Full Notification

Berkeley, California (Wednesday, October 14, 2015) - The Berkeley Police Department was awarded a grant in the amount of $180,000 from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) for a year-long program of special enforcement and public awareness efforts to prevent traffic related deaths and injuries.  The Berkeley Police Department will use the funding as part of the city’s ongoing commitment to keep the roadways safe and to improve the quality of life through both enforcement and education.

“The mission of the men and women of the City of Berkeley Police Department is to not only reduce crime but to actively strive towards reducing injuries as a result of traffic collisions,” said Chief Michael Meehan, “No matter how one travels our roadways—either by bicycle, walking, or driving—citizens need to know we work to ensure their safe passage. The OTS funds greatly assist us in this endeavor.”

After falling dramatically between 2006 and 2010, the number of persons killed and injured in traffic collisions is on the rise.  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 Berkeley Police Department want to work with everyone to create a culture of traffic safety within Berkeley and across the state.”

Activities that the grant will fund include:

·        Educational Traffic Safety Presentations

·        Motorcycle safety enforcement

·        Distracted driving enforcement

·        Seat belt and child safety seat enforcement

·        Bicycle and pedestrian safety enforcement

·        Speed, red light, and stop sign enforcement

·        DUI checkpoints

·        DUI saturation patrols

·        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.