Full Notification

THE GILROY POLICE TO COMBAT ROADWAY DEATHS AND INJURIES
WITH DUI CHECKPOINTS

The Gilroy Police Department has been awarded a new traffic safety grant for an anti-DUI program aimed at preventing deaths and injuries on the City of Gilroy’s roadways. Enforcement measures to combat impaired driving are coming as a result of a recent $26,400 grant awarded by the California Office of Traffic Safety to the City of Gilroy. The Gilroy Police Department is dedicated to keeping our streets safe through both enforcement and education.

“DUI prevention education and DUI oriented enforcement have proven to save lives throughout our nation. We remain committed to reducing DUI related crashes in our community. Our Traffic Division has done a tremendous job seeking funding sources to facilitate this endeavor. We are very pleased with this award from the California Office of Traffic Safety. This will assist our DUI enforcement efforts.” stated Denise Turner, Gilroy Chief of Police.

The special DUI Checkpoint grant is to assist in efforts to reduce the number of persons killed and injured in alcohol and other drug related collisions in the community. The grant activities will specifically target impaired driving offenders as well as educating the public on the dangers of impaired driving through the use of DUI/driver’s license checkpoints. When possible, specially trained officers will be available to evaluate those suspected of drug-impaired driving.

Drunk and drugged driving are among America’s deadliest crimes. In 2011, a modern day low of 774 people were killed and over 24,000 injured in alcohol and drug-impaired crashes in California. In 2011, the City of Gilroy experienced over 124 injury collisions, 7 of those injuries due to Drunk and/or drugged driving. Crashes involving alcohol have been shown to drop by up to 20 percent when well-publicized checkpoints are conducted often enough. Checkpoints have proven to be the most effective of any of the DUI enforcement strategies, while yielding considerable cost savings of $6 for every $1 spent and are supported by nearly 90 percent of California drivers.

Funding for this program is from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

CONTACT: Sgt. Kurt Ashley
408-846-0521, [email protected]

By: Sergeant Pedro Espinoza