The California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) has awarded the Signal Hill Police Department (SHPD) a $155,000 grant for a year-long program of special enforcements and public-awareness efforts to prevent traffic-related deaths and injuries.
“There are a small number of people who, despite repeated DUI convictions, continue to drive while under the influence,” said Signal Hill Police Chief Michael Langston. “This grant will help us to identify these people and try to ensure that they don’t drive. That said, we all have to pay more attention to our own driving habits. Our busy lives and the distractions within our vehicles make it easy for anyone to lose sight of the fact that we drive too fast and don’t allow enough room to react in an emergency. We hope to address some of these issues through this grant.”
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 SHPD. “Particularly worrisome are recent increases in pedestrian and motorcycle fatalities and the dangers of distracting technologies,” states a press release from the department. “This grant funding will provide opportunities to combat these and other devastating problems such as drunk and drugged driving and speeding.”
Activities that the grant will fund include:
• Educational presentations
• DUI checkpoints
• DUI saturation patrols
• Traffic enforcement operations
• Distracted-driving enforcement
• Bicycle and pedestrian operations
• Seatbelt and child safety seat enforcement
• Speed, red light and stop sign enforcement
• Compilation of DUI “hot sheets” that identify worst-of-the-worst DUI offenders
“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 Signal Hill Police Department will be using these and other resources to reach the vision we all share— toward zero deaths, every 1 counts.”
Funding for the OTS grant is from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Source: SHPD
