Full Notification

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

The Emeryville Police Department has been awarded a $90,000 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.

Chief Tejada wants to thank the California Office of Traffic Safety for their support in helping to keep the roadways in Emeryville Safe. Our officers will be involved in a wide range of events including community outreach, public education, and enforcement efforts to reduce the number of traffic collision injuries and fatalities in our community. We look forward to partnering with our community to make this City safe for pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorists.

The grant from OTS will fund various education and enforcement activities for the 2019 federal fiscal year (Oct. 1, 2018 to Sept. 30, 2019):
• Traffic safety education presentations for youth and community members on distracted, impaired and teen driving, and bicycle/pedestrian safety.
• Community outreach presentations to provide educational material on traffic safety and youth bicycle helmets
• 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.
• Compilation of DUI “Hot Sheets” identifying repeat DUI offenders
• Specialized DUI and drugged driving training to identify and apprehend suspected impaired drivers.

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.

October 22, 2018
CONTACT: Captain Oliver Collins

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