HONOLULU (KHON2) – Honolulu Police will be cracking down on those driving under the influence.

Last night on Oahu, there were 22 arrests for driving under the influence.

“Nowadays there’s more and more drugs involved in OVUII. Driving under the influence doesn’t mean its just alcohol anymore, it can mean drugs and all sorts of substances,” said Arkie Koehl, with Mothers Against Drunk Driving, or MADD Hawaii.

On Oahu in 2017, there were 3,928 arrests for driving under the influence, while in 2018, there were about about 3,688.

To lower that number, the Honolulu Police Department is increasing driver checkpoints for the rest of the summer.

However, Koehl says more needs to be done to stop drunk drivers.

“The most obvious ways involve improving the DUI laws. It’s been a long time since we’ve had major, major changes, reforms in the laws,” said Koehl.

“The law enforcement community, the police and the prosecutors all around the state are now working on a pretty much of a overhaul of our DUI statutes to see if they can be toughened. To see if they – the penalties can be more meaningful.”

He says the initiative to look at possibly adding red light cameras on our streets is a step in the right direction, since some people who run red lights are drunk drivers.

There may also be new penalties for drivers who drive with a revoked license for impaired driving.

But until that happens, he reminds people that to stay safe, they need to remember this.

“All you have to prevent drunk driving, is not have a drink before you go driving,” Koehl. He recommends calling a taxi or ride service or calling a friend.

If a person is caught driving under the influence, they will be arrested. After that they could face even more jail-time, lose their license and pay as much as a thousand dollar fine for the first offense.