Hawaiʻi’s alcohol-related traffic fatality rate outpaces national average

A report from the Hawaiʻi Alcohol Policy Alliance showed that at least 40% of traffic fatalities in Hawaiʻi from 2011-2022 involved alcohol. During this same timeframe, the national average for alcohol-related traffic fatalities hovered between 35-36%, bumping up to 37% in 2022.

“We don’t like this trend at all; we’re moving in the wrong direction,” said Rick Collins, director of the Hawai‘i Alcohol Policy Alliance, in a statement released Monday.

Collins said that lowering the legal blood alcohol concentration (BAC) for driving from 0.08 to 0.05 percent will deter intoxicated driving and prevent future deaths, ahead of four bills being considered to do just that in the state Legislature.

“We are encouraged to see that our legislators have introduced four bills – Senate Bill 346, Senate Bill 1285, Senate Bill 1403, and House Bill 1084 – again this session that would lower the BAC,” he said.

One year ago this week, four measures to lower the BAC failed, marking the fourth consecutive year such bills were introduced in Hawaiʻi.

Despite receiving written testimony from 79 individuals and organizations in support of a 0.05 BAC bill, with only one in opposition, and approval by the House Committee on Transportation, a lack of being placed on agendas for subsequent committees and tight deadlines prevented the measure from advancing.

“The death of these bills means more deaths on our roads,” Collins said. “It’s time to save lives, and our Hawai‘i legislature has a prime opportunity to make this a reality right now.”

With the exception of Utah where the legal BAC for driving was lowered to 0.05 percent in 2018, the United States is in the minority worldwide with its 0.08 limit. Efforts to lower the legal limit have been backed by national groups such as the National Transportation Safety Board and have been unopposed by AB InBev, the largest beer company in the world.