Since being mandated for first-time convicted drunken drivers 10 1⁄2 months ago, in-car breathalyzers have been doing their job.
HOLIDAY CAMPAIGN
MADD Hawaii next week will kick off its annual holiday crackdown on drunk driving with its Tie One On For Safety campaign, which calls for motorists to display red ribbons on their cars as a pledge and reminder to drive safely, sober, and buckled up. MADD’s ribbons will be available at Safeway, Lion Coffee Cafe, 7-Eleven, 76 Hawaii gas stations, Tesoro gas stations, Zippy’s restaurants, Caesars Cleaners, Envoy Mortgage, and Napa stores. Hawaii’s 25th annual campaign runs from Thanksgiving through New Year’s Day. |
The tamper-proof machines prevented more than 3,000 instances of intoxicated driving in Hawaii between Jan. 1 and Nov. 15, leaders from the Hawaii chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving said Wednesday at a news conference with state officials at the state Capitol.
Sixty-eight of those cases (2 percent) involved offenders with a blood-alcohol level of 0.16 — two times more than the legal limit.
"The battle of drunk driving is a war — a war that must be fought on many fronts," said Jade Butay, deputy director for administration of the state Department of Transportation.
More than 900 of the devices have been installed in the cars of Hawaii’s drunken-driving offenders since the law took effect, and MADD Hawaii officials said they expect more than 1,000 to be in place by the end of the year.
"During the holidays, we know drunk driving is prevalent,"said Jennifer Dotson, executive director of MADD’s Hawaii chapter. "As we head into the happy holiday season, please be safe and be sober."
Hawaii is one of 32 states that have passed versions of the "ignition interlock" law that requires cellphone-sized breathalyzers to be connected to the ignition of cars driven by drunken-driving offenders. If the device shows that a driver has been drinking, his or her car won’t start.
"If you’re over 0.02 (blood-alcohol level), you’re going to have to wait a while and try again," said Carol McNamee, founder of MADD Hawaii.
Arizona adopted a breathalyzer law in 2007 and has seen its drunken driving-related deaths drop by more than 46 percent, according to a 2011 MADD report.
The state Department of Transportation reported that in 2010, 36 percent of traffic deaths in Hawaii were related to drunken driving.
MADD Hawaii leaders also announced Wednesday that the state’s chapter received a four-star rating (out of five stars) from MADD’s national office. This is the first year the star rating has been given out, Dotson said.
"The star rating is a good indicator of where we stand today," she said.
Stars are awarded for various steps taken by the state to prevent drunken driving, including requiring the ignition locks for offenders, enhancing penalties for drunken drivers with children in the car, revoking driver’s licenses, conducting sobriety checkpoints and not allowing drivers to refuse breathalyzer tests at those checkpoints.
Gov. Neil Abercrombie, who attended the news conference, said he will support any laws requiring stricter punishment for drunken drivers in Hawaii.
"No one is entitled to drink too much and get behind the wheel," he said.
