DPS works to reduce traffic related fatalities

Department of Public Safety Commissioner Edward Camacho said the department is now addressing the rising number of traffic related fatalities.

Camacho, who recently attended the Governor’s Highway Safety Association Conference on Hawaii last month, said addressing the issues relating to traffic deals with the Four E’s: education, enforcement, engineering, and Emergency Medical Services.

“This is an annual event, where we gather so we can become one voice for the federal government,” he said. “We use this solidarity to make sure we get support from the federal government on highway safety funding as well as support to reduce the number of crashes and fatalities on our highways.”

Camacho said participants also discussed Hawaii’s 52-12 program, where the enforcement of sobriety checkpoints would be done for 52 weeks and 12 months in a year.

“This is a goal here in the Commonwealth because obviously its going to be very labor intensive for us with the limited resources we have here, especially manpower, but we need to do it in order for us to make sure we reduce the fatality rates on our highways,” he said. “We’ll be checking the seatbelts, drivers license, as well as insurance. We want to make sure that all the different angles are covered.”

Further, Camacho said the DPS will lead several upcoming programs intended to reduce the number accidents and fatalities.

“Coming up, we have the Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention program and the Designated Driving program intended at preventing drunk drivers [from being] on our roads. There’ll be a lot of enforcement, but before that we’ll have a lot of education.”

Camacho explained that the engineering portion would feature joint effort between the DPS and the Department of Public Works.

“We also want to make sure that we contact our DPW folks so they can help us with engineering. We do have some roads out there that are polished and the curves are not at the right angle they’re supposed to be.

He said other factors are areas that lack signs, appropriate lighting, as well as reflectors on the road.

“We want to make sure that we have good roads, but on good roads you also need to have good cars, and in those good cars you also need to have good drivers. That equals survival…people will stay alive if all those three are intact,” he said.

A total of nine fatalities have been recorded this year, two more than the total number of fatalities last year.