The California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) has awarded the Long Beach Police Department (LBPD) a $400,000 grant for a year-long program of special enforcements and public-awareness efforts to prevent traffic-related deaths and injuries. The LBPD will use the funding as part of the City’s ongoing commitment to keep roadways safe and improve the quality of life through both enforcement and education, according to the police department.
“I’m proud that our public-safety officers have taken a leadership role in partnering with the State to support traffic safety, and our city is grateful for their work on this important issue,” said Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia.
Long Beach Police Chief Jim McDonnell said the LBPD’s partnership with OTS will enhance the department’s ability to draw community focus to the dangers of driving under the influence. “Through education and enforcement, we’ll improve public safety on Long Beach roadways,” McDonnell said.
After falling dramatically between 2006 and 2010, the number of persons killed and injured in traffic collisions saw slight increases in 2011 and 2012, according to the LBPD, which also indicated that of particular concern are recent increases in pedestrian and motorcycle fatalities and the dangers of distracting technologies. The grant funding will provide opportunities to combat these and other devastating problems such as drunk and drugged driving and speeding, according to the LBPD.
“California’s roadways are still among the safest in the nation,” said OTS Director Rhonda Craft. “But to meet future mobility, safety and sustainability objectives, we must create safer roadways for all users. The Long Beach Police Department will be using these and other resources to reach the vision we all share— toward zero deaths, every 1 counts.”
Activities that the grant will fund include:
• Educational presentations
• DUI checkpoints
• DUI saturation patrols
• Motorcycle-safety enforcement
• Distracted-driving enforcement
• Seatbelt and child-safety-seat enforcement
• Speed, red-light and stop-sign enforcement
• Compilation of DUI “Hot Sheets,” identifying worst-of-the-worst DUI offenders
• Specialized DUI and drugged-driving training such as standardized field sobriety testing (SFST), advanced roadside impaired driving enforcement (ARIDE) and drug recognition evaluator (DRE)
Funding for this program is from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Source: LBPD
