MADD & Maui Toyota Honor Maui Police for DUI Enforcement

Photo collage by Wendy Osher.

By Wendy Osher

Mothers Against Drunk Driving Hawaiʻi together with Maui Toyota will honor Maui County police officers for their efforts in preventing impaired driving and reducing underage drinking, officials announced.

The officers will be honored at the third annual Law Enforcement Awards, scheduled to take place today at the Maui Tropical Plantation in Waikapū.

According to MADD, statistics show that nearly half of the traffic fatalities in Hawaiʻi involve alcohol.

File photo Courtesy MADD Hawaiʻi.

The officers are being recognized for the lives saved in 2013 through sobriety checkpoints and other efforts to identify impaired drives and get them off the road.

Earlier this year, Maui police made 60 DUI arrests during a two-week impaired driving crackdown that concluded on Sept. 2, 2013.

The Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign was part of a nationwide effort to stop impaired driving.

At the conclusion of the campaign, Maui Police Traffic section commander, Lieutenant Ricky Uedoi, said the department will continue throughout the remainder of the year to address the issue.

A community service award will also be presented to an individual who has demonstrated leadership and commitment to MADD’s mission of preventing underage drinking, stopping drunk driving, and supporting victims affected by drunk driving, agency officials said.

The event runs from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 19.

MADD is a nonprofit organization that seeks to stop drunk driving and has pushed for stricter alcohol policy in the state and nation.