Testing and Implied Consent

HRS div. 1, tit. 17, ch. 291E, pt. II

in effect

HRS §291E-11 Implied consent of operator of vehicle to submit to testing to determine alcohol concentration and drug content

291E-11. Implied consent of operator of vehicle to submit to testing to determine alcohol concentration and drug content (a) Any person who operates a vehicle upon a public way, street, road, or highway or on or in the waters of the State shall be deemed to have given consent, subject to this part, to a test or tests approved by the director of health of the person's breath, blood, or urine for the purpose of determining alcohol concentration or drug content of the person's breath, blood, or urine, as applicable. (b) The test or tests shall be administered at the request of a law enforcement officer having probable cause to believe the person operating a vehicle upon a public way, street, road, or highway or on or in the waters of the State is under the influence of an intoxicant or is under the age of twenty-one and has consumed a measurable amount of alcohol, only after: (1) A lawful arrest; and (2) The person has been informed by a law enforcement officer that the person may refuse to submit to testing under this chapter. (c) If there is probable cause to believe that a person is in violation of section 291E-64, as a result of being under the age of twenty-one and having consumed a measurable amount of alcohol, or section 291E-61 or 291E-61.5, as a result of having consumed alcohol, then the person shall elect to take a breath or blood test, or both, for the purpose of determining the alcohol concentration. (d) If there is probable cause to believe that a person is in violation of section 291E-61 or 291E-61.5, as a result of having consumed any drug, then the person shall elect to take a blood or urine test, or both, for the purpose of determining the drug content. Drug content shall be measured by the presence of any drug or its metabolic products, or both. (e) A person who chooses to submit to a breath test under subsection (c) also may be requested to submit to a blood or urine test, if the law enforcement officer has probable cause to believe that the person was operating a vehicle while under the influence of any drug under section 291E-61 or 291E-61.5 and the officer has probable cause to believe that a blood or urine test will reveal evidence of the person being under the influence of any drug. The law enforcement officer shall state in the officer's report the facts upon which that belief is based. The person shall elect to take a blood or urine test, or both, for the purpose of determining the person's drug content. Results of a blood or urine test conducted to determine drug content also shall be admissible for the purpose of determining the person's alcohol concentration. Submission to testing for drugs under subsection (d) or this subsection shall not be a substitute for alcohol tests requested under subsection (c). (f) The use of a preliminary alcohol screening device by a law enforcement officer shall not replace a breath, blood, or urine test required under this section. The analysis from the use of a preliminary alcohol screening device shall only be used in determining probable cause for the arrest. (g) Any person tested pursuant to this section who is convicted or has the person's license or privilege suspended or revoked pursuant to this chapter may be ordered to reimburse the county for the cost of any blood or urine tests, or both, conducted pursuant to this section. If reimbursement is so ordered, the court or the director, as applicable, shall order the person to make restitution in a lump sum, or in a series of prorated installments, to the police department or other agency incurring the expense of the blood or urine test, or both. [L 2000, c 189, pt of §23; am L 2001, c 157, §11; am L 2002, c 113, §1; am L 2004, c 90, §5; am L 2006, c 64, §1]

HRS §291E-12 Persons qualified to take blood specimen

291E-12. Persons qualified to take blood specimen No person, other than a physician, physician assistant, registered nurse, or phlebotomist deemed qualified by the director of a clinical laboratory that is licensed by the State, or person licensed in a clinical laboratory occupation under section 321-13, may withdraw blood for the purpose of determining the alcohol concentration or drug content therein. This limitation shall not apply to the taking of a breath or urine specimen. [L 2000, c 189, pt of §23; am L 2009, c 151, §6]

HRS §291E-13 Additional tests

291E-13. Additional tests The person tested may choose any physician, physician assistant, registered nurse, or person licensed in a clinical laboratory occupation under section 321-13 to withdraw blood and also may choose any qualified person to administer a test or tests in addition to any administered at the direction of a law enforcement officer. The result of the test or tests may be used as provided in section 291E-3. The failure or inability to obtain an additional test by a person shall not preclude the admission of the test or tests administered at the direction of a law enforcement officer. Upon the request of the person who is tested, full information concerning the test or tests administered shall be made available to that person. [L 2000, c 189, pt of §23; am L 2009, c 151, §7]

HRS §291E-14 Consent of person incapable of refusal not withdrawn

291E-14. Consent of person incapable of refusal not withdrawn The consent of a person deemed to have given the person's consent pursuant to section 291E-11 shall not be withdrawn by reason of the person's being dead, unconscious, or in any other condition that renders the person incapable of consenting to examination, and the test may be given. In such event, a test of the person's blood or urine shall be administered. [L 2000, c 189, pt of §23]

