RATIONALE:
The Hawai‘i Alcohol Policy Alliance (HIAPA) champions evidence-based, responsible alcohol policies to foster safer communities. Emphasizing the urgency of the matter, HIAPA calls for your support behind crucial legislation that seeks to lower the legal blood alcohol concentration (BAC) for driving from 0.08 to 0.05 percent, an initiative poised to mitigate the alarming toll of alcohol-related traffic fatalities and injuries. Hawai‘i’s alcohol-related traffic fatalities rate is higher than the national average. From 2011-2022, at least 40 percent of traffic fatalities in Hawai‘i involved alcohol. During the same timeframe, the national average for alcohol-related traffic fatalities hovered between 35 and 36 percent, bumping up to 37 percent in 2022. Lowering the legal blood alcohol concentration (BAC) for driving from 0.08 to 0.05 percent will serve as a general deterrent to intoxicated driving and prevent future deaths. With an array of safe ride options available, HIAPA advocates for change, urging lawmakers to uphold the state’s reputation by passing legislation aligning with the highest public safety and responsibility standards.
2026 Bills
TAKE ACTION NOW:
Public hearings are an opportunity for the public to weigh in on bills being considered by lawmakers. Submitting testimony for these hearings is an important way to let lawmakers know your position on these important issues. All you need to do is share why you are in strong support (we have some talking points below to get you started!). Each hearing may have different lawmakers, so you must submit testimony each time there is a new hearing.
Hearing Information
Bill: SB 2463 SD1
Position: Strong Support
Date: Tuesday, March 24, 2026
Time: 9:00 AM
Committee: House Committee on Transportation
How to Submit Testimony
- Log-in /make an account on the Capitol website.
- Go to the page for SB 2463 SD1 and click on the “Submit Testimony” button.
- Upload or write your testimony in SUPPORT of the bill (It doesn’t need to be long!).
- Please submit testimony by Monday, March 23 at 9:00 AM (at least 24 hours in advance) to ensure your testimony is received on time and reviewed by the committee members!
TALKING POINTS:
- According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Commission (NHTSA), about 37 people in the United States die in drunk-driving crashes every day — that’s one person every 39 minutes. In 2022, 13,524 people died in alcohol-impaired driving traffic deaths. These deaths were all preventable.
- Utah’s 0.05 BAC law has not reduced alcohol sales. In fact, Utah’s alcohol sales have increased 28% since the 0.05 BAC law went into effect in 2018.
- Drivers are significantly impaired at a 0.05 percent BAC, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Research shows that if your BAC is between 0.05 and 0.08, your chances of getting killed in a crash where only your vehicle is involved are at least seven times higher than if you hadn’t been drinking at all.
- Reducing the BAC to 0.05 percent is linked to fewer instances of impaired driving and its consequences. A 0.05 BAC limit is a general deterrent to impaired driving and affects all would-be-drinking drivers.
- More than 100 countries have reduced their legal BAC levels to 0.05 percent or lower. Specifically, all states in Australia have a 0.05 percent BAC limit. France, Austria, Italy, Spain, and Germany have lowered their limit to 0.05 percent BAC, while Sweden, Norway, Japan, and Russia have set their limit at 0.02 percent BAC. In most of those countries, traffic fatalities in which drivers had an illegal BAC are under 25 percent, with many falling in the single-digit range.