By Olena Rubin
Hawaii leads the nation in traffic fatalities involving alcohol in the nation. A bill passed by lawmakers and awaiting approval by Governor Lingle could change that.

Sharon Har clearly remembers the night she was hit by a drunk driver.

“As the crash was occurring I kept thinking I was going to die tonight,” Har said.

It happened a little over a year ago...while she was stopped at a red light.

“He came directly at me head on and that was when we collided with each other,” Har said.

The driver, a 23 year old man who had already been convicted of two DUI’s, was driving without a license in a car with no insurance and again driving drunk.

“Last year we had over 6300 dui arrests and what's even more shocking to me is that 18 percent of those were repeat offenders, Sen. Mike Gabbard said.

“Revocation of licenses and suspension of licenses is not working,” Har

Sharon decided to write a bill requiring repeat offenders, and first time offenders driving highly intoxicated, be required to have an ignition interlock device in their vehicle to stop them from driving after drinking.

“It became very personal for me to introduce this bill, because right after my accident we started hearing in the news all of these stories of people being killed by drunk drivers, as well as being involved in drunken driving accidents,” Har said.

The recent increasing number of dui arrests includes:
State Legislator Jon Karamatsu, actor Daniel Dae Kim, Kimo Kahoano, John Waihee IV, and Senator Ron Menor…some driving drunk have even killed themselves.

The bill requires a task force to implement a program where a judge would decide if first time offenders be required to install the ignition interlock...those with a second dui offense or blood alcohol level of .15 and up would be automatically required to purchase the device.

“We are delighted to finally have it on the books, in the second it almost does a leap frog over many other mainland states, MADD spokesman Arkie Koel said.

"I truly believe that this bill is going to save lives,” Har said.

The device could cost up to $75 and convicted drivers must pay for it with their own money. Installation should begin in July 2010.