After two remarkably successful efforts in January and February, the San Mateo County Chiefs and Sheriff Association is excited to announce the third deployment of the San Mateo County Saturation Traffic Enforcement Program (STEP), on March 20th in Menlo Park and Redwood City. STEP is a joint law enforcement effort, consisting of traffic officers from local law enforcement agencies throughout San Mateo County. The mission of this program is to increase traffic safety on the Peninsula in problem areas and intersections through saturated enforcement utilizing the combined resources of all the motor units assigned to the STEP team.
Participating officers are detailed to problem locations in San Mateo County based on collision data, community complaints, and expert officer opinion. The expectations is that this collaborative monthly detail will yield cities immediate and tangible solutions to traffic issues, and make San Mateo County safer for motorists and pedestrians.
As was the focus of the first two deployments, this month STEP will focus on traffic safety throughout the cities of Menlo Park and Redwood City. Specifically, officers will be looking for distracted drivers (talking on cell phones and texting), pedestrian right-of way violations, and unsafe speed. Officers will be taking enforcement action against observed violations with the intention of correcting unsafe behavior.
Last month’s deployment in San Carlos, Belmont, and the Redwood Shores area consisted of twenty officers from numerous San Mateo County agencies, and resulted in over 210 citations for unsafe driving behavior. This emphasis on correcting unsafe driving habits will remain the goal throughout the March enforcement acting in Redwood City and Menlo Park.
