How many more people need to die?
A lot of people still remember the horrific crash that took place on Feb. 24, 1996. A car occupied by five teenagers crashed on the way back to Hilo after a party at Kolekole Beach Park. The two drivers who caused the crash were impaired by alcohol. Three of the people in that car died, along with an innocent motorist who tried to avoid the collision.
I remember it, too. I survived that crash, and I carry the trauma of that night with me every single day.
In the years since then, I have dedicated much of my life to educating others about the dangers of drinking and driving. The tragedy that claimed the lives of my high school classmates was preventable, something no one should ever have to experience.
Yet, alcohol-related traffic fatalities continue to claim the lives of thousands of people every year, robbing parents of their children, children of their parents, and leaving countless family and friends to forever mourn the loss of their loved ones.
That’s why I, along with Gov. Josh Green and many of our lawmakers, support legislation to lower the legal blood alcohol concentration (BAC) for driving from 0.08% to 0.05%. And, we are not alone. A December 2022 statewide poll of Hawaii voters showed that the majority (62%) support lowering the BAC to 0.05 percent (Hawaii Alcohol Policies Study, SMS Research).
This is not a new idea. The state of Utah lowered the legal BAC to 0.05% in 2018. Since then, it’s been a proven deterrent to impaired driving and Utah’s number of alcohol-related traffic fatalities has decreased. Further, 0.05% BAC (and, in some cases, lower) has become the international standard. Here in Hawaii, this is the fourth legislative session in a row that we have supported bills to change our BAC law.
Despite the Hawaii state Senate’s passage of SB2384 last week, I continue to sense a lack of urgency among our lawmakers on the House side to support this legislation. This is beyond troubling. It costs nothing to change this law. There is no budget implication whatsoever. However, the cost of not changing it is more lives lost. Even one alcohol-related traffic death is too many. While just one life saved makes it all worth it.
Our community supports these bills, and we deserve to see the lawmakers we elected change this law. We deserve to be heard. We deserve to drive on roads made safer because our lawmakers lowered the BAC to 0.05%.
How many more people need to die for our lawmakers to take this seriously?
Camlyn Pola
Vice chair, East Hawaii Drug-Free Coalition