On a Halloween like no other, families flocked to drive-thru events in Kahului and Lahaina and police set up checkpoints for impaired drivers away from the usual hot spot in West Maui.

On Front Street in Lahaina, where 20,000 to 30,000 people have converged on Halloweens past, most shops were closed and long stretches were deserted, with a smattering of costumed diehards out and about.

“This is probably the slowest Halloween I can remember,” said police traffic commander Lt. William Hankins, as traffic officers ran DUI checkpoints in both directions of Maui Veterans Highway on Saturday night.

He said it also was the first Halloween he could remember when traffic officers didn’t set up a roadblock in Lahaina.

“Every Halloween, we know where we’re going to be. We know where people are drinking,” Hankins said. “This year, there’s nothing really planned. We know there are parties people are going to be at, but it could be anywhere.

“People have been locked down for so long, you give them any chance to get together and have a celebration, and that’s exactly what they’re going to do. I don’t blame them.

“But don’t drink and drive. We are not messing around out here.”

On Saturday night, traffic officers focused on Central Maui, where police have seen speeding and impaired driving, as well as crashes, Hankins said. “We have the statistics to prove we need to be here doing this,” he said.

On Maui Veterans Highway and at other roadblocks into the early-morning hours Sunday, police screened 612 vehicles and made five impaired-driving arrests and one for underage drinking, as well as one arrest each for a warrant and having an open liquor container in a vehicle.

Officers also issued five citations for driving without a license, three for driving after having a license revoked for DUI, two for child safety seat violations, five citations for not having insurance and 10 for other traffic crimes.

In all, police made nine arrests for impaired driving on Friday and Saturday nights.

“We want to screen as many cars as we can,” Hankins said. “The more drivers we screen and they’re sober, the safer the roads.”

Officers watched for drivers trying to avoid the checkpoints, including one who ended up being cited for driving without a license, as well as making an illegal turn on the highway.

“It’s the risk you put everybody else in by turning around to try and avoid it,” Hankins said. “You’re going to get caught.”

Police deployed new yellow flashing speed bumps to slow traffic in the inner lanes of Maui Veterans Highway as other vehicles were directed into the checkpoints in the outer lanes. Several motorists thanked officers and wished them a happy Halloween while driving by.

“People don’t complain as much,” said DUI Task Force Sgt. Nick Krau. “They have already been educated and advised that we’re going to be out here.”

In the last couple of weeks, since the state reopened to visitors, roads have been busier, Krau said.

Earlier Saturday, thousands of keiki and their families took part in Halloween drive-thru events sponsored by Maui County and community organizations.

At Keopuolani Park in Kahului, 2,168 people in 588 cars drove through the Trick-or-Treat Halloween Adventure, picking up sweets and being entertained throughout the way.

At the Outlets of Maui parking garage in Lahaina, a similar drive-thru event, the Trick-or-Treat Monster Maze, was sold out, with around 300 vehicles entering and around 1,500 bags of candy handed out.

Maui Police Department officers assisted with traffic control at both events, with participants required to remain in their vehicles and wear face masks.

“We had so many people just thanking us, parents thanking us,” said Sne Patel, LahainaTown Action Committee president. “It’s just refreshing to have an option for the keiki and something that was safe. It was a great team effort.”

Patel said the committee had been planning a virtual Halloween event for about two months before the possibility was raised of working with the county and others to organize a safe trick-or-treating event.

“We had three weeks to put it together,” he said.

Others participating included Alpha Agency, Fuzz Box Productions, Maui United Way, Maui OnStage, Keiki O Ka ‘Aina, Maui Federal Credit Union and Maui Classic Cruisers.

While the Central Maui and West Maui events were similar, there was room for a spaceship, pirate ship and mad scientist in the Outlets of Maui parking garage, which once hosted the Taste of Lahaina, Patel said.

“COVID-19 really caused people to be a bit more creative and think outside the box,” he said. “This was such a cool, creative concept that would not have existed had we not had COVID.”

He said drive-thru Halloween events might be held in future years as well.

“At the end of the day, I think the kids really enjoyed it,” Patel said. “The mayor’s support is allowing us to put together a safe spot for Halloween and saving Halloween.

“Just to see the smiles on the kids’ faces — I think everyone was just needing something and this really provided it.

“Hopefully now, with the holidays coming up, we can look for other creative ways to do something for Christmas or the holidays. It showed proof of concept. We can do events in a safe way.”

On nearby Front Street, there was a mix of residents and visitors, with about 50 percent wearing costumes and 60 to 70 percent wearing masks to protect against the spread of COVID-19.

Many folks stayed in their cars and people watched as they cruised Front Street.

Police officers patrolled the town in cars as well as on foot. One officer said they were reminding people to wear their protective masks and said that they had the option to issue citations if folks didn’t comply.

Traffic on the street and the sidewalks seemed to be picking up after 7 p.m.

“It got a little bit busier, but not much,” said Theo Morrison, Lahaina Restoration Foundation executive director, who left the area at about 9:30 p.m.

Not sure what to expect, she put out extra garbage cans and was on hand to make sure they did not overfill before calling it a night.

At 10:20 p.m. Saturday, after breaking down the monster maze, Patel said some Front Street restaurants had closed and there were lines at a couple of bars, which have limited capacities because of COVID-19.

As he went down Front Street, “altogether, from one end to the other, there couldn’t have been more than 100 people,” Patel said.

At sundown Saturday in Kahului, there were none of the usual trick-or-treaters on the streets in the increments. No children appeared at homes usually visited by children in costumes seeking goodies.

To run the DUI checkpoints Saturday night, police used a Department of Transportation highway safety grant.

“People know impaired driving is not acceptable behavior,” Hankins said. “The problem is we still struggle to change that behavior.

“Arresting everybody is not the solution. The enforcement is there. People need to step up and make the right decision. I can’t say it any more strongly — I promise you, if you drink and drive, you will go to jail.”

Krau said traffic officers were motivated to be at the Halloween checkpoints, even though that meant not spending the night with their families.

“It’s a sacrifice for them to be out here, but they do it because they care about the community and keeping everyone safe,” he said. “We sacrifice our holidays to keep everyone else safe so they can enjoy the holidays. We know it’s necessary.”

* Lila Fujimoto can be reached at lfujimoto@mauinews.com. Matthew Thayer can be reached at thayer@maui.net.