Journal Staff
As Guam moves into the second half of 2025, local law enforcement officials shared efforts to prevent traffic-related deaths due to impaired driving. The strategy blends high-visibility DUI checkpoints, public education, and federally-funded training programs.
“I can tell you that a lot of our fatalities occur between May and December,” said Capt. Jason Aguon, commander of the Guam Police Department’s Highway Patrol Division. “We see it through our stats; we see it through what happens. We do have a fatality log that we keep track of… and it’s mostly during that timeframe that we see the drunk driving, speeding fatalities that occur.”
As of June 27, Guam had recorded 12 traffic fatalities in 2025. According to NHTSA, Guam recorded a total of 29 traffic fatalities in calendar year 2023, the highest in recent years, driven largely by an increase in high-speed crashes.
The locations of Guam’s sobriety checkpoints, which typically run from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m., are based on crash data and DUI reports. Officers process between 300 to 500 vehicles per night, using a randomized method to stop every third or fourth car. But if a vehicle shows visible signs of impairment, officers will intervene outside the rotation.
“If the second car is slowly going by and you see something, like operating with no headlights on; that’s a clue,” said Lt. John Gamboa, who oversees DUI operations. “That’s when we break from the routine.”
Each checkpoint involves about eight to 13 officers and results in one to two DUI arrests on average. Typically, officers also issue citations for violations like broken headlights or missing seatbelts. Setup takes only 15 to 20 minutes, and checkpoints operate for about 75 minutes, he said.
Each DUI checkpoint operation typically costs between $1,500 and $5,000. Gamboa said that staffing is supplemented as needed. “We also get reservists and sometimes the airport police assigned to us,” he said.
The operations are funded through the Guam Office of Highway Safety, which receives federal grants from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. “We are a data, stat-driven agency as far as these federal programs are concerned,” Aguon said. “So now we’re turning a budget proposal for next year. And with that budget proposal comes the stats that we’re acquiring… just so that by the end of the year, DPW’s Office of Highway Safety can submit that to NHTSA and justify the funding that we do get every year.”
Checkpoint locations are made public at least 72 hours in advance through press releases and social media, not as a loophole, but as a deterrent, the officers said.
“In addition to the PSAs, we’ve been doing outreach events,” Gamboa said, pointing to recent DUI awareness booths at events hosted by the Guam National Guard and the University of Guam. “We also have them wear the fatal vision goggles… so we kind of give them what it’s like to be impaired.”
According to NHTSA, about 30% of all traffic crash fatalities in the United States involve drunk drivers (with BACs of .08 g/dL or higher). “If you plan to drink (alcohol) don’t drive,” Aguon said.
Guam is also expanding its capacity to identify drug-impaired drivers, especially with the legalization of recreational marijuana. Officers are undergoing ARIDE (Advanced Roadside Impairment Detection) training, and plans are underway to implement DITEP (Drug Impairment Training for Educational Professionals).
The Guam Department of Public Works echoed the urgency of these efforts during a June 19 budget hearing, spotlighting its Office of Highway Safety.
Arriola said the office is small but effective, operating entirely on a $3 million NHTSA grant. “They’re in the schools, they’re in the malls, they’re in the shopping centers, they’re out in the villages, they’re in the senior centers, they’re in the community centers,” he said. “So, they do a lot of outreach that I believe has a lot of impact.”
Those outreach programs include coordination with the Guam Police Department, Guam Fire Department, Judiciary, and other enforcement agencies. “Their mission is to prevent motor vehicle crashes, reduce fatalities, serious injuries, and a goal of zero roadway fatalities,” he said.
Arriola said ongoing training and community engagement remain critical. “You can’t really measure it. One of the ways they do measure it, though, is through traffic accidents, traffic fatalities, and we’ve seen a lot better results over the last couple of years,” he said.
Guam had set a goal to reduce fatalities to 13 by using the rolling average from 2019–2023, but this objective was not met.
Guam also aimed to limit alcohol-impaired driving fatalities to five over the same rolling average period. This target was met, with three alcohol-impaired fatalities reported in 2023, according to preliminary data.
DPW’s Office of Highway Safety credited several education and enforcement initiatives for the decline in impaired driving deaths. These included public service announcements during the holiday season, DUI checkpoints, educational outreach events with the Guam Police Department and military partners, and visual impairment simulation activities at local installations.
Despite success in curbing alcohol-related deaths, the report noted that speed-related incidents significantly contributed to the overall spike of 14 traffic fatalities in 2022 to 29 in 2023, signaling a need for further investment in speed management strategies and interventions.
The 2024 will not be published until later in 2025.
According to the Office of the Attorney General’s May Magistrate Violations and New Case Tracking Report, at least eight cases involving DUI or open container violations were filed in May, some involving drivers with children in vehicles or individuals already on supervised release.
“The majority of the crimes hurting us come from meth addicts and repeat criminals,” Attorney General Douglas B.K. Moylan said in a statement. “Keeping these types of persons in prison means fewer people get hurt. Being tough on crime works. Deterrence comes from setting release conditions that actually keep us safe.” mbj
