THE SENATE S.C.R. NO. 181 THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025 STATE OF HAWAII SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION urging the department of transportation to establish a working group on lowering the legal limit of blood alcohol concentration to 0.05 GRAMS OF ALCOHOL PER ONE HUNDRED MILLILITERS OF BLOOD.
THE SENATE S.C.R. NO. 181
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025
STATE OF HAWAII
THE SENATE
S.C.R. NO.
181
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025
STATE OF HAWAII
SENATE CONCURRENT
RESOLUTION
urging the department of transportation to establish a working group on lowering the legal limit of blood alcohol concentration to 0.05 GRAMS OF ALCOHOL PER ONE HUNDRED MILLILITERS OF BLOOD.
WHEREAS, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Commission, about thirty-seven people in the United States die in drunk-driving crashes every day; and WHEREAS, that number equates to one person dying every thirty-nine minutes; and WHEREAS, in 2022, 13,524 people died in alcohol-impaired driving traffic deaths across the United States; and WHEREAS, from 2011 to 2022, at least forty percent of traffic fatalities in Hawaii involved alcohol; and WHEREAS, research published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs in 2012 shows that if a person's blood alcohol concentration (BAC) is between 0.05 and 0.08 percent, their chances of being killed in a crash where only the person's vehicle is involved are at least seven times higher than if the person had not been drinking at all; and WHEREAS, reducing the legal BAC limit to 0.05 percent would likely lead to fewer instances of impaired driving and its consequences; and WHEREAS, a 0.05 percent BAC limit would serve as a general deterrent to impaired driving and affects all would-be drinking drivers; and WHEREAS, more than one hundred countries have reduced their legal BAC levels to 0.05 percent or lower, including Australia, France, Austria, Italy, Spain, and Germany; now, therefore, BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2025, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Department of Transportation is urged to establish a working group on lowering the legal limit of blood alcohol concentration to 0.05 grams of alcohol per one hundred milliliters of blood; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group is requested to consist of the following members: (1) The Director of Transportation or the Director's designee; (2) A representative from the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney of the City and County of Honolulu; (3) A representative from an office or department of the prosecuting attorney located on a neighbor island; (4) A representative from the Hawaii Alcohol Policy Alliance; and (5) A representative from the field of traffic safety and research with expertise in alcohol-impaired driving; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group is requested to submit a report to the Legislature of its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2026; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, Director of Transportation, and Prosecuting Attorney of the City and County of Honolulu. OFFERED BY: _____________________________ Report Title: Department of Transportation; Blood Alcohol Concentration; Working Group
WHEREAS, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Commission, about thirty-seven people in the United States die in drunk-driving crashes every day; and
WHEREAS, that number equates to one person dying every thirty-nine minutes; and
WHEREAS, in 2022, 13,524 people died in alcohol-impaired driving traffic deaths across the United States; and
WHEREAS, from 2011 to 2022, at least forty percent of traffic fatalities in Hawaii involved alcohol; and
WHEREAS, research published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs in 2012 shows that if a person's blood alcohol concentration (BAC) is between 0.05 and 0.08 percent, their chances of being killed in a crash where only the person's vehicle is involved are at least seven times higher than if the person had not been drinking at all; and
WHEREAS, reducing the legal BAC limit to 0.05 percent would likely lead to fewer instances of impaired driving and its consequences; and
WHEREAS, a 0.05 percent BAC limit would serve as a general deterrent to impaired driving and affects all would-be drinking drivers; and
WHEREAS, more than one hundred countries have reduced their legal BAC levels to 0.05 percent or lower, including Australia, France, Austria, Italy, Spain, and Germany; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2025, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Department of Transportation is urged to establish a working group on lowering the legal limit of blood alcohol concentration to 0.05 grams of alcohol per one hundred milliliters of blood; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group is requested to consist of the following members:
(1) The Director of Transportation or the Director's designee;
(2) A representative from the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney of the City and County of Honolulu;
(3) A representative from an office or department of the prosecuting attorney located on a neighbor island;
(4) A representative from the Hawaii Alcohol Policy Alliance; and
(5) A representative from the field of traffic safety and research with expertise in alcohol-impaired driving; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group is requested to submit a report to the Legislature of its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2026; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, Director of Transportation, and Prosecuting Attorney of the City and County of Honolulu.
OFFERED BY: _____________________________
OFFERED BY:
_____________________________
Report Title:
Department of Transportation; Blood Alcohol Concentration; Working Group