HPD Battles Drunken Driving

DUI checkpoints will be in full force throughout the island as the holidays near and 2015 comes to a close.

The Hawai’i Police Department says the increase is part of the national and statewide “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign, which runs from Friday, Dec. 18 through Sunday, Jan. 3.

As a reminder to drive safe throughout the season and the year, Sergeant Robert Pauole, head of HPD’s Traffic Services Section, notes that drugs or a combination of drugs and alcohol have been a factor in nearly 65 percent of the 17 traffic fatalities that have taken place so far in 2015.

State-wide motor vehicle fatalities have become one of the leading causes of death in the state over the past 15 years. Sergeant Pauole say the number of deaths involving motor vehicles, 1,868, is more than drowning and firearm deaths combined, which hold totals of 997 and 616, respectively. Suicide is the leading cause of death with 2,330 in the past 15 years.