San Francisco Police Awarded $216,000 Grants from the Office of Traffic Safety 23-143

Two grants were awarded- One for the Selective Traffic Enforcement Program (STEP) and the other for Motorcyclist Safety Education Training Program   

SAN FRANCISCO — The SFPD has been awarded $216,000 in grants from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS), which will aid the department’s efforts to reduce traffic-related deaths and injuries on city streets. 

One grant, in the amount of $176,000 for the Selective Traffic Enforcement Program (STEP), aims to reduce the number of persons killed and injured in collisions involving alcohol and other primary collision factors.

This grant will fund a variety of traffic safety programs, including those emphasizing:

• Alcohol and drug-impaired driving prevention; 
• Awareness and education of California’s hands-free cell phone law; 
• Education on traffic rights for bicyclists and pedestrians; 
• Awareness and education for primary causes of collisions such as speeding, failure to yield, failure to stop at stop signs and signals, and improper turning and lane changes;
• Community education presentations on traffic safety issues such as distracted driving, DUI, speeding, bicycle and pedestrian safety; and
• Officer training and/or recertification: Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement (ARIDE) and Drug Recognition Expert (DRE).

The second grant, in the amount of $40,000 for Motorcyclist Safety Education and Training Program aims to reduce the number of persons killed and injured in collisions involving motorcycles and will fund a variety of motorcycle safety programs, including those emphasizing:

• Safety courses and training
• Community outreach
• Public awareness campaigns
• Educational presentations and workshops

"This grant money will help tremendously in the SFPD's commitment to make our streets safer," said SFPD Commander Nicole Jones, who heads the department's Traffic Division. "These funds will help our efforts on Vision Zero, a citywide effort to eliminate traffic fatalities. We will immediately use these funds to target the most pervasive and dangerous traffic violations, including running red lights, running stop signs, failing to yield to pedestrians, speeding and illegal turns."

Both one-year grants are for the 2024 federal fiscal year, which runs from Oct. 1, 2023 to Sept. 30, 2024. 

Funding for this program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.