THE PETALUMA POLICE DEPARTMENT RECEIVES GRANT FOR SPECIAL TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT AND CRASH PREVENTION
PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
October 25, 2015
CONTACT: Sergeant Ron Klein 707-778-4596
email: [email protected]
THE PETALUMA POLICE DEPARTMENT RECEIVES GRANT FOR SPECIAL TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT AND CRASH PREVENTION
The Petaluma Police Department has been awarded a $190,000.00 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) for a year-long program of special enforcements and public awareness efforts to prevent traffic related deaths and injuries. The Petaluma Police Department will use the funding as part of the city’s ongoing commitment to keep our roadways safe and improve the quality of life through both enforcement and education.
Chief Patrick Williams states, “The Petaluma Police Department will continue to keep traffic safety as one of its highest priorities. We recognize that traffic collisions pose one of the greatest dangers to our residents. The members of our department look forward to our continued partnership with the California Office of Traffic Safety in making Petaluma a safer community to drive in.”
After falling dramatically between 2006 and 2010, the number of persons killed and injured in traffic collisions has been slowly rising. Particularly alarming are recent increases in pedestrian and bicycle fatalities, the growing dangers of distracting technologies, and the emergence of drug-impaired driving as a major problem. This grant funding will provide opportunities to combat these and other devastating problems such as drunk driving, speeding and crashes at intersections.
“Overall, California’s roadways are among the safest in the nation,” said OTS Director Rhonda Craft. “But to meet future mobility, safety, and accessible transportation objectives, we have to reverse this recent trend in order to reach our common goal – zero deaths on our roadways. The Office of Traffic Safety and the Petaluma Police Department want to work with everyone to create a culture of traffic safety across Petaluma and the state.
Activities that the grant will fund include:
• Educational presentations
• DUI checkpoints
• DUI saturation patrols
• Motorcycle safety enforcement
• Distracted driving enforcement
• Night time seat belt enforcement
• Bicycle and pedestrian safety enforcement
• Speed, red light, and stop sign enforcement
• Warrant service operations targeting multiple DUI offenders
• Compilation of DUI “Hot Sheets,” identifying worst-of-the-worst DUI offenders
• Specialized DUI and drugged driving training such as Standardized Field Sobriety Testing (SFST), Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement (ARIDE), and Drug Recognition Evaluator (DRE)
• Court “sting” operations to cite individuals driving from DUI court after ignoring their license suspension or revocation
Funding for this program is from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. ###
Address/Location
Petaluma Police Department
969 Petaluma Blvd N
Petaluma, CA 94952
Contact
Emergency: 9-1-1
Non-emergencies: 707-778-4372
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