- Hawaii Police Department - https://www.hawaiipolice.com -

835 Motorists Arrested for Drunk Driving Last Year 01-09-02

HAWAII COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT
TRAFFIC SERVICES SECTION
SERGEANT RANDY APELE
PHONE: 961-2305
JANUARY 9, 2002

MEDIA RELEASE

Big Island police last year arrested 835 motorists for drunk driving.

This represents a decrease of 23 percent from the 1,081 motorists arrested for drunk driving in 2000.

According to Sergeant Randy Apele of the Traffic Services Section, a total of 152 of the 835 drunk drivers nabbed last year were arrested after they had been involved in accidents.

Also, 108 of the motorists arrested for drunk driving last year were younger than 21.

Police recorded 29 traffic fatalities in 2001, compared to 38 fatalities recorded in 2000 — a decrease of 24 percent.

There were 17 DUI-related fatalities recorded last year, compared to 19 reported in 2000, a decrease of 11 percent.

Apele noted that of the drivers arrested for driving under the influence last year, 263 were also arrested for having no driver’s license and 157 for having an open vessel in their vehicle.

Apele said police are continuing their efforts to crack down on drunk drivers in order to save lives.

A breakdown of last year’s 835 DUI arrests, by police district, shows that Kona had 342 DUI arrests; South Hilo, 203; Puna, 118; South Kohala, 77; Ka’u, 36; Hamakua, 29; North Kohala, 19; and North Hilo, 11.

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