The Costa Mesa Police Department (CMPD) has been awarded a $250,000 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) for a yearlong enforcement and public awareness program to deter dangerous and illegal driving behaviors that increase the risk of crashes in the community.
“Impairment, speeding, and other dangerous driving behaviors jeopardize the safety of everyone on the road,” Chief of Police Ron Lawrence said. “Our Traffic Safety Bureau continues to do incredible work at educating residents and removing DUI drivers from our streets. We are pleased to receive this grant funding from OTS, which will help us reduce DUI drivers in the City of Costa Mesa. Keeping our City safe is our number one priority, and that includes preventing DUI drivers and unsafe drivers from causing crashes that result in injuries and death.”
The grant will pay for additional enforcement measures, including:
- DUI checkpoints and patrols specifically focused on suspected impaired drivers.
- Enforcement operations focused on suspected distracted drivers in violation of California’s hands-free cell phone law.
- Bicycle and pedestrian safety enforcement operations focused on driver behaviors that put vulnerable road users at risk.
- Enforcement operations focused on top violations that cause crashes: speeding, failure to yield, stop sign and/or red-light running, and improper turning or lane changes.
- Community education presentations on traffic safety issues such as distracted driving, DUI, speeding, and bicycle and pedestrian safety.
- Collaborative enforcement efforts with neighboring agencies.
- Officer training and/or recertification: Standard Field Sobriety Test (SFST), Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement (ARIDE) and Drug Recognition Expert (DRE).
The grant program will run through September 2022.
Funding for this program is provided by a grant from OTS, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
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