HRS §291E-15 Refusal to submit to breath, blood, or urine test; subject to administrative revocation proceedings

291E-15. Refusal to submit to breath, blood, or urine test; subject to administrative revocation proceedings If a person under arrest refuses to submit to a breath, blood, or urine test, none shall be given, except as provided in section 291E-21, or pursuant to a search warrant issued by a judge upon a finding of probable cause supported by oath or affirmation, or pursuant to any other basis permissible under the Constitution of the State of Hawaii and laws of this State. Upon the law enforcement officer's determination that the person under arrest has refused to submit to a breath, blood, or urine test, if applicable, then a law enforcement officer shall: (1) Inform the person under arrest of the sanctions under section 291E-41 or 291E-65; and (2) Ask the person if the person still refuses to submit to a breath, blood, or urine test, thereby subjecting the person to the procedures and sanctions under part III or section 291E-65, as applicable; provided that if the law enforcement officer fails to comply with paragraphs (1) and (2), the person shall not be subject to the refusal sanctions under part III or IV. [L 2000, c 189, pt of §23; am L 2006, c 64, §2; am L 2009, c 88, §§4, 17(1); am L 2010, c 166, §10; am L 2016, c 17, §1; am L 2021, c 60, §1]

HRS §291E-17 Other evidence not excluded

291E-17. Other evidence not excluded This part shall not limit the introduction of any other competent evidence bearing on the question of whether the person was under the influence of an intoxicant or was operating a vehicle while under the age of twenty-one and after consuming a measurable amount of alcohol. [L 2000, c 189, pt of §23]

HRS §291E-18 Test results to be collected

291E-18. Test results to be collected The results of any test for intoxicants made upon any person, including any person who has been fatally injured in a traffic collision or the operator of a vehicle involved in a collision that resulted in another person's death, shall be sent to the state director of transportation, who shall compile the data without revealing the identity of any individual tested. This data shall be available only to the state and county highway safety councils and to other agencies the director of transportation deems necessary and advisable. [L 2000, c 189, pt of §23]

HRS §291E-19 Authorization to establish intoxicant control roadblock programs

291E-19. Authorization to establish intoxicant control roadblock programs The police departments of the respective counties may establish and implement intoxicant control roadblock programs in accordance with the minimum standards and guidelines provided in section 291E-20. The chief of police in any county establishing an intoxicant control roadblock program pursuant to this section shall specify the procedures to be followed in carrying out the program in rules adopted under chapter 91; provided that the procedures shall be in conformity with and not more intrusive than the standards and guidelines described in section 291E-20. In the case of internal police standards that do not fall within the definition of "rule" under section 91-1, failure to comply scrupulously with the internal police procedures shall not invalidate a roadblock that otherwise meets the minimum statutory criteria provided in section 291E-20. [L 2000, c 189, pt of §23; am L 2021, c 230, §4]

HRS §291E-20 Minimum standards for roadblock procedures

291E-20. Minimum standards for roadblock procedures (a) Every intoxicant control roadblock program shall: (1) Require that all vehicles approaching roadblocks be stopped or that certain vehicles be stopped by selecting vehicles in a specified numerical sequence or pattern; (2) Require that roadblocks be located at fixed locations for a maximum three-hour period; (3) Provide for the following minimum safety precautions at every roadblock: (A) Proper illumination; (B) Off-road or otherwise safe and secure holding areas for vehicles involved in any roadblock stop; (C) Uniformed law enforcement officers carrying proper identification; (D) Adequate advance warning of the fact and purpose of the roadblocks, either by sign posts, flares, or other alternative methods; (E) Termination of roadblocks at the discretion of the law enforcement officer in charge where traffic congestion would otherwise result; and (4) Provide for a sufficient quantity and visibility of uniformed officers and official vehicles to ensure speedy compliance with the purpose of the roadblocks and to move traffic with a minimum of inconvenience. (b) Nothing in this section shall prohibit the establishment of procedures to make roadblock programs less intrusive than required by the minimum standards provided in this section. [L 2000, c 189, pt of §23]

HRS §291E-21 Applicable scope of part; mandatory testing in the event of a collision resulting in injury or death

