HONOLULU -- Rep. Jon Riki Karamatsu will be prosecuted under Hawaii's new law for drivers caught with high blood-alcohol levels.

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Interview With Karamatsu At Court
Report: State Lawmaker Arrested On DUI Report: New Excessive DUI Law In Effect

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The law applies to people with a blood alcohol level of 0.15 or more. The legal limit is 0.08, so people with a 0.15 are driving at nearly twice the legal limit.

Karamatsu walked away physically unharmed from a crash early on Tuesday morning. Police arrested him on charges of driving under the influence with a high blood alcohol level. Police said Karamatsu's blood-alcohol level was 0.171.

"I am disappointed with myself the situation, but there's some circumstances that will be brought up later," Karamatsu said.

A 170-pound man must drink more than four drinks in an hour before his blood alcohol content reaches 0.08, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

In July, a tougher new drunk driving law went into effect targeting those considered highly intoxicated. Karamatsu voted for it.

"It includes a six-month to one-year license suspension license plate impoundment as well as vehicle registration confiscation," said Leah Marx of Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

That means if Karamatsu is convicted he would have his license plates and registration taken away.

"There's a lot of research showing that people that have high blood-alcohol levels over 0.15, that they're at higher risk of causing injuries and fatal crashes in the community," Marx said.

Typically a first time DUI offender with a lower blood-alcohol level gets a 30-day license suspension and is allowed to drive to and from work.

Karamatsu's only other run-ins with the law were, a speeding ticket in December of last year and a traffic ticket for failure to yield to a pedestrian in 2002, according to court records.