To: Representative Takashi Ono (District 27) From: Benjamin

Gomez
Senator Mazie Hirono Subject: Hawaii Driving Under the
Influence Date: 4/18/17

Introduction
I am writing to address the use of intoxicants while operating a motor vehicle,
focusing on increasing the consequences for repeated offenses and to advocate for
current bill (SB 18) proposed by Josh Green of District 3, which is currently under
consideration.
Bills addressing this issue have floated in the House and Senate in the United States
for quite some time now, and currently there are proposals to decrease the blood
alcohol level nationwide and a new bill in Hawaii which would encourage sobriety
after multiple offenses of driving while intoxicated
This health policy brief will present the argument that although there are current
laws in regards to driving while intoxicated, the punishments are not effective in
deterring individuals from driving while intoxicated which puts others at risks. As a
nurse my duty is to provide care for others and to do no harm, with this bill it would
prevent unnecessary accidents to occur.
Background
In 1910, New York was the first state to adopt a law against drinking and driving,
with California and other states soon following. These early DUI laws simply.
prohibited driving while intoxicated, but there was no set definition of what level of
intoxication qualified as drunk driving.
In 1984, The National Minimum Drinking Age Act required states to pass individual
legislation raising the drinking age to 21. In 1998, as part of TEA-21, a new Federal
incentive grant was created to encourage states to adopt a .08 BAC illegal per se
level. In 2000, Congress adopted .08 BAC as the national illegal limit for impaired
driving.
When MADD (Mothers against Drunk Driving) was founded in 1980, more than
21,000 people were killed in drunk driving crashes each year. MADD helped to
change the publics attitudes about drunk driving. The group pushed for tougher
legislation for those convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs.
MADD also successfully pushed to have the legal drinking age raised.
The drunk driving law in the State of Hawaii prohibits driving when the blood alcohol
concentration (BAC) of the driver is .08 percent or above (Stim) . The .08
percentage level is the standard measurement used across the United States. The
law includes driving on the road as well as in the air or on the water. The State of
Hawaii also has stricter laws in place for the "Highly Intoxicated Driver". To get
classified as a highly intoxicated driver you BAC would need to be .15 percent or
above.
The penalties of driving while intoxicated in Hawaii are if you have a BAC of 0.08%
(0.02% under 21 years old) OR if you refuse a chemical test, you will lose your
license, a fee is also handed to the offender (Stim). If an individual has multiple
infractions then the person will have their license revoked and will need to have an
ignition interlock device installed in their vehicle.
In Hawaii alone, alcohol involved deaths from 2003-2012 number at 484 and those
numbers are only increasing. Most of those who suffer alcohol related deaths are
between the ages 21-34, and survey done by the CDC found that 2.9% of Hawaii
residents report driving after drinking too much which is 1% higher than the
national average.
There are some who oppose the laws regarding drunk driving, specifically with the
BAC level that is considered to be legally drunk. They argue that the BAC of 0.08
criminalizes social drinking and that the law will overwhelm the criminal justice
system with an influx of people who are convicted of drunk driving.
Two Bills are under consideration right now here in Hawaii. The first Bill would force
Hawaii drivers arrested on repeated DUI offense to stop drinking alcohol for at least
90 days and wear an ankle bracelet if they want to be released from jail on bail
(Cocke), also the bill requires the offender to pay $360 a month for the monitoring
device, which checks the skin for alcohol excretions every 30 minutes. Some argue
that this bill is unfair to low-income residents who would potentially face longer jail
times than those who are well off. The MADD charter here in Hawaii also support the
idea that this bill will be unfair and would put a stop to the use of ignition interlock
devices which stops a person from driving.
Another Bill being considered is to lower the BAC from 0.08 to 0.05. According to
the National Transportation Safety Board, a driver with a blood-alcohol content of
0.05 would be affected by exaggerated behavior, loss of small-muscle control and
eye focus, impaired judgment, lowered alertness, and release of inhibition. This
would result in reduced coordination, reduced ability to track moving objects,
difficulty steering, and reduced response to emergency driving situations, The
legislature further finds that lowering the threshold of blood-alcohol content to 0.05
would save lives, catastrophic injuries, and medical costs.
Possible Policy Solutions

Ensuring that repeated offenses of drunk driving are faced with serious
consequences, to hold the individual accountable for their actions with
stricter rules will force them to rethink their choices
Increase state funding for these Bills
Enforce the use of ankle bracelets and the use of the ignition interlock
devices
Lower the BAC level from 0.08 to 0.05 (SB18)
For those who are receiving welfare and are arrested for multiple DUIs will
have their monthly checks cut in order to pay for the ankle bracelets and
ignition interlock devices. Those who are not receiving welfare should have to
pay a higher price
Recommended Solution
The most important take away from this is that people should be held accountable
for their actions. People have this belief that they can get away with anything
because the punishments arent that hard to live by. With stricter rules it will show
offenders that you wont just have to pay a fine but that the consequences will be
higher and it will affect your finances.
With the use of ankle bracelets any reading of more than 0.02 blood-alcohol content
(BAC) is considered a positive test. The device can detect alcohol content below
that level, this is a good way to ensure that defendants on trial or awaiting trial for
alcohol-related offenses aren't getting intoxicated and possibly hurting themselves
or others.
I propose having people on welfare to have deductions from their monthly checks. I
feel this is the only way to help out those who are of low income, the decisions in
life has caused them to have negative consequences on themselves and those
around them. If the individual is hit financially it will help them realize that their
priorities are not in order.
References
A Bill for an Act, Relating to the use of Intoxicants while Operating a Vehicle. SB18.
The Senate, twenty-ninth legislature, State of Hawaii. 2017
Arguments in Favor and Against .08 per se. (n.d.). Retrieved April 20, 2017, from
https://one.nhtsa.gov/people/injury/research/pub/alcohol-
laws/08History/4_arguments.htm
Cocke, S. (2017, April 4). Proposal to tightened DUI rules Critized. Honolulu Star
Advertiser. Retrieved April 10, 2017.
Sobering Facts: Drunk Driving in Hawaii. (2017, April 17). Retrieved April 20, 2017,
from https://www.cdc.gov/
Stim, R. (n.d.). Hawaii DUI Laws, Penalties, Fines, SR22 Insurance. Retrieved April
20, 2017, from http://dui.drivinglaws.org/hawaii.php