The San Bernardino Police Department received a $485,000 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) for a one-year enforcement and education program. The money will fund various activities intended to reduce deaths and injuries on California roads.
Sgt. Harvey of the San Bernardino Police Department’s Traffic Enforcement Unit said, “Traffic collisions and injuries are on the rise across the country. Traffic safety is important to protect citizens while driving, or walking. Traffic enforcement and education are major components to increasing traffic safety and awareness. The grant funds provided from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) greatly enhance the San Bernardino Police Department’s traffic safety efforts”.
The grant-related activities are for the 2020 federal fiscal year, which runs from Oct. 1, 2019 to Sept. 30, 2020.
The funding from the OTS will be used for numerous programs, including:
- DUI/driver’s license checkpoints.
- Patrols specifically looking for suspected alcohol and/or drug impaired drivers.
- Patrols targeting violations of California’s hands free cell phone law and vehicle code violations by drivers, motorcyclists, bicyclists and pedestrians that put other roadway users at risk.
- Patrols targeting the primary causes of crashes: Speeding, improper turns, running stop signs or signals, right of way violations and driving on the wrong side of the road.
- Patrols specifically looking for safety belt and child safety seat violations.
- Traffic safety education presentations for youth and community members on distracted and impaired driving, bicycle and pedestrian safety.
- Creating “Hot Sheets” identifying repeat DUI offenders.
- Officer training to identify suspected impaired drivers and conduct sobriety tests.
“Getting in a vehicle remains one of the most dangerous things we do,” OTS director Barbara Rooney said. “We must continue to work with our partners in law enforcement to shift that realization and make traveling on our roads safer.”
Funding for this program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.