7:15am | The Long Beach Police Department (LBPD) has been awarded a new traffic safety grant for a year-long program aimed at preventing deaths and injuries on our roadways. The $300,000 grant awarded by the Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) will aid in the City’s ongoing effort to improve traffic safety and the quality of life.
The program aims to reduce the number of persons killed and injured in traffic collisions. Traffic deaths from all causes declined 11.9% in California from 2009 to 2010 (from 3,081 to 2,715). While alcohol impaired deaths also saw a decline last year, DUI deaths remain the largest sector at more than 30% of traffic fatalities.
To accomplish the goals of the program, enforcement operations will be enforced, such as:
- DUI/Driver License Checkpoints
- DUI Saturation Patrols
- Red Light Enforcement Operations
- Motorcycle Safety Operations
- Speed Enforcement Operations
- Intersection Safety Operations.
DUI/Drivers License Checkpoints are a key component of the grant. These highly visible, widely publicized events are meant to deter impaired driving — not to increase arrests. Research shows that crashes involving alcohol drop by an average of 20% when well publicized checkpoints are conducted often enough. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), checkpoints have provided the most effective documented results of any of the DUI enforcement strategies, while yielding considerable cost savings of $6 for every $1 spent.
This grant also provides drug impairment training to help combat the increasing problem of drivers under the influence of legal and illegal substances. Grant funding will allow 10 officers to receive specialized training to detect impaired drivers under the influence of legal and illegal drugs. This training will enhance officers’ ability to perform on-the-spot assessment of drivers suspected of drug impairment.
A special focus on safe motorcycle driving is also included in the program. Long Beach police officers will be conducting specialized enforcement efforts throughout the next 12 months and extra officers will be on duty patrolling areas and events where motorcycle crashes and incidents have occurred. Officers will be cracking down on traffic violations made by regular drivers and motorcyclists that result in far too many motorcycle collisions, injuries, and deaths.
Funding for this program is from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.