HONOLULU — Over the past two years, traffic fatalities have increased in Hawaiʻi, with  data from the Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation showing an 18-year record high in deaths in 2025. These avoidable deaths were attributed primarily to speeding and distracted driving.

Statewide, there were 129 fatalities in 2025, more than a 20 percent increase over 2024. It was the highest since 2007. Based on data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, while most states experienced a decline in traffic fatalities, Hawai‘i was one of six states that had an increase in traffic-related deaths over the previous year.

“The data clearly shows we have to reverse this troubling trend,” said Janice Meeker-Sevilla, resource teacher from the Hawaiʻi Department of Education’s (HIDOE) Driver and Traffic Safety Education Program. “This long-standing event is a cornerstone of our mission to provide high-quality driver safety education to Hawaiʻi’s families. With our partners Par Hawaii and DTRIC, we are able to build confidence in new drivers behind the wheel and offer traffic safety education beyond the traditional classroom setting.” 

Through a long-standing public-private partnership between the HIDOE, Par Hawaii and DTRIC Insurance, high school teens and their parents will have the opportunity to participate in the 2026 Annual Operation Driver Excellence and Traffic Safety Fair and Learning Stations. This 34^th annual event will offer an immersive, interactive environment to learn about safe driving for students with their driver’s license and their parents. The event will be held on Saturday, March 21, from 8:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Waipahu High School in the cafeteria, library and on the football parking lot.

On an experiential driving course designed byHIDOE driver education instructors, students in their own cars can learn safe-driving skills, including coaching on emergency braking, braking on a curve, and avoiding collisions. This hands-on experience is limited to only 30 students with their parents or guardians. Vehicles must have a current vehicle registration and safety check. To register, contact Janice Meeker-Sevilla at 808-784-6506 or [email protected] by Friday, March 13, 2026.

In addition, to do the hands-on safe driving course, the Traffic Safety Fair and Learning Stations will provide information on topics such as the risks and consequences of impaired, drugged and distracted driving, the impact of sleep deprivation on driving, and tire safety. The Traffic Safety Fair and Learning Stations are open to all interested students and parents. 

During the day, there will be a presentation on Flagman, an educational program to promote road safety awareness and the importance of the “Move Over” law. The program stresses the safety of roadside workers and local first responders on the side of the road.

“Even one fatality is too many. No one wants to learn about the death of a family member because of reckless driving or to be responsible for such a tragic event,” said Takuya Mitsueda, president and CEO of DTRIC Insurance. “We urge everyone to drive with aloha by following the speed limit, putting away cell phones, being aware of pedestrians while driving at night, and always arranging for rides when your judgment has been impaired. Hawai‘i’s high school students have so much ahead of them and we want to give the next generation of motorists the right tools to protect themselves and others.”

“In our connected world, there are so many distractions competing for our attention while we are driving,” said John Peyton, Par Hawaii’s vice president – retail, who oversees all the Hele stations statewide. “Even though we have unprecedented access to new technological safety features built into today’s vehicles, it’s important to return to the basics of safety and remain vigilant to avoid collisions.”

About the HIDOE Driver Education Program
The Hawai‘i Department of Education’s Driver Education Program helps students develop skills, knowledge and attitudes to reduce traffic crashes, deaths, injuries and property damage. It provides a life-long skill that gives mobility to students as they pursue higher secondary education or a career after graduation.Driver education includes 38 hours of classroom instruction and six hours of behind-the-wheel instruction.

About DTRIC Insurance Company, Limited 

DTRIC Insurance Company, Limited, established in 1992, offers a comprehensive range of personal insurance products, including auto, homeowners, dwelling fire, renters, and umbrella policies. As a member of MS&AD Insurance Group—Japan’s largest insurance holding company and the world’s eighth-largest property and casualty insurance group—DTRIC is dedicated to providing reliable coverage and exceptional service to the Hawaii market. Learn more at www.dtric.com.

About Par Hawaii

Par Hawaii is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Houston, Texas-based Par Pacific Holdings, Inc, which also owns and operates refineries in Tacoma, Washington; and Newcastle, Wyoming. Par Hawaii owns the state’s only petroleum refinery in Kapolei, Oahu, and has invested $100 million to reconfigure one of the refinery’s processing units to produce renewable fuels from plant-based and waste oils. Par Hawaii’s statewide fuel distribution system includes pipelines on Oahu and storage facilities on all major neighbor islands. It markets gasoline, diesel, and biodiesel through its network of 76 and Hele retail stations throughout Hawaii, and operates the Hele convenience stores. Visit www.ParHawaii.com.