191 Traffic Citations Issued During St. Patrick’s Day Enforcement

St. Patrick’s Day traffic enforcement. Maui Now graphic.

Saint Patrick’s Day rivals Halloween and New Years as the busiest night for the Traffic Section’s Vehicle Homicide Unit, Solo Bike (Motorcycle) Detail and DUI Task Force Unit, according to Maui police. Many private parties and local liquor establishments sanction Saint Patrick’s Day celebrations, this makes increased patrols and DUI checkpoints very necessary, police said.

“It’s clear that too many drivers are breaking the law and putting their lives and the lives of others at grave risk. Impaired driving is a choice, a preventable one. There are always other options to driving impaired such as a designated, sober driver; Uber (smartphone driven transportation network), a taxi; or staying the night at a friend’s house. For those caught drinking and driving, the legal and financial penalties are significant,” police said.

The results of an extensive 24 hour traffic enforcement endeavor aimed at making our roadways safer on Saint Patrick’s Day are as follows:

Total Traffic related arrests: 15
Impaired Driving arrests: 10
Other Traffic Crime arrests: 8

Traffic safety efforts related to Saint Patrick’s Day included Distracted Driver and Occupant Protection enforcement as well. This resulted in 191 traffic citations being issued throughout Maui County.

Below is the breakdown of these 191 traffic citations issued:

No Driver’s License citations issued: 16
No Vehicle Insurance citations issued: 22
No Seat Belt/Child restraint citations issued: 9
Cellular Phone citations issued: 5
Speeding citations issued: 32
Other traffic related citations issued: 107

“While these statistics are relatively low in comparison to the increased volume of traffic and celebrations we experienced on Saint Patrick’s Day, we are still far from our goal of absolute voluntary compliance,” Maui Police said in a department issued press release.

Officers at the intoxication control checkpoints noticed numerous vehicles with occupants coming from Saint Patrick’s Day celebrations having designated drivers.

“The Maui Police Department would like to commend everyone who celebrated Saint Patrick’s Day responsibly. We sincerely thank everyone who either made arrangements to have a designated driver or served as a designated driver,” police said.