Image Source: Chelsea Gonzales

Michael Sparks of Kihei expresses his strong support for lowering the BAC. In his Letter to the Editor of the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, he writes, “Significant evidence from other states and countries shows this will save lives and prevent injuries. Even Anheuser-Busch publicly supports this change.”

From the article: Thomas Chapman of the National Transportation Safety Board testified on video, noting that Utah in 2018 became the first state to reduce the legal intoxication threshold from 0.08% to 0.05% — “and subsequently saw reduction in its fatal crash and fatality rates, relative to the rest of the United States.” Chapman said the NTSB has recommended the BAC reduction since 2013.

From the article: Families devastated by drunken driving have spent years fighting for this change and are hoping it finally becomes law. “My son got killed,” said Ed Werner, whose son Kaulana was struck by a drunken driver in 2016.

From the article: State House Bill 1935 would, if passed, reduce the BAC threshold for drunken driving charges from the current 0.08% to 0.05%, which would be tied with Utah for the lowest in the nation. According to the bill, which was introduced by Hilo Rep. Chris Todd, if all states adopted such measures, they could save approximately 500 to 800 lives annually.

Image source: Chelsea Gonzales

From the article: The National Institutes of Health cites studies showing that “virtually all drivers are impaired” at a 0.05% BAC. Research shows that the relative risk of being killed in a one-vehicle crash for drivers with a BAC between 0.05% to 0.079% is seven to 21 times higher than for drivers at 0.00% BAC.

Image source: Hawai‘i Alcohol Policy Alliance

From the article: Gov. Josh Green plans a full-court offensive to convince hesitant legislators to finally lower Hawaii’s blood alcohol content level to .05% from .08% after previous bills failed. Green also said Thursday that any industry — such as bars and restaurants that serve alcohol — that opposes lowering the blood alcohol content threshold in an effort to prevent drunken driving injuries and deaths deserves “a place in hell.”

Image source: Hawai‘i Alcohol Policy Alliance

From the story: Families who are directly impacted by the consequences of drunk driving said it is crucial this Legislative session for laws to pass to prevent another tragedy. “I feel like there needs to be stricter laws in place especially for first offenders, because if that’s put into place before even having that happen for the very first time people will think twice,” said Chanda Park, whose daughter was killed by a drunk driver.

Image source: Hawai‘i Alcohol Policy Alliance

From the story: Governor Josh Green says he will do everything he can to pass a bill that would lower the blood alcohol concentration for driving from 0.08 to 0.05. He joined the Hawaii Alcohol Policy Alliance today as they push to pass laws to prevent alcohol-related traffic deaths and injuries.

From the story: This is the fourth time this legislation has been introduced to lawmakers in Hawaii. Gov. Josh Green said he wants make sure it goes through this time around. “Let’s let this bill sail though this time. I will sign it immediately. Too many people have lost their lives to this heinous crime,” said Green.

From the story: As the statewide organization dedicated to advocating for evidence-based, responsible alcohol policies to create safer communities, HIAPA returns to the Capitol — along with Mothers Against Drunk Driving and others — to urge passage of legislation to prevent alcohol-related traffic fatalities and injuries, specifically a bill to lower the legal blood alcohol concentration (BAC) for driving from 0.08 to 0.05 percent. This is the fourth consecutive session HIAPA has supported such a bill.

Image source: Hawai‘i Alcohol Policy Alliance

From the article: According to traffic safety facts released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in December 2023, an early estimate of motor vehicle traffic fatalities for the first nine months of 2023 indicates a 4.5% decrease across the United States, a 19% decrease in Hawai‘i. Following a spike in traffic fatalities during the pandemic, organization leaders call this reduction “encouraging.”

“Our lawmakers can save their community members’ lives by lowering the BAC in 2024,” writes HIAPA director Rick Collins in this Community Voices piece for Honolulu Civil Beat. “We will continue to fight for safer roads for everyone.”

There is a price to procrastination,” writes Cynthia Okazaki, a community volunteer and advocate for road safety who retired from Parents and Children Together (PACT) in 2016, in this Op-Ed in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.” In deferring Senate Bill 160 to lower blood alcohol concentration (BAC) from 0.08 to 0.05, our lawmakers seem to have decided that they can tolerate the price of more lives lost.”

In this Letter to the Editor, Michael Sparks expresses his deep concern over the recent decision by state Rep. David Tarnas to decline a hearing on Senate Bill 160, which would lower the blood alcohol-level threshold for drunk driving from .08 to .05. “As a concerned citizen, I am deeply troubled by his lack of action on a solution that has been proven to save lives and reduce injuries,” writes Sparks.

Image source: Chelsea Gonzales

From the article: Hawaii won’t be lowering its blood-alcohol threshold for a drunken-driving charge during this legislative session, although a bill doing so sailed through the Senate. Rep. David Tarnas, chair of the House Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs Committee, held the bill to allow for more consideration.

From the article: The Hawai‘i Alcohol Policy Alliance, another advocate, said a December statewide poll of 550 Hawaii voters conducted by market research firm SMS Hawaii suggests that 69% of voters support making the limit 0.05%.

From the article: “We’re disappointed,” said Rick Collins, project director for Hawaii Alcohol Policy Alliance, which advocated for the bill. “We were hoping for at least a hearing so that it gave the public the opportunity to share with the lawmakers their perspective.”

From the article: Collins thinks the .05% BAC limit would serve as a deterrent, changing people's behavior, preempting bad decisions. "You get more of a cumulative effect," he said, arguing that the average driver's BAC would go down. Although more deaths occur beyond the .08% BAC, Collins considers the .05% BAC "most preventative," by encouraging the entire community to drink less.

From the article: If passed, Hawaii will share being the lowest limit drunk driving state with Utah. That is currently the only state in the country with such a low threshold. At the same time, however, .05 is already the legal standard in many places worldwide. Japan has .03%, and China has .02%. In fact, more than 90 countries have legal limits of .05% or less.