During the week of March 23-29, Hawaii Island police arrested three motorists for DUI. None were involved in traffic accidents nor were any younger than 21.
The numbers of arrests by district were: Kona, one; South Hilo, one; and South Kohala, one.
DUI arrests have declined sharply during the COVID-19 pandemic emergency declared by Gov. David Ige. There were 25 DUI arrests for the week of March 9-15, and 13 for the week of March 16-22.
“That can be attributed to all the bars that are shut down (and) all the restaurants that are serving liquor are shut down,” said Hawaii Police Department Chief Paul Ferreira. “So technically, there shouldn’t be any DUIs on the road.”
So far this year, there have been 262 DUI arrests compared to 294 during the same period last year, a decrease of 10.9%.
There have been 228 major accidents so far this year compared to 243 during the same period last year, a decrease of 6.2%.
To date, there have been seven official traffic fatalities compared to three fatalities for the same time last year, an increase of 133.3%.
DUI roadblocks and patrols will continue islandwide, police said.