Roadside checkpoints planned

Kaua‘i Police Department officers will set up checkpoints throughout the island this July 4th weekend, and throughout the summer, to deter drunk driving and unsafe driving.

“I can’t say where or when, but there will be checkpoints (this weekend, among the busiest traffic times of the year),” said Assistant Chief Clayton Arinaga of the KPD’s Patrol Services Bureau.

According to Lt. Mark Scribner, who heads the KPD Traffic Safety Unit, officers will stage checkpoints around the island, and will try to remove from roadways motorists who are driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. They will also monitor motorists and vehicles for traffic violations.

“Compared to last year, traffic fatalities are down,” Scribner said. “There were six in the first six months of 2004, and so far this year, there were two.”

Scribner hopes the check-points will help keep drunk drivers and those high on drugs off the streets. “We want to make our roads as safe as possible for the community,” he said, “and checkpoints have proven to serve as a deterrent.”

On O‘ahu, leaders of Mothers Against Drunk Driving-Hawaii and the Hawaii Automotive Dealers’ Association will reward drivers who don’t drink, and those who drive safely.

Volunteers and others affiliated with the organizations will pass out red wristbands imprinted with a campaign slogan, “Choose Courage.”

To kick off the campaign, MADD leaders and Honolulu Police Department officers or representatives will host a sobriety checkpoint this weekend.

The wristbands and watermelon will be handed out, courtesy of leaders of Foodland Supermarkets, according to a MADD official.

The checkpoint will be set up between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. at the ‘Ewa entrance to Ala Moana Beach Park.

• Lester Chang, staff writer, may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 225) or lchang@pulitzer.net.