STORY SUMMARY>>>
Under a new law signed by Lt. Gov. Duke Aiona Monday anyone arrested for driving under the influence will no longer lose their ability to drive for a mandated period of time.
Instead, drivers arrested for DUI will be allowed to get back behind the wheel as soon as they install an ignition interlock device on their car.
The founder of the Hawaii chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving hailed the new law as a “better mouse trap” to catch repeat DUI offenders.
“The public will benefit because more known impaired drivers will be kept off our roads,” said Carol McNamee, who also predicted fewer crashes and fatalities.
The ignition interlock law is scheduled to begin January 1 after the Department of Transportation selects a vendor to administer the program.
Those arrested or convicted of drunk driving will pay roughly $3 per day to have the device attached to their vehicle. Installation is expected to cost about a hundred dollars.
McNamee said the new law would also benefit DUI offenders.
“They will be given an electronic device that will allow them to legally drive at anytime and anywhere they want to go,” she said. “No restriction other than that they be sober.”
Under current Hawaii law a first time DUI offender is prevented from driving for at least 90 days, unless they are given a conditional license to get them to and from work. A second DUI offense within five years would result in a one year driving prohibition.
However under the ignition interlock program even a repeat offender would have the ability to get back on the road as soon as they install an ignition interlock device on their car.
Aiona admitted the device has a major shortcoming in that it cannot detect illegal drugs.
However he said any driver with an ignition interlock system who was caught driving under the influence of marijuana or another mind altering drug would face the full scrutiny of the courts.
“Obviously that would be a sentencing factor that would be looked upon by the court in regards to the type of sentence that defendant would get,” the Lt. Governor told Khon2.
The interlock device, which looks like a traditional breathalyzer used by police, attaches to a vehicle’s electronic ignition system. It allows a car to start only if the person blowing into it has a blood alcohol level of less than point-zero-two. The blood alcohol level in Hawaii is point-zero-eight.
Under the ignition interlock program a first time DUI offender would be required to keep the device on their car a full year. Anyone caught driving under the influence three or more times within ten years would be forced to use the device at least five years.
Rep. Sharon Har, a Leeward Oahu democrat, was one of the driving forces behind the ignition interlock law after she was struck head-on by a repeat drunk driver in 2007.
“Fifty to seventy-five percent of drunk drivers whose licenses are suspended or revoked continue to drive,” Har said at the press conference. “I often look back at pictures of my car crash and am constantly reminded of how very fortunate I am to be alive.”
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