§286-243 Implied consent requirements for commercial motor vehicle drivers. (a) A person who drives a commercial motor vehicle within this State is deemed to have given consent to submit to a test or tests, approved by the director of health, of that person's blood or breath for the purpose of determining that person's alcohol concentration or the presence of controlled substances, or both.

(b) A test or tests may be administered at the direction of a law enforcement officer who, after lawfully stopping or detaining the commercial motor vehicle driver, has probable cause to believe that the driver was driving a commercial motor vehicle while having in the person's body alcohol, a controlled substance, or any drug which impairs driving.

(c) A person requested to submit to a test as provided in subsection (a) shall be warned by the law enforcement officer requesting the test that a refusal to submit to the test will result in:

(1) The officer immediately issuing a twenty-four hour out-of-service order under section 286-242; and

(2) The person being disqualified from operating a commercial motor vehicle for at least a one-year period under section 286-240.

(d) If the driver refuses testing, or submits to a test that indicates an alcohol concentration of 0.04 or more grams of alcohol per two hundred ten liters of breath or 0.04 or more grams of alcohol per one hundred milliliters or cubic centimeters of blood, the law enforcement officer shall submit an affidavit to a district judge of the circuit in which the driver was stopped or detained stating that the test was authorized pursuant to subsection (a) and that the driver refused to submit to testing, or submitted to a test that indicates an alcohol concentration of 0.04 or more grams of alcohol per two hundred ten liters of breath or 0.04 or more grams of alcohol per one hundred milliliters or cubic centimeters of blood.

(e) A hearing to determine the truth and correctness of an affidavit of a law enforcement officer submitted under subsection (d) shall be scheduled to commence before a district judge within twenty days after the affidavit is filed or as soon thereafter as is practicable.

The State shall be represented at the hearing by the prosecuting attorney of the county in which the alleged violation occurred. The district judge shall hear and determine:

(1) Whether the law enforcement officer who stopped or detained the driver had probable cause to believe that the driver had been either driving or in actual physical control of a commercial motor vehicle, while having any alcohol in the driver's body;

(2) Whether the driver was lawfully stopped or detained;

(3) Whether the law enforcement officer informed the driver of the sanctions of section 286-240;

(4) Whether the driver submitted to a test or tests of the driver's breath or blood or refused to be tested; and

(5) If the driver submitted to a test or tests, whether the driver's alcohol concentration was 0.04 or more grams of alcohol per two hundred ten liters of breath or 0.04 or more grams of alcohol per one hundred milliliters or cubic centimeters of blood.

The amount of alcohol found in the driver's blood within three hours after the time of the alleged violation as shown by chemical analysis or other analytical techniques of the defendant's blood or breath shall be competent evidence that the defendant was under the influence of intoxicating liquor at the time of the alleged violation. Nothing in this section shall be construed as limiting the introduction of relevant evidence of a person's blood alcohol content obtained more than three hours after an alleged violation; provided that the evidence is offered in compliance with the Hawaii rules of evidence. If the judge finds the statements contained in the affidavit are true, the judge shall disqualify the driver from driving a commercial motor vehicle as provided by section 286-240. [L 1989, c 320, pt of §2; am L 1990, c 342, §12; am L 1993, c 268, §7; am L 2011, c 67, §4]