SFPD Receives Grant for Special Traffic Enforcement & Crash Prevention
San Francisco Police Department has been awarded a $45,000 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) for a year-long program aimed at preventing deaths and injuries on our roadways through special enforcement and public awareness efforts. The grant received by San Francisco Police will aid in the city’s ongoing effort to improve traffic safety and the quality of life. San Francisco Police Department will use the funding as part of an on-going commitment to keep our roadways safe through both enforcement and education.
A second grant called the “Sobriety Checkpoint” was awarded in the amount of $83,000 directed at drivers’ operating motor vehicles while under the influence of either alcohol or drugs.
“These grants will help the San Francisco Police Department improve traffic safety, awareness and education in the City,” says Captain Denise Flaherty, Commanding Officer of the Traffic Unit.
These grants will assist in efforts to deal with traffic safety problems and to reduce the number of persons killed and injured in traffic collisions. While traffic deaths from all causes declined by nearly 39 percent between 2006 and 2010 in California, but rose by 2.6 percent in 2011. State and federal officials anticipate that figures will show another rise for 2012. DUI deaths remain the largest sector, at nearly 30 percent of traffic fatalities. Recent trends show increases in two new categories – distracted driving and drug-impaired driving.
Activities that the grants will fund include:
• Specialized DUI and drugged driving training such as Standardized Field Sobriety Testing (SFST), Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement (ARIDE), and Drug Recognition Evaluator (DRE).
• Motorcycle safety enforcement
• Distracted driving enforcement
• Speed, red light and stop sign enforcement
• Compilation of DUI “Hot Sheets,” identifying worst-of-the-worst DUI offenders
Funding for this program is from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.