$36,000 Awarded to San Ramon Police Department

SR POLICE DEPT. RELEASE

The San Ramon Police Department has been awarded a $36,000 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety.

The grant will fund a year-long program aimed at preventing deaths and injuries on our roadways through special enforcement and public awareness efforts.

The grant will aid in the city’s ongoing effort to improve traffic safety and the quality of life.

The San Ramon Police Department will use the funding as part of an ongoing commitment to keep our roadways safe through enforcement and education.  

“With the growth experienced in San Ramon over the past several years traffic safety is and will always be a concern for the Police Department,” said Interim Police Chief Joe Gorton.

“Our educational and enforcement efforts allow us to maintain safety, which is our highest priority, and this grant will enhance our capabilities,” Gorton said.  

The grant will help fund efforts by the City of San Ramon to deal with traffic safety problems and to reduce the number of persons killed and injured in traffic collisions.  

In California, traffic deaths declined by nearly 39 percent between 2006 and 2010, however they rose by 2.6 percent in 2011.

State and federal officials anticipate that figures will show another rise for 2012. DUI deaths remain the largest segment, at nearly 30 percent of all traffic fatalities.

Recent trends show increases in two new categories – distracted driving and drug-impaired driving.  

Activities that the grant will fund include: 
• Specialized DUI and drugged driving training such as Standardized Field Sobriety Testing (SFST), Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement (ARIDE), and Drug Recognition Evaluator (DRE). 
• DUI Saturation Patrols 
• Motorcycle safety enforcement 
• Distracted driving enforcement 
• Seat belt and child safety seat 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 
• Court “sting” operations to cite individuals driving from court after having their driver’s license suspended or revoked for drunk driving  Funding for this program is from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.