The Hawai‘i Island police reported a slight decrease in DUI arrests and a notable dip in fatal crashes this year. According to the official press release, the cops nabbed 20 drivers for driving under the influence between Oct. 27 and Nov. 2. A concerning detail highlighted was that six out of those detained were under the age of 21, pointing to ongoing issues with underage drinking and driving.
Reflecting on the year-to-date figures, DUI arrests are down by 5.29 percent from last year, sitting at 770 compared to the previous 813. The biggest contributors to these numbers were from the Kona and Hilo districts, clocking in at 297 and 252 arrests, respectively. Despite the drop in DUI bookings, crashes seem stubbornly persistent. There were 841 major crashes so far — a minor uptick from last year's 832, representing a 1.08 percent increase.
The fatalities from crashes paint a slightly more hopeful picture, showing a decrease by more than 20 percent. The island mourned 20 lives lost in 18 fatal crashes, whereas last year took 25 lives in 23 crashes. Even amidst the sorrow of loss, a sliver of progress shows in these numbers, though the absence of non-traffic fatalities held steady at zero, identical to last year's count in a continued streak of fortunate circumstances, as detailed by the Hawaiʻi Police Department.
