The Long Beach Police Department (LPBD) received a $340,000 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) today, the department announced Tuesday.
A release issued Tuesday evening stated the LBPD will allocate the funding for improving the road and enhancing quality of life through enforcement and education.
“We’re grateful to the Office of Traffic Safety for awarding us this grant,” said LBPD Chief Robert Luna in a statement. “The grant will afford us the opportunity to continue our ongoing enforcement and education efforts to improve roadway safety for everyone.”
The release noted an “alarming” increase in pedestrian and bicycle fatalities, coupled with an increase in the use of distracting mobile technologies, in addition to the continued risk of drug-impaired driving. Combating such issues will be the aim of the grant.
“Overall, California’s roadways are among the safest in the nation,” said OTS Director Rhonda Craft in a statement. “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 Long Beach Police Department want to work with everyone to create a culture of traffic safety across Long Beach and the State.”
According to the LBPD, the grant will fund the following items:
- Educational presentations
- DUI checkpoints
- DUI saturation patrols
- 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
- 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)