Any law is only as effective as it is enforceable, and the drunken driving statutes serve as a pointed example. The courts have now put some constraint on how enforcement is carried out.
But as the holiday season continues, that ruling shouldn’t mean the guard should be lowered for “driving under the influence” (DUI) violations.
Sufficient curbs against DUI remain in place, despite the Hawaii Supreme Court’s recent decision in the case of Yong Shik Won, a driver who in 2011 was convicted of DUI based on results of a breath test.
Won consented to that test, which showed a blood-alcohol content more than twice the state’s legal limit to drive, because of a process that the court found to be coercive. He had initialed a consent form that said he faced a misdemeanor charge, which could lead to $1,000 in fines and 30 days in jail if he refused, according to court documents.
That amounted to a violation of the U.S. Constitution’s Fourth Amendment, which protects against unreasonable searches. So the results of the tests that were conducted under coercion are no longer admissible as evidence in court.
The cases with sufficient admissible evidence — such as failing a field sobriety test — will proceed to trial, said Jeen Kwak, deputy city prosecutor.
The disallowed consent form was instituted in 2011, after enabling legislation was passed. In practice, the police would gather other evidence and then conduct the breath test.
What officers in the field used in a traffic stop previously was a similar consent form, but with a statement that refusing to submit to the test could result in the revocation of the driver’s license.
That is a reasonable curb for government to place on the use of public roadways. Whereas threatening a driver with criminal prosecution is excessive, drivers do bear a heavy responsibility when they get behind the wheel.
“When you drive and affect the safety of others, you do give up a certain amount of freedom,” Kwak said.
That’s correct. Driving is a privilege that the state administers. Its licensing tests are designed to ensure awareness of safety laws. So it falls within the government’s jurisdiction to withhold that privilege if the driver doesn’t live up to his or her end of the bargain.
Drunken driving is a travesty year-round, but every holiday season, with its round of alcohol-infused parties, the danger intensifies. Even if the threat of a criminal charge for refusal to take a test has been struck down, DUI itself is still a crime.
Hawaii drivers should comply with the law for an even more compelling reason than the license revocation period they may face as a penalty. They should do so to save lives, to save a family from grief at the holidays, or any other time.
Mothers of Drunk Drivers has circulated national data showing that Hawaii’s alcohol-impaired driving fatalities in 2014 dropped by 27 percent since 2011. Let’s hope the trend does not reverse itself.
