone after I call, I could see the police saying they can't do anything and doubt they would go to the offender's home and cite him/her there. Any feedback will be appreciated. Thank you.
Quieter O'ahu Response:
Aloha,
No, you are not alone. There are hundreds of others who have expressed their frustration on this site, and that is just a small fraction of the undoubted thousands of others across Hawai'i who have not contacted us.
You raise a good question about HPD responsiveness. As we point out on several pages of our website, HPD is mostly unresponsive, citing "officer discretion" to NOT issue a citation when violators are caught "in the act," and the answer you've received that by the time HPD responds, the violator is gone.
We hear complaints about 3 primary types of vehicular noise:
--The noise of illegally loud aftermarket exhausts on motorcycles;
--The noise of illegally loud aftermarket exhausts on cars and trucks;
--The noise of illegally loud aftermarket stereos, amplifiers, and speakers on cars and trucks.
We use the term "illegally loud" because there are Hawai'i and Honolulu ordinances and statutes prohibiting each. It's not a question of new laws, it's a question of rigorous and uncompromising enforcement.
What HPD doesn't tell you is that they are NOT powerless to confront offenders unless they are caught "in the act." ANY HPD sworn officer, upon suspecting a violation, can issue a citation ordering the suspect for a "reconstruction inspection." This inspection would check to see if aftermarket equipment is louder than originally installed equipment and, in the case of exhausts systems, would result in the revocation of their safety inspection which prohibits illegally loud aftermarket exhausts.
It's an uphill battle but you are correct in working through your neighborhood board. But 1 neighborhood board will be ineffective. We have spoken at numerous neighborhood boards and have recommended establishment of an extra-plenary committee comprised of a representative from ALL of the neighborhood boards to address the issue of noise, and to report their findings as the whole of the neighborhood organization back to their respective boards AND to the city, DEMANDING better and more aggressive HPD enforcement on behalf of 21 neighborhoods. Perhaps yours will be the 1 additional voice necessary to tip the balance and gain some traction for this.
Thank you for your note. We will post your note and our comments, without attribution, on our blog so that others may benefit from your comments.
Mahalo,
A Quieter O'ahu
