Drunken-driving
deaths drop by
24 percent hereThe decrease is the nation's sixth
largest, federal data show
Alcohol-related traffic deaths in Hawaii dropped by nearly a quarter between 1998 and 2002, according to new federal data released today.
The report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says the 24 percent decrease is the sixth largest in the nation.
Alcohol-related traffic death rates increased or held steady in 19 states over the five years of the study, suggesting that efforts to curb drunken driving have reached a plateau.
The report calculated the fatality rate per 100 million miles driven. NHTSA considers a crash alcohol-related if a driver had anything above a 0.01 blood-alcohol level, which is far lower than the 0.08 legal limit in 45 states, including Hawaii.
Under that method, Hawaii's rate fell to 0.56 alcohol-related deaths per 100 million miles driven in 2002, from 0.74 in 1998.
South Carolina saw the greatest increase in its death rate during the five-year period, followed by Kansas, South Dakota, Rhode Island and Wisconsin. The states with the highest numbers of alcohol-related deaths per miles traveled were Montana, South Carolina, South Dakota, Nevada and Louisiana.
Honolulu Police Department officials said most of Hawaii's drunken-driving offenses take place on Oahu, where there are more than 2,000 drunken-driving arrests a year. From 1998 to 2002, HPD officials made a total of 11,150 DUI arrests.
"We just do the best we can," said Honolulu police Maj. Brian Wauke, of the traffic division. "We had 118 roadblocks last year, and so far this year, we've had 137 roadblocks.
"We're trying harder and doing what we can, staffing permitting," Wauke said.
Local Mothers Against Drunk Driving officials said while the study is encouraging, they are wary that it is just a snapshot of the overall problem. On Oahu this year, 38 percent of the 65 traffic fatalities involved alcohol.
"We're a small state, so those numbers can change quickly and easily," said MADD Hawaii Executive Director Connie Abram. "These numbers may look encouraging now, but they may look a lot more bleak for 2003."
Barbara Harsha, executive director of the Washington-based Governors Highway Safety Association, said experts cannot explain why some states have far fewer drunken-driving deaths than others.
"There don't seem to be any patterns," she said. "Some have seen increases after a period of decreases, and they're doing the same things as they were in the past."
Harsha suspects rates remain high in some places because of a growing number of alcohol-related motorcycle accidents in the last five years.
NHTSA's report showed a drop to 16,572 alcohol-related traffic deaths, or 40 percent of all traffic deaths, in 1999 from 26,173, or 60 percent, in 1982. For 2002 the figures were 17,419 alcohol-related deaths, or 41 percent of all traffic fatalities.
The Associated Press and Star-Bulletin reporter Rod Antone contributed to this story.