291E-21. Applicable scope of part; mandatory testing in the event of a collision resulting in injury or death (a) Nothing in this part shall be construed to prevent a law enforcement officer from obtaining a sample of breath, blood, or urine, from the operator of any vehicle involved in a collision resulting in injury to or the death of any person, as evidence that the operator was under the influence of an intoxicant. (b) If a health care provider who is providing medical care, in a health care facility, to any person involved in a vehicle collision: (1) Becomes aware, as a result of any blood or urine test performed in the course of medical treatment, that: (A) The alcohol concentration in the person's blood meets or exceeds the amount specified in section 291E-61(a)(4) or 291E-61.5(a)(2)(D); or (B) The person's blood or urine contains one or more drugs that are capable of impairing a person's ability to operate a vehicle in a careful and prudent manner; and (2) Has a reasonable belief that the person was the operator of a vehicle involved in the collision, the health care provider shall notify, as soon as reasonably possible, any law enforcement officer present at the health care facility to investigate the collision. If no law enforcement officer is present, the health care provider shall notify the county police department in the county where the collision occurred. If the health care provider is aware of any blood or urine test result, as provided in paragraph (1), but lacks information to form a reasonable belief as to the identity of the operator involved in a vehicle collision, as provided in paragraph (2), then the health care provider shall give notice to a law enforcement officer present or to the county police department, as applicable, for each person involved in a vehicle collision whose alcohol concentration in the person's blood meets or exceeds the amount specified in section 291E-61(a)(4) or 291E-61.5(a)(2)(D) or whose blood or urine contains one or more drugs. The notice by the health care provider shall consist of the name of the person being treated, the blood alcohol concentration or drug content disclosed by the test, and the date and time of the administration of the test. This notice shall be deemed to satisfy the intoxication element necessary to establish the probable cause requirement set forth in subsection (c). (c) In the event of a collision resulting in injury or death and if a law enforcement officer has probable cause to believe that a person involved in the collision has committed a violation of section 707-702.5, 707-703, 707-704, 707-705, 707-706, 291E-61, 291E-61.5, or 291E-64, the law enforcement officer shall request that a sample of blood or urine be recovered from the vehicle operator or any other person suspected of committing a violation of section 707-702.5, 707-703, 707-704, 707-705, 707-706, 291E-61, 291E-61.5, or 291E-64. If the person involved in the collision is not injured or refuses to be treated for any injury, the law enforcement officer may offer the person a breath test in lieu of a blood or urine test. If the person declines to perform a breath test, the law enforcement officer shall request a blood or urine sample pursuant to subsection (d). The act of declining to perform a breath test under this section shall not be treated as a refusal under chapter 291E and shall not relieve the declining person from the requirement of providing a blood or urine sample under this section. (d) The law enforcement officer shall make the request under subsection (c) to the hospital or medical facility treating the person from whom the blood or urine is to be recovered. If the person is not injured or refuses to be treated for any injury, the law enforcement officer shall make the request of a blood or urine sample under subsection (c) to a person authorized under section 291E-12; provided that a law enforcement officer may transport that person to another police facility or a hospital or medical facility that is capable of conducting a breath, blood, or urine test. Upon the request of the law enforcement officer that blood or urine be recovered pursuant to this section, and except where the person to perform the withdrawal of a blood sample or to obtain a urine sample or the responsible attending personnel at the hospital or medical facility determines in good faith that recovering or attempting to recover blood or urine from the person presents an imminent threat to the health of the medical personnel or others, the person authorized under section 291E-12 shall: (1) Recover the sample in compliance with section 321-161; and (2) Provide the law enforcement officer with the blood or urine sample requested. (e) Any person complying with this section shall be exempt from liability pursuant to section 663-1.9 as a result of compliance. (f) As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires: "Health care facility" includes any program, institution, place, building, or agency, or portion thereof, private or public, whether organized for profit or not, that is used, operated, or designed to provide medical diagnosis, treatment, or rehabilitative or preventive care to any person. The term includes health care facilities that are commonly referred to as hospitals, outpatient clinics, organized ambulatory health care facilities, emergency care facilities and centers, health maintenance organizations, and others providing similarly organized services regardless of nomenclature. "Health care provider" means a person who is licensed, certified, or otherwise authorized or permitted by law to administer health care in the ordinary course of business or practice of a profession. [L 2000, c 189, pt of §23; am L 2001, c 157, §12; am L 2003, c 72, §1; am L 2004, c 90, §6]

HRS §291E-22 Presence of drugs or metabolic products; admissibility

291E-22. Presence of drugs or metabolic products; admissibility Any results reflecting the presence of drugs or metabolic products obtained from a blood or urine specimen obtained under this part shall not be admissible in any proceeding brought under chapter 329 or 712. L 2000, c 189, pt of §23

Source: Hawaii State Legislature (capitol.hawaii.gov), via Internet Archive capturesURL: http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol05_Ch0261-0319/HRS0291E/HRS_0291E-.htmFetched: 11/10/2026