Drunken drivers don't cause accidents, they commit preventable violent crimes, Jennifer L. Dotson reminds a reporter inquiring about DUI rates in Hawaii.

Such consciousness-raising is part of the job for the state executive director of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, whose three-pronged mission is to stop drunken driving, help victims and prevent underage drinking.

Dotson, 36, took the post six months ago, two weeks after daughter Jade Kailani was born. First-time motherhood has only deepened her commitment to preventing drunken driving in a state where about half of all traffic fatalities are alcohol-related.

Dotson came to MADD from the Muscular Dystrophy Association, where she was health care services coordinator, providing direct services to families affected by the neuromuscular disease.

She graduated from Punahou School, Georgetown University (bachelor's degree in foreign service) and the London School of Economics (master's in economics).

She and her husband, photographer Justin Dotson, love the outdoors. She's a triathlete (running, swimming, bicycling) who also dances hula and is an avid volunteer, especially with the Junior League of Honolulu, for which she's communications chair.

Dotson's also active with her Georgetown alumni association, serving as an admissions interviewer for

Hawaii students applying to the Washington, D.C., university.

Her work for MADD includes fundraising. She also hopes to attract more volunteers to help monitor court cases, host youth camps to deter underage drinking and aid grieving survivors of people killed by drunken drivers.

The group is hosting a bereavement seminar tomorrow (see box).

“;MADD is not able to take the keys out of a somebody's hand; that's up to the person,”; she said. “;The more discussion, the more talk, the more awareness there is about this issue, the better for all of us.”;

QUESTION: What are the DUI trends in Hawaii — accidents, fatalities, arrests, that sort of thing?

ANSWER: We don't call them accidents. We call them crashes ... It's a crime that people commit. They drink alcohol and they get behind the wheel. ... When they commit a crime like this they are causing a crash, and it's not an accident at all. So to answer your question, we look at the arrest rate, and the arrest rate has stayed pretty constant in Hawaii for the past five years. We're looking at about 6,000 to 7,000 arrests per year statewide. What we do know is that there has been more attention paid to enforcement. Kudos to the police and our law enforcement partners for doing such a great job being out on the road, making the arrest, and then ... following through with the volumes of paperwork involved to make sure that these drunk drivers have their licenses revoked quickly and then are convicted. That's the key.

Q: Do you believe harsher penalties are needed? Would that be a deterrent?

A: Yes, absolutely. MADD has always prided itself on improving and advocating for laws that do make a difference. Historically MADD has been involved in supporting administrative license revocation, lowering the blood alcohol content from .10 to .08. I believe our banner year for legislation was 2006, when six laws were passed.

Q: Are you backing any current legislation?

A: MADD's campaign to eliminate drunk driving is focused on ignition-interlock technology. This is a proven method of reducing arrests, crashes and fatalities. It's not a silver bullet, because it works only for those who are arrested for DUI, but MADD absolutely believes that this is an excellent tool for preventing recidivism.

Here in Hawaii (the effort) started back three years ago, and the working group in this long process has now brought us to this year, this legislative session, where we're basically fine-tuning the implementation. The ignition-interlock legislation is set to come into play Jan. 1, 2011. It's specifically targeting the most serious drunk drivers.

Q: So these people have been convicted before, but they still have their licenses?

A: I believe the reason why this law has gained support is because it allows for these drivers to continue to work, to be a contributing part of the community. But they have to do so sober. Not drunk.

Q: So it's not especially punitive. It's actually keeping people on the road, but under controlled circumstances?

A: Absolutely. Basically they're only able to start their car if they're sober. (A device, similar to a breathalyzer, prevents the engine from starting if the driver's blood alcohol concentration exceeds a certain limit.)

Q: What do you think of the HPD Web site that posts mug shots every Wednesday of people arrested for drunken driving that week? There were 119 today.

A: It definitely has created a stir in the community. The actual impact, the scientific impact, is difficult to measure, but we feel that anything that creates discussion about preventing drunk driving is definitely positive thing. I'm sure that many people are thinking that they wouldn't want to see themselves among the group of Wednesday mug shots on the HPD site, so they should definitely avoid driving after drinking.

Q: Back to the Legislature: Your main bill is the ignition-interlock device?

A: Yes. We have also submitted testimony to strongly support the continuation of the GDL, the graduated driver's licensing system for novice teen drivers. The law went into effect five years ago and it sunsets January 2011. And we do not want that to happen. We want it to be continued. This is based again on state Department of Health reports that show this program has been super-effective in reducing crashes and fatalities among the 16 and 17 year olds.

Q: If we could talk a little bit about crash victims, the survivors, their families, the grief they live with ... is there really ever any closure?

A: We never use the word closure. Because there is never closure when a loved one dies like this. These are completely preventable violent crimes. ... A lot of people don't know that we have a victims assistance program. People have a perception of MADD, and most times it's, 'Oh, you're the organization that fights drunk driving, or is always telling people to have a designated driver.' But helping to support these victims of crashes, helping them cope, has always been part our mission, for the past 25 years. ... We've seen cases where the grief is so deep and so overwhelming that they can't imagine going on. These families suffer and they grieve, and they do so quietly. Not enough attention is paid to the hurt these (drunken drivers) are causing.