LIHU‘E — Kaua‘i Police Department officers cracked down on COVID-19 violations this week, staging several checkpoints around the island, issuing citations and making arrests for violations of curfew, quarantine and stay-at-home orders.
Wednesday, KPD reported that nearly 1,700 vehicles went through just one checkpoint set up on Kuhio Highway by the south end of the Kapa‘a bypass road — most were on their way to or from either essential work or essential activities, according to officials.
“Right now, we are seriously attempting to curtail the number of cars on the road and discourage people from getting into them to travel unless they absolutely need to,” said KPD Chief Todd G. Raybuck.
“Please consider what is actually essential and limit your activities to the best of your ability. We also want to remind people that our presence at these locations is solely an effort to prevent the spread of the virus within our community,” he said.
Checkpoints have been causing traffic delays, particularly on Wednesday, when KPD issued an alert over its social-media network, alerting the public of the Kapa‘a checkpoint and advising there was “no traffic crash in the area.”
“Unfortunately, there is heavy traffic because there are too many vehicles on the road despite having a stay-at-home order,” KPD said in its Wednesday traffic alert.
”Kaua‘i police kindly ask that you please consider the true essential nature of your travels before heading out. We really want to keep our community healthy and free from community spread of the virus.”
Checkpoints of this nature have been and will continue to be conducted at various times and locations around the island to help deter people from traveling and potentially spreading COIVD-19 within the community.
On Monday, 300 vehicles passed through a Waimea checkpoint, 213 though Hanalei, 160 through Po‘ipu and some 1,150 through Kapa‘a. A handful of drivers were advised to turn around due to conducting non-essential travel, but the majority stated that they were traveling for essential needs.
On Tuesday, more than 1,400 drivers passed through a checkpoint in Po‘ipu and more than 250 at a checkpoint in Kapa‘a, nearly all drivers stating essential reasons for travel.
As of Thursday, the KPD had issued 12 misdemeanor citations for COVID-19 emergency-order violations, largely pertaining to curfew. They each could mean fines of up to $5,000 and up to a year in jail.
“Rest assured, we will be taking further action if traffic on the roads continues in the way that it has,” said Raybuck. “I understand how difficult this is, as none of us have ever really faced having to make this kind of sacrifice for the greater good of our island, but I do believe that if there’s any community that can pull together and do this, it’s ours.”
Hmmmm…if people are just SAYING they are on essential travel, then the efficacy of the effort seems questionable. If KPD thinks there are still too many cars on the road, but the vast majority of the vehicles they pulled over were on essential travel, then something isn’t right.
Yea, too many exceptions to the rules. How is surfing and swimming essential…? Most of the businesses deemed essential are definitely not, including mine.
Too many cars on the road yet vast majority stated a reason deemed an essential need…
“On Monday, 300 vehicles passed through a Waimea checkpoint, 213 though Hanalei, 160 through Po‘ipu and some 1,150 through Kapa‘a.
On Tuesday, more than 1,400 drivers passed through a checkpoint in Po‘ipu and more than 250 at a checkpoint in Kapa‘a”
Think you got your numbers switched for Tuesday!!
Cabin Fever setting in on Kauai? What will happen when it reaches a Boiling Point?
Wise Up County officials,if citizens are out and about without anyone else around How can they be a Threat to Others, Better lighten up before this causes a real REBELLION! County officials need to Keep their Fears to themselves! Not all are BIG- T personalities? Scaredy-Cats?
We all went to sleep one night in a free country…and woke up the next day in a police state where our God-given rights have been trashed. The Constitution is valid through good and bad times.
Don’t roll over so easily, be a real American, not a supplicant to the government hacks….
RG DeSoto
I have being staying home since this quarantine went into effect. Driving only to Costco, and Walmart for food and supplies…not taking any chances.
Good little boy, Gary. I’ll leave you with something from HL Menchen:
“The fact is that the average man’s love of liberty is nine-tenths imaginary, exactly like his love of sense, justice and truth. He is not actually happy when free; he is uncomfortable, a bit alarmed, and intolerably lonely. Liberty is not a thing for the great masses of men. It is the exclusive possession of a small and disreputable minority, like knowledge, courage and honor. It takes a special sort of man to understand and enjoy liberty — and he is usually an outlaw in democratic societies.”
Count me in as one of the outlaws along with McCleod below.
RG DeSoto
“Disobedience is the true foundation of liberty. The obedient must be slaves.”
~ Henry David Thoreau, Thoreau and the Art of Life: Precepts and Principles
C. McCleod
Your decontextualized quote really misrepresents Thoreau’s thinking. He did not advocate “disobedience” for its own sake.
“all drivers stating essential reasons for travel”—–TO PREVENT RESIDENTS OF ISLAND TO STAY HOURS IN HUGE TRAFFIC JAMES, PLEASE AT LEAST WRITE CONCRETELY (AND IN THIS ARTICLE TOO) WHAT IS IT “ESSENTIAL REASONS” IN YOUR INTERPRETATION (AND WHAT IS NOT ESSENTIAL…). THANK YOU.
That is a topic for huge discussion. They leave it up to the officers to decide that though.
Gimme a break about infringement on your liberties. Grow up. This is the largest health emergency in 100 years. Sorry you can’t shop for ice cream at Walmart after 9pm. Practically a fascist state huh? Pau
“discourage people from getting into them to travel”. Superglue in the door lock works well for this.
“is solely an effort to prevent the spread of the virus within our community,” Like most liberal plans it likely achieves just the opposite. Infected person A transmits virus to police officer B. Police officer B transmits virus to citizens C thru Y as well as citizen Z who works at the donut shop.
“there are too many vehicles on the road”. Please tell us, what IS the proper number of vehicles on the road? Also, please tell us the proper number of donuts that should be offered at each checkpoint. Too few may be considered insulting while too many may be misconstrued as a bribe.
We need more people to help elderly people, frail people, people with comorbidities and others with compromised health to get groceries and shop. None of these people should be going out. Everyone should get a decent network together to get this accomplished. The “KupuinaKare” situation is full up, and there is some sort of a “waiting list”.
Get going entrepreneurs, lets get something going! You could make a killing doing this! Why aren’t all agencies set with some sort of a program to get these affected individuals to stop having to go out into crowded stores, stand in lines, and fight for what little they can get? Let the young and healthy go out and do for them! Do not anyone have any respect anymore? What is wrong with people?
Oh wait. I get it, now. You can do for tourists, visitors, rich people that own mansions, but not the elders ill and disabled of Kauai. Got it, got it. I forgot for a moment where I was. Silly me. (slaps forehead). Doh!
The nature of life means that this lockdown really has no chance of preventing the spread of disease. It’s more of a, “feel good” move by government officials and it will have the same success as herding cats…