SANTA MONICA—The Santa Monica Police Department was recently granted $290,000 to help prevent unsafe behaviors on Santa Monica’s streets. This program is expected to run until September 2023 as first announced on a press release issued Friday, October 14, by the city.
This new grant funding will provide traffic safety programs and will allow for an increase in patrols throughout the community.
The traffic safety programs that the grant will aid include:
- DUI checkpoints and patrols focused on stopping suspected impaired drivers.
- High visibility distracted driving enforcement operations targeting drivers in violation of California’s hands-free cell phone law.
- Enforcement operations focused on the most dangerous driver behaviors that put the safety of people biking or walking 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 presentations on traffic safety issues such as distracted driving, impaired driving, speeding, 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).
This grant was issued by California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Canyon News reached out to the City of Santa Monica for more information but did not hear back before print.
