Hawaii County police arrested 18 motorists for drunk driving during the first week in April.

However, police said DUI arrests are down when compared to the same period a year ago.

So far this year, there have been 361 DUI arrests compared with 392 during the same period last year, a decrease of 7.9 percent. 

Of the 18 Hawaii County motorists arrested for drunk driving during the week of April 1 through April 7, five of the drivers were involved in traffic crashes. Two were under the age of 21. 

There have been 344 major accidents so far this year compared with 410 during the same period last year, a decrease of 16.1 percent. 

There were 11 traffic fatalities in Hawaii County, compared with nine during the same period last year, an increase of 22.2 percent. 

To date, there have been two fatalities involving intoxicants. One was attributed to drugs only and another to a combination of drugs and alcohol.