Today, the Riverside County Sheriff's Office - Palm Desert announced they've received a $102,341.00 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS), targeted at reducing serious traffic-related injuries and fatalities.
Sergeant Don Olson from the Riverside County Sheriff's Office mentions, "The funding to further strengthen our commitment to community safety. Increase efforts we will in our roads making safer and concentrating on issues like distracted and impaired driving, and speeding." The objectives of the grant align with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's, with a completion timeline set for September 2024.
This grant will allow the addition of multiple resources and campaigns to bolster traffic safety measures. These include DUI checkpoint set-ups and patrols focused on apprehending potential impaired drivers. The operation will also target distracted drivers with high-visibility enforcement operations, focusing on violations of the hands-free cell phone law in California. Furthermore, targeting common accident-causing violations will be a priority, including speeding, failing to yield, and inappropriate turning or lane changes.
In addition, this grant will cover a traffic-related warrant sweep initiative, aiming to identify and arrest individuals with active traffic-related arrest warrants around the Palm Desert community, thus expected to significantly decrease traffic-related problems in the city. The "Know Your Limit" program, funded through the grant, will educate the public on drinking and driving risks and the legal limits of alcohol level when operating a vehicle.
The grant will also facilitate cooperative enforcement with surrounding agencies, thus enforcing a regional approach for traffic safety management. Officers will be given training and recertification programs, including the Standard Field Sobriety Test (SFST), Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement (ARIDE), and the Drug Recognition Expert (DRE).
As per the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there's recently been a nationwide increase in traffic-related fatalities and serious injuries, with a startling 7.2% increase in traffic accident fatalities reported in the United States from 2014 to 2015 - the largest percentile uptick in nearly half a century. This stark increase calls for an intensive and centered approach towards enhancing traffic safety, awareness, and education.
With the grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, the Riverside County Sheriff's Office's dedication to public safety is further reinforced.
