KAILUA-KONA — For more than two weeks the Hawaii Police Department has participated in the national program “2017 Labor Day Impaired Driving Crackdown.” ADVERTISING KAILUA-KONA — For more than two weeks the Hawaii Police Department has participated in the national
KAILUA-KONA — For more than two weeks the Hawaii Police Department has participated in the national program “2017 Labor Day Impaired Driving Crackdown.”
The crackdown began on Aug. 16 and ends Monday. The concentrated efforts include posting of more roadblocks.
“It is a national awareness period for the police to enforce DUIs more than normal,” said Maj. Robert Wagner with Hawaii Police Department.
While the amount of roadblocks depends upon who is available to man them, Wagner said, two are typically scheduled for Labor Day weekend and a few more during the crackdown period.
While most people have figured out where these roadblocks are over the years, Wagner said they don’t release where or when they are being posted.
“We tend to run them where there is traffic, major thoroughfares, and at locations in which turning around is not a good option once you see us on the roadway,” Wagner said. “The areas are usually lit up with our lights or with street lights for safety reasons.”
Wagner said Labor Day weekend does yield a high amount of DUI arrests. He urges motorists not to drive drunk.
Wagner said there also tends to be a lot of motorcyclists during that weekend. He cautions motorists to keep an eye out for motorcycles on the roadway.
State Department of Transportation with funds from the Federal Government, have block off times for the police department to concentrate on enforcement. Wagner said funds to run DUI roadblocks also occur around Christmas and New Years.
In 2016 in the Kona District, which includes both the physical North and South Kona areas, there were 451 DUI arrests. So far this year islandwide, there have been 744 DUI arrests compared with 685 during the same period last year, an increase of 8.6 percent, according to data released from Hawaii Police Department on Aug. 28.
Also islandwide, there have been 860 major accidents so far this year compared with 934 during the same period last year, a decrease of 7.9 percent.
Islandwide, there were 23 fatal crashes, resulting in 25 fatalities to date, compared with 14 fatal crashes, resulting in 16 fatalities for the same time last year. This represents an increase of 64.3 percent for fatal crashes, and 56.3 percent for fatalities, the data indicates.
