Advocates and other leading public health and safety organizations are calling on the Hawaii Senate Committee on Transportation to advance Senate Bill (SB) 2463 and House Bill (HB) 1827. This legislation will lower the per se limit of alcohol-impaired driving to .05 percent blood alcohol concentration (BAC), deter drunk driving and save lives.
Drunk driving is a deadly, growing and costly threat to Hawaii families. In 2024, there were an overall estimated 1021 fatalities on Hawaii roads according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) which is a 10 percent increase since 2015. Additionally, forty-two (42) percent (39 people killed) of Hawaii traffic deaths in 2023 involved drunk driving which is the highest proportion of any state and much higher than the national average of 30 percent. Moreover, traffic fatalities involving drunk driving increased 30 percent in the state from 2014 to 2023.
Drunk driving clearly is a serious problem that requires solutions which are strongly supported by research12 and the public health and safety community. Advancing .05 percent BAC legislation will reduce dangerous drinking and driving across all levels of impairment, including high BAC, to prevent deaths and injuries.
Read the full letter here.