House Bill 306, which would require repeat drunken drivers to wear an alcohol ankle monitor as a condition of bail, should be seen for what it is — a smart, proven solution to cut down on repeat drunken driving in Hawaii.

Many of those opposed to the bill have suggested that more ignition interlock devices will solve our state’s repeat drunken driving problem. And there’s no doubt that ignition interlocks are an effective tool to prevent drunken persons from operating a car.

However, ignition interlocks are not a silver bullet. They are generally applied to first-time DUI offenders or as a condition of license reinstatement. In Hawaii an ignition interlock is required for DUI offenders who have lost their license and want it reinstated. But drunken drivers who don’t have a valid license upon arrest — a group that accounts for many repeat DUIs — are not eligible for an interlock.

Currently, second- and third-time DUI offenders in Hawaii are released from jail with no requirement of sobriety or alcohol monitoring. The research is clear: a large number of second- and third-time offenders go on to cause crashes or get another DUI. These dangerous offenders put our community and visitors at serious risk, and in our current system there’s nothing to check their behavior.

HB 306 closes the dangerous gap between the time a repeat DUI offender is arrested and the date their case is resolved or dismissed. Under the bill, ignition interlocks are still required for license reinstatement. However, with this new bill, repeat drunken drivers would be required to stop drinking and driving impaired while out on bail.

The Honolulu Prosecutor’s Office looked into the alcohol monitoring anklets after hearing about other counties that have seen dramatic reductions in repeat drunken driving from using the technology.

One program in Pennsylvania, known as Target 25, saw a 90 percent drop in repeat DUIs when repeat offenders were required to wear the alcohol monitors as a condition of bail. Target 25, which has been nationally recognized by traffic safety organizations, stopped the cycle of “catch and release” that lets drunken drivers back on the streets, unsupervised, before their case is resolved. That program is similar to the legislation proposed here in Hawaii, and will tackle our own “catch and release” problem.

The proposed technology has been used to monitor more than half a million serious alcohol offenders across the country. On any given day, 99.3 percent of the repeat drunken drivers wearing the anklets are sober and compliant with their monitoring.

Quite simply, when those individuals aren’t drinking, they aren’t driving drunk.

The bill also includes provisions to ensure that no one will be denied access to the anklets because of an inability or failure to pay for them.

With approximately 1,000 arrests for repeat drunken driving annually in our state, Hawaii should be able to take advantage of all available solutions to combat this problem. Not only will the proposed legislation save lives, but it will help make our community a safer place to live, work and visit.

Isobel Webster, of Kaneohe, is a clinical research specialist and former nurse who was previously married to a repeat DUI offender.