FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 7th, 2019
Sgt. Brian Simon (510)578.4995
Newark Police Department Awarded Traffic Education and Enforcement Grant from the OTS
Newark, Calif. – The Newark Police Department received a $67,000 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) for a one-year enforcement and education program. The money will fund various activities intended to reduce deaths and injuries on California roads.
“The safety of everyone who lives, works, or drives in the City of Newark is our number one priority. With the help from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS), we can enhance our resources to ensure everyone who walks, drives, or rides a bicycle in the City of Newark will get to their destination safely,” Newark Police Department Chief Mike Carroll said.
The grant-related activities are for the 2020 federal fiscal year, which runs from Oct. 1, 2019 to Sept. 30, 2020.
The funding from the OTS will be used for numerous programs, including:
• DUI/driver’s license checkpoints.
• Patrols specifically looking for suspected alcohol and/or drug-impaired drivers.
• Patrols targeting violations of California’s hands-free cell phone law and vehicle code violations by drivers, motorcyclists, bicyclists and pedestrians that put other roadway users at risk.
• Patrols targeting the primary causes of crashes: Speeding, improper turns, running stop signs or signals, right-of-way violations and driving on the wrong side of the road.
• Patrols specifically looking for seat belt and child safety seat violations.
• Patrols specifically looking for pedestrian and/or bicycle violations
• Creating “Hot Sheets” identifying repeat DUI offenders.
“Getting in a vehicle remains one of the most dangerous things we do,” OTS director Barbara Rooney said. “We must continue to work with our partners in law enforcement to shift that realization and make traveling on our roads safer.”
Funding for this program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
