The end-of-summer drunken-driving dragnets cops customarily conduct during the Labor Day weekend could start as early as tonight.
The stepped-up enforcement is part of the national campaign “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over.” The campaign starts today and runs through Monday, Sept. 5, Labor Day. During the campaign, police will conduct sobriety checkpoints and roving patrols island-wide using federal grant funding from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
“The period starts (tonight) as well as the checkpoints,” said Sgt. Robert Pauole of the Hawaii Police Department’s Traffic Services Section. “The money has been distributed to all the districts, and they can use the funding for the roadblocks during that period.”
Pauole said about half of this fiscal year’s $183,000 grant is earmarked for personnel costs and officer overtime to fund the roadblocks. The other half, he said, is for administration, education and the certification of officers as “drug recognition experts.”
So far this year, there have been 15 official traffic fatalities on Hawaii Island, one more than during the same period last year. This represents an increase of 7.1 percent. According to NHTSA, on average, more than 10,000 people were killed each year between 2010 and 2014 in drunken-driving crashes nationwide. During the 2014 Labor Day holiday weekend, 40 percent of the fatalities in traffic crashes involved drunken drivers, which was the highest percentage over those five years. And nighttime proves to be the most dangerous time to be out on the roads: During the 2014 Labor Day holiday period, 83 percent of drunken-driving crash fatalities occurred between 6 p.m. and 5:59 a.m. — as compared to half of all drunken-driving crash fatalities throughout the rest of that year.
Nationally, 28 percent of the crash fatalities that occurred on that Labor Day weekend involved drivers with a blood-alcohol content of 0.15 or higher — almost twice the legal limit of 0.08.
“That is why the campaign runs through the Labor Day weekend,” Pauole said. “It’s dangerous to drink and drive.”
This year’s “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign starts and ends on holidays, with today being Statehood Day, a holiday for state and county workers.
“NHTSA didn’t really plan it that way, but for us, it’s a good time to start, because of the three-day weekend,” Pauole said.
And for those planning Labor Day parties, barbecues and beach outings, some common-sense reminders for drivers and hosts include:
• Plan ahead and always designate a sober driver before consuming alcohol.
• Don’t drive a vehicle if you’ve been drinking. Call a taxi or a sober friend. A cab ride is cheaper than a DUI arrest.
• Take care of your friends. Take their keys. Never let a friend drive while impaired.
• If you are hosting a party, always offer non-alcoholic beverages. Make sure all of your guests leave with a sober driver.
• Never provide alcohol to anyone under the legal drinking age of 21.
Email John Burnett at jburnett
@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
