Big Island police have issued 1,818 speeding tickets this year in a crackdown on speeding motorists, a news release said today.

Sgt. Kelly Kaaumoana-Matsumoto, head of the Hawai'i County Police Department's Traffic Services Section, said because 21 of the 33 fatal accidents in 2007 were attributed fully or partially to speeding, police have increased the number of speed checkpoints island wide in 2008 to get motorists to slow down.

"The crackdown on speeding is aimed at saving lives," Kaaumoana-Matsumoto said. "We hope this increased enforcement of speed limits will cause motorists to think twice about speeding."