DUI Checkpoints
HRS 291E-20 — every car or a set numerical pattern, a fixed place, and no more than three hours
The county police departments may run intoxicant control roadblock programs, under procedures the chief of police adopts as rules, which may be no more intrusive than the minimum standards the statute sets.
Who handles this in Hawaii: Hawaii State Bar Association, Lawyer Referral and Information Service; and legal aid programs and the state offices, listed in the Hawaii directory.
- All approaching vehicles are stopped, or vehicles are selected in a specified numerical sequence or pattern.
- The roadblock sits at a fixed location for a maximum three hour period.
- It has proper illumination and a safe holding area off the road.
- The officers are uniformed and carry proper identification.
- There is adequate advance warning of the fact and purpose of the roadblock, by signs, flares or another method.
- The officer in charge may end it where traffic congestion would otherwise result.
A stop at a roadblock run in compliance with those sections stands in for reasonable suspicion when the license is administratively revoked after an arrest there.
A failure to follow internal police procedures that are not rules does not by itself invalidate a roadblock that meets the minimum standards.
Sources for this section (3)
- HRS 291E-19 — Authorization to establish intoxicant control roadblock programs
- HRS 291E-20 — Minimum standards for roadblock procedures
- HRS 291E-33 — Probable cause determination; issuance of notice of administrative revocation; procedures
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Hawaii attorney.