Posted on: Friday, May 20, 2005

Drunken drivers targeted by police

By Peter Boylan
Advertiser Staff Writer

As drunken-driving arrests continue to rise on O'ahu, Honolulu police are ramping up sobriety checkpoints in anticipation of a summer rife with parties, returning college students, and high school kids with nothing to do for three months.

Through April, 1,194 people had been arrested for driving under the influence, compared with 955 during that same period last year. Drunken-driving arrests hit a five-year high last year after the department corralled 3,009 impaired drivers.

The checkpoints will be set up randomly at unannounced times and locations around the island starting today and continuing through the Labor Day weekend.

Maj. Doug Miller, who heads the Honolulu Police Department's Traffic Division, said the increased checkpoints are a response to the graduation party season and the coming summer months.

"The whole department is taking a zero-tolerance approach on the serious problem of impaired driving and we're very committed to putting an end to senseless deaths on the road due to impaired driving," he said. "(The checkpoints are) part of what we do every year in response to the problem of graduation parties and just more individuals out celebrating and, unfortunately, drinking and driving as part of their celebrations."

As of Wednesday, 31 people had died on O'ahu as the result of 28 traffic collisions compared with 29 traffic-related deaths from the same period last year. Ten of the 28 fatal collisions this year were alcohol- or drug-related, police said.

Connie Abram, executive director for Mothers Against Drunk Driving Hawai'i, said her organization will team with HPD over a holiday weekend this summer to administer a sobriety checkpoint. MADD will also host two alcohol-free teen dances, June 3 and 17, at The 50th State Fair in addition to a media campaign.

"We recognize that with the summer come a lot more festivities and we're not against adults' consumption of alcohol but we just ask people to plan ahead and designate a driver so their festivities don't end in tragedy," she said.

"But when it comes to teens, there are plenty of ways to have fun without alcohol."

Starting last October, police departments from all four counties began a "52-12" program in which police put up a DUI roadblock every week for 12 months. Traditionally in Hawai'i, roadblocks have been clustered around holiday weekends. The 52-12 program puts a surprise element into the enforcement effort, officials said.

According to the city prosecutor, first-time DUI offenders face a fine of $150 to $1,000, a mandatory 14 hours of counseling for substance abuse, 72 hours of community service, a 90-day suspension of license, plus a night in jail.

Reach Peter Boylan at pboylan@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-8110.