Full Notification

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
October 18, 2018
CONTACT:
Sergeant Jeremy Walsh, Petaluma Police Department, (707)778-4596

The Petaluma Police Department Receives Traffic Education and Enforcement Grant.

The Petaluma Police Department has been awarded a $ 105,000 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) for a year-long enforcement and public awareness program. The traffic safety program is intended to educate the public on safe roadway habits and deter people from violating traffic laws or practicing other unsafe behaviors that lead to injuries and fatalities.

“The Petaluma Police Department is committed to keeping traffic safety a priority even while the department experiences significant staffing issues. The traffic safety grant from the Office of Traffic Safety will help fund those operations that help educate and enforce traffic safety in our community. We are starting to see DUI arrests, DUI collisions and injury traffic collisions increase over the past 5 years. Distracted driving continues to be a cause of collisions, with recent surveys showing 30% of the motorist on their cell phones while driving. 10 people have died on our local roads during the past 3 years due to many reasons, so many areas of traffic safety will have to be addressed as we move forward with this grant. As we enter the winter months, please slow down, wear your seat belt and make sure all your vehicle’s safety equipment are properly functioning.” Special Operations Lieutenant Tim Lyons said.

The grant from OTS will fund various education and enforcement activities for the 2019 federal fiscal year (Oct. 1, 2018 to Sept. 30, 2019):
• DUI checkpoints and saturation patrols to take suspected alcohol/drug-impaired drivers – and those unlicensed or with a revoked/suspended license – off the road.
• Traffic safety education presentations for youth and community members on distracted, impaired and teen driving, and bicycle/pedestrian safety.
• Patrols at intersections with increased incidents of pedestrian and bike collisions.
• Checking for seat belt and child safety seat compliance.
• Motorcycle safety operations in areas with high rider volume and where higher rate of motorcycle crashes occur.
• Speeding, red light and stop sign enforcement.
• Warrant service operations targeting multiple DUI offenders.
• Compilation of DUI “Hot Sheets” identifying repeat DUI offenders.
• Distracted driving enforcement

In 2016, 3,623 people were killed in crashes across the state, a 7 percent increase from 2015, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Particularly alarming is the rise in pedestrian deaths, with 867 pedestrians killed on California roadways in 2016, a nearly 33 percent increase from 2012. Along with the growing dangers of distracting technologies like phones and drug-impaired driving, this grant funding will provide opportunities to combat these dangerous and illegal behaviors.

“Almost all crashes are preventable,” OTS director Rhonda Craft said. “Education and enforcement go hand in hand helping change behaviors that cause devastating crashes.”

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