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Hawaii island’s trouble with drunken driving needs no better illustration than the recent experience of Solomon Singer, 22, a Pahoa horse trainer.
Unlike many 20-somethings, Singer says he has no interest in drinking or drugs and has long suspected there are others like him.
"I have a feeling there’s a lot, and they don’t know where to go," he said in a telephone interview.
So Singer decided to start the Young and Sober Social Club, featuring drug- and alcohol-free activities around the island. The first meeting was scheduled for April 19 at the Mooheau Bandstand in Hilo.
Singer never made it.
On his way there a drunken driver slammed into his car in Puna.
"I couldn’t make it because of the accident," Singer recalled. "That’s the irony."
Although Singer and his passengers were not hurt, he says things could have turned out far worse.
"Drugs and alcohol are not just killing the people who use them," he said. "They are harming everyone else in society. My family and I could have been injured, disabled or killed by a drunk driver like so many people are each year."
Hawaii County police arrested the 34-year-old driver on suspicion of driving under the influence. His record shows three convictions for DUI — twice in 2001 and once in 2007, which led to a 90-day suspension of his license and a $250 fine.
The crash, reported at 2:23 p.m., happened when the other driver turned left in front of Singer’s car without yielding at the intersection of Highways 130 and 132, police said.
WHILE OAHU typically has far more traffic fatalities per year, Hawaii island dwarfs the other counties in the number of alcohol- and drug-related traffic fatalities, police figures show.
In 2012, Oahu had 57 fatal accidents, 11 of them by impaired drivers, for a rate of 19 percent.
That same year, Hawaii County had 38 fatalities, 28 of them by impaired drivers, for a rate of 73 percent.
Last year, Hawaii County improved, with 25 traffic fatalities, 13 of them by impaired drivers, for a rate of 52 percent. But that still topped Oahu’s 58 fatalities, six of them by impaired drivers, for a rate of 10 percent.
(Kauai also has a high rate, but its overall numbers are small. In 2013, accidents claimed seven lives, five of them, or 71 percent, at the hands of impaired drivers.)
From 2008 to 2012, 72 percent of Big Island traffic fatalities involved alcohol- or drug-related driving. Of those, 54 percent were alcohol-related and 44 percent were drug-related.
That compares with a statewide average of 45 percent of the 549 deaths over that five-year period, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
In Hawaii overall, more than 40 percent of roadway deaths occur in DUI crashes. The national figure is 30 percent.
"As an ER doc on the Big Island, drunk and drug impaired driving is one of my greatest concerns," said state Sen. Josh Green (D, Naalehu-Kailua-Kona), chairman of the Senate Health Committee, by email Sunday. "I’ve seen many avoidable tragedies. We offer too little treatment for addiction on Big Island. Also treatment should always be covered by insurance. Too often it’s not. Long commutes and exhaustion also make the problem much worse. The police do what they can but they need more resources to bust impaired drivers."
Department of Health epidemiologist Dan Galanis says the proportion of alcohol- and drug-related traffic deaths is significantly higher for all neighbor islands compared with fatal crashes on Oahu.
It’s unclear why that is — possibly due to the "wide open spaces" nature of much of Hawaii island or the smaller number of police officers per square mile.
In any case, the numbers are improving. So far this year, the number of traffic fatalities on Hawaii island are way down at five. Police say one was due to alcohol, one due to drugs and one to a combination of both.
That is still a high rate — 60 percent — but is comparable to a typical year on Maui or Kauai.
"Drunk driving can impact anyone," Mothers Against Drunk Driving Hawaii Executive Director Toni Muranaka said in a written statement.
No one knows that better than Singer, who moved to Puna from Grass Valley, Calif., when he was just a year old and was home-schooled.
He works for and is on the board of directors of the Good Shepherd, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving human, animal and environmental health and the humane treatment of animals.
Singer said he hopes future club activities could include sailing, hiking, surfing and snorkeling. The second club meeting was held at 3 p.m. Saturday at the Panaewa Zoo.
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COURTESY S. SINGER