LIHU‘E — Were you caught up in Operation Happy Hour? Or perhaps Operation Tipsy? Hawai‘i is one of 38 states that allows random sobriety checkpoints. For some, the privilege of driving is consent for the checks, while others say it
LIHU‘E — Were you caught up in Operation Happy Hour? Or perhaps Operation Tipsy?
Hawai‘i is one of 38 states that allows random sobriety checkpoints. For some, the privilege of driving is consent for the checks, while others say it is an infringement of civil liberties.
“I understand the need and desire to stop drunk driving. I also understand the 4th Amendment protection against unreasonable searches,” said Chuck Lasker, a Kalaheo resident who disagrees with the checkpoints.
Lasker said the identification checks and random search and seizures go beyond the limitations placed on checkpoints.
“My opinion is, as a law-abiding citizen, I should not be subject to the intimidation and implied force of illegal searches, just so 1 percent of those stopped can be given DUI citations,” Lasker said.
County Prosecuting Attorney Justin Kollar said rigorous prosecution of drunken and drugged driving laws is necessary. So far in 2013, there have been 69 arrests through April for operating a vehicle under the influence of an intoxicant, and 29 of them followed a traffic collision.
That compares to 232 OVUII arrests for all of 2012. The total was 242 in 2011, 303 in 2010, and 254 in 2009.
“The No. 1 way for communities to reduce avoidable deaths is to reduce drunk and impaired driving,” Kollar said.
The Kaua‘i Police Department Traffic Safety Unit reports there were 52 sobriety checkpoints conducted in 2011. Officers screened 6,874 vehicles, which resulted in eight arrests for OVUII. There were also 26 arrests and 737 citations issued for other crimes or road violations.
“A small percentage of OVUII arrests are made via the checkpoints,” said KPD Assistant Chief Ale Quibilan. “The majority of the arrests are either by enforcement or following a traffic crash.”
The visibility of checkpoints on highways or feeder roads help deter drunken driving, Quibilan said. People see them and think twice before they drink and drive.
KPD district commanders in Waimea, Lihue and Hanalei schedule at least one OVUII checkpoint per month. The locations must have ample space and moderate traffic to ensure that many vehicles come through the checkpoints.
Officers conduct an inspection to ensure the vehicle, the driver and occupants are safe to continue on the road. A driver will be arrested if impaired, is wanted on a warrant, or when illegal contraband is discovered in the vehicle.
Traffic citations may be also be issued for equipment and safety violations, including child restraints and seatbelts. A delinquent license, insurance or taxes will also result in a ticket.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled sobriety checkpoints are constitutional by necessity when it upheld a Michigan court decision in 1990.
Dist. 16 State Rep. Dee Morikawa said it is important to take drunken drivers off of the road, but the checkpoints seem excessive when they result in citations for something other than an intoxication arrest.
“I don’t take a position on this, but I am not sure this is the right thing to do,” Morikawa said. “There must be a fairer way.”
Morikawa said another concern is with the checkpoints following community events. She said they create gridlock as vehicles are funneled through the road stops.
“They decided to have one at the Fourth of July event at (Pacific Missile Range Facility),” she said. “The Westside traffic was gridlocked because of the screenings.”
State laws
The nonprofit Governor’s Highway Safety Association reported in May that 38 states, the District of Columbia, Northern Mariana Islands and the Virgin Islands allow DUI checkpoints. The remaining 12 states do not allow DUI checkpoints by law, a state court decision, or by choosing not to act.
Three Hawai‘i state laws allow OVUII checkpoints and regulate police procedure.
Lihue attorney Daniel Hempey said the Legislature understood it was dealing with a serious public safety issue when it fashioned checkpoint laws. They provided strict requirements that protect against arbitrary traffic stops.
“In allowing DUI checkpoints, the Legislature has attempted to strike a balance between effective enforcement of drunk driving laws and respecting the driver’s rights to be free from certain warrantless stops and searches,” Hempey said.
Under Hawai‘i Revised Statutes, “Implied consent” requires drivers to submit to testing for alcohol and drugs. Any person operating a vehicle on public roads or waters grants consent when there is probable cause.
“Authorization to establish intoxicant control roadblock programs” gives the police legal authority to conduct OVUII checkpoints. “Minimum standards for roadblock procedures” requires officers stop all vehicles in a patterned sequence for a maximum three-hour period at a fixed location.
Laurie Cicotello, of Wailua, said the checkpoints are a violation of her rights if the state law is allowing a search without a warrant or reasonable suspicion.
“If officers have probable cause to stop and ask for someone’s papers, by all means they should do it,” Cicotello said. “Otherwise, drivers should be free from being arbitrarily stopped.”
Penalties
In Hawai‘i, a petty misdemeanor OVUII carries a possible 30-day jail term and a $2,000 fine. Penalties are more severe with occupants in the vehicle, and more so if they are under age 15.
Refusing a sobriety test results in an automatic revocation of a driver’s license for one year for the first offense. There is a two-year penalty on the second offense, and four years on the third.
The state legal intoxication level for age 21 and older is a .08 blood-alcohol content. The level drops to .02 for driver’s under age 21, and a .04 for commercial drivers.
There is no required jail time on the first offense but a second-offense results in a minimum five-day jail stay or 240 hours of community service. A third offense results in a minimum 10-day jail stay, and the fourth offense within a 10-year period is a felony and punishable by up to five years in prison.
An OVUII conviction results in an automatic suspension of a driver’s license. The court can grant limited “drive-to-and-from-work” privileges after 30 days, which requires ignition interlock systems and a breathalyzer to start the vehicle.
Offenders are often required to undergo a drug an alcohol addiction assessment and follow through with treatment programs as recommended by probation. State alcohol exclusion laws allow insurance companies to deny claims that are associated with the consumption of alcohol.
Prevention work on Kauai includes alcohol and driver education presentations and Shattered Dreams programs in the schools.
“After a generation of working to reduce drunk driving, we do know that it is possible to change behaviors and reduce fatalities,” Kollar said. “And we won’t stop until that number is zero.”
