EPD Gets $118,000 Grant to Improve Traffic Safety

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Three car accident earlier this year in Eureka. [Photo by Oliver Cory]

Press release from the Eureka Police Department:

Eureka Police Department has been awarded a $118,000.00 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 Eureka 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.

The Eureka Police Department is committed to improving traffic safety for our motorists and pedestrians. Traffic enforcement is an important part of reducing collisions,” said Chief Mills.

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 Eureka Police Department want to work with everyone to create a culture of traffic safety across Eureka and the state.”

Activities that the grant will fund include:

  • DUI checkpoints
  • DUI saturation patrols
  • Motorcycle safety enforcement
  • Distracted driving enforcement
  • Seatbelt and child safety seat 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
  • Stakeout operations to observe the “worst-of-the-worst” repeat DUI offender probationers with suspended or revoked driver licenses

Funding for this program is from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

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Shak
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Shak
8 years ago

“The Highway Safety Act of 1966 created a partnership among Federal, State, and local governments”. I’m no lawyer, but isn’t this a breech of compact/contract between citizens of the Constitution and their government employees? No standing army fellas. Local, state & Feds creating unholy alliance. http://tenthamendmentcenter.com/2015/11/06/local-cops-and-feds-an-unholy-alliance/

Hick
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Hick
8 years ago

They really need to find a way to get some of the traffic of broadway. It’s just going to get worse! City planners are really thinking behind the curv!