Newport Beach Police Department Awarded $250k Traffic Safety Grant

NEWPORT BEACH, CA — As part of the city's ongoing commitment to roadway safety, the Newport Beach Police Department will utilize their awarded a $250,000 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) for a year-long program of special enforcements and public awareness efforts to prevent traffic-related deaths and injuries.

Pedestrian safety and bicycle safety are at the top of the list for educating the public.

“Our Department is always working to make the streets of Newport Beach as safe as possible. This grant allows us to target a wide range of concerns, from pedestrian safety to distracted driving to DUI. These aren’t new issues, but as long as they continue to affect the people who live, work, and play in Newport Beach, we are dedicated to addressing them head-on,” said Sergeant Rachel Johnson. “The goal is to intervene before tragedy strikes. These funds from the Office of Traffic Safety allow us to allocate more officers to educating the public and to patrolling our roadways.”

After falling to a ten-year low in 2010, the number of persons killed in traffic collisions has climbed nearly 17% across the state of California, with 3,176 persons killed in 2015 according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Particularly alarming is the six-year rise in pedestrian and bicycle fatalities, the growing dangers of distracting technologies, and the emergence of drug-impaired driving as significant and increasingly-relevant problem. This grant funding will provide opportunities to combat these and other devastating problems such as drunk driving, speeding, and crashes at intersections.

“Years of research tell us that enforcement and education work best jointly to combat unsafe driving,” said OTS Director Rhonda Craft. “This grant brings both tactics together, with the Office of Traffic Safety and the Newport Beach Police Department working in concert to help keep the streets and highways safe across Newport Beach and the state.”

Activities that the grant will fund include:

• Educational presentations
• DUI checkpoints
• DUI saturation patrols
• Bicycle and pedestrian safety enforcement
• Motorcycle safety enforcement
• Distracted driving enforcement
• Seat belt and child safety seat enforcement
• Speed, red light, and stop sign enforcement
• Compilation of DUI Hot Sheets, identifying the “worst-of-the-worst” DUI offenders
• Stakeout operations to observe the “worst-of-the-worst” repeat DUI offender probationers with suspended or revoked drivers licenses

Funding for this program is from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.