Statewide in 2022, there were 117 traffic-related fatalities, a three-year high.
With more than 40% of traffic fatalities involving alcohol, the state House and Senate are considering new bills that could lower the blood alcohol concentration limit from 0.08% to 0.05%.
“I think it could make a big dent on the Big Island where, unfortunately, folks have one of the worst rates in terms of fatalities that are alcohol impaired,” said Rick Collins, director of the Hawaii Alcohol Policy Alliance. “We want to make a difference here, and we want to save lives.”
Hawaii would be the second state to lower the BAC limit to 0.05, with Utah approving a reduction in 2018.
Two and a half years after the law took effect, Utah had a 20% drop in fatalities.
“They had the biggest decline in the country over that two year period that they enacted the 0.05 law,” Collins said.
During the Senate Committee on Transportation and Culture and Arts hearing Tuesday, Cynthia Okazaki of the Hawaii Alcohol Policy Alliance also commented on the effectiveness of Utah’s legislation.
“The study from Utah shows there was no negative impact on alcohol sales, tourism and tax revenues for the state,” she said. “The study also shows that it did not increase arrests. Lowering the BAC to 0.05 is not about drinking, it is about separating drinking from driving.”
A survey conducted by SMS Research found that over 60% of Hawaii voters favored the lowering of the BAC limit from 0.08 to 0.05.
“People are saying enough is enough,” said Theresa Paulette, victims services specialist for Mothers Against Drunk Driving-Hawaii. “We’ve lost too many individuals to impaired driving, and we need to reduce the numbers.”
Under Senate Bill 365, those testing between 0.05 and 0.079 BAC would receive a fine instead of a misdemeanor.
The state Department of Transportation favored making amendments to the bill that would keep penalties similar for those at 0.05 or 0.08 BAC, including the possibility of license revocation and ignition interlocks, which require a breathalyzer to start a vehicle.
“For DOT, our preference is to go from 0.08 to 0.05,” said Ed Sniffen, director of the DOT, during public testimony. “I believe the fines are too light of a way to address the 0.05 to 0.079 zone. … If we could take administrative action, which could include ignition interlock or the like, I think we could make it a lot more effective.”
Other groups want clarification as to whether or not both breath and blood testing can be used to verify those above the 0.05 BAC level.
“I think it’s important that we add ignition interlocks in the verbiage, and also to identify that breath and blood both be added to the bill itself,” Torey Keltner, program manager of traffic safety at the Hawaii Police Department, said during the hearing.
Mothers Against Drunk Driving favored a more thorough examination of the bill.
“We just have to be very careful there’s not going to be some impact on current legislation,” Paulette said. “We really strongly support reducing the BAC from 0.08 to 0.05, but we need more time to study the proposed bill and the effects this would have on the overall(DUI-related) legislation that’s in place right now.”
A similar bill was proposed last year to lower the BAC limit to 0.05, but it died in the House after failing to pass the Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs Committee, then chaired by Hamakua Rep. Mark Nakashima, who did not return a request for comment in time for this story.
“I was disappointed that it got held up in that committee, and they didn’t even give it a vote,” said Collins, who is optimistic this time around. “I think we have new legislators on different committees that have blocked them in the past that I think are open to the idea, and some are already outwardly supportive of it.”
In 2020, the Hawaii public defender’s office expressed concerns about potential legislation to lower the BAC limit.
“Another consequence of a reduction of the BAC will be increased court congestion,” the office said in written public testimony from February 2020. “In order to deal with the backlog, you will need to add judges, prosecutors and public defenders. At our current staffing level, the earliest we can schedule an appointment to meet our traffic and misdemeanor clients is 2 ½ to 3 months.”
The public defender’s office did not return multiple requests for comment regarding SB 365.
“We spent 39 years in Hawaii trying to educate people about this. We’re not against alcohol, we’re just against consuming alcohol and driving,” said Paulette. “It’s the understanding that 0.05 is not one drink, it’s probably four or five within an hour, depending on the weight of the person and what food they’ve consumed.”
Email Grant Phillips at gphillips@hawaiitribune-herald.com.