Hawaii No Chase Law
Agency discretion
Does Hawaii have a no-chase law? No — Hawaii has no statewide law restricting police pursuits. Each department sets its own chase policy.
What governs pursuits in Hawaii
Hawaii has no enacted statewide statute restricting when police may pursue. A 2025 bill (HB277) that would have limited pursuits to suspects believed to have committed murder, manslaughter, felony assault, sexual assault, domestic abuse, escape, or DUI (effective July 2027 if passed) cleared committee but was opposed by HPD and Maui PD and had not become law as of the last update found. Pursuits are currently governed by individual department policy, e.g. Honolulu PD's Motor Vehicle Pursuits policy.
Will police chase a motorcycle in Hawaii?
No Hawaii law addresses motorcycles specifically. Whether HPD or another county department chases a fleeing motorcycle is a discretionary, officer/policy-level decision based on risk-balancing under the department's own pursuit policy, not a statutory rule.
No US state has a literal law forbidding officers from chasing motorcycles. What riders call a "no-chase law" is nearly always a department policy that tells officers to break off a pursuit when the danger to the public outweighs the arrest — and fleeing remains a crime in Hawaii regardless. See the state-by-state motorcycle guide for how this works everywhere.
Recent changes
2025: HB277 (statewide pursuit restriction bill) introduced and cleared a committee but did not become law; would take effect July 2027 if eventually enacted.
Sources
- westhawaiitoday.com/2025/02/07/hawaii-news/proposed-police-pursuit-policy-clears
- alohastatedaily.com/2025/04/16/too-fast-too-furious-proposed-law-aims-to-regulat
- honolulupd.org/policy/policy-motor-vehicle-pursuits/
Verified as of August 2026. Department policies can change without notice — check the agency's published policy for current break-off criteria.