12 motorists arrested for DUI during week of Jan. 1-5 on Big Island roads

Hawai‘i Police Department officers during the first week of the new year continued their crackdown on motorists who drive under the influence of an intoxicant on Big Island roadways, arresting 12 drivers for DUI from Jan. 1-5.

Four of those motorists were involved in traffic crashes. Two of the drivers were younger than 21 years old.

That’s just 1 less, or a 7.7% decrease, from the 13 DUI arrests made during the same 5-day period at the beginning of 2024.

Hilo had the most DUI arrests for the week with 7. Here are the arrests by district:

After a review of updated crash records, the Hawai‘i Police Department Traffic Services Section found that 13 major crashes had happened as of Jan. 17, the same as last year.

There also have already been 2 fatal crashes and 2 fatalities in 2025. Last year, there were none during the first 5 days.

The non-traffic fatality count, those that do not happen on a public roadway, is zero this year, which is the same as the first week in 2024.

Taking a look back at the entire year, the Big Island saw an overall increase of nearly 1% in DUI arrests throughout all of 2024.

Police made a total of 964 DUI arrests last year, which is 0.94% more than the 955 motorists arrested for driving under the influence of an intoxicant in 2023.

Kona ended 2024 with the most DUI arrests, reporting 347 for the year. Here is a breakdown by district:

Numbers of impaired drivers involved in traffic crashes and impaired drivers younger than 21 years old also increased last year.

There were 277 drivers arrested for DUI who were involved in traffic crashes in 2024, which is 9.1% more than the 254 the year before. Meanwhile, 71 of those arrested last year for driving under the influence were younger than 21, a 9.2% hike from the 65 in 2023.

Major traffic collisions spiked 17.1% last year, with 987 reported around the island compared to 843 in 2023.

A total of 29 people died in 26 fatal crashes last year, making 2024 one of the deadliest years for Big Island roadways.

The number of fatal crashes saw a frightening 85.7% spike last year from the 14 reported around the island in 2023. Furthermore, the number of resulting fatalities from those tragic wrecks saw a terrifying 93.3% hike compared with the 15 the year before.

Hawaiʻi County saw the second-highest number of traffic-related fatalities in the state last year.

The Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation shows of the 29 fatalities on the Big Island in 2024:

• 16 were motor vehicle occupants.
• 4 were operating off-road vehicles
• 1 was a bicyclist.
• 1 was operating an all-terrain vehicle.
• 7 were pedestrians, 2 of whom were homeless.

“Safety is not only about you as an individual driver, rider or pedestrian,” said Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation Director Ed Sniffen at the beginning of the month. “It is about making choices that could impact your life or the life of someone sharing the same road as you. We should all strive for a common goal of eliminating fatal crashes on our roads.”

Hawaiʻi Police Department reports DUI roadblocks and patrols will continue islandwide.