Petaluma Police Awarded $50K Traffic Safety Grant

PETALUMA, CA — The Petaluma Police Department has been awarded a $50,o00 grant to roll out a police traffic service program to deter dangerous and illegal driving behaviors that increase the risk of crashes in the community.

"Impairment, speeding and other dangerous driving behaviors jeopardize the safety of other people on the road," said Petaluma police Traffic Sgt. Walt Spiller. "This funding allows us to provide necessary traffic enforcement measures with the goal of reducing serious injury and fatal crashes on our roads."

The grant will pay for additional enforcement measures, including:

• DUI patrols specifically focused on suspected impaired drivers.
• Enforcement operations focused on suspected distracted drivers in violation of California’s hands-free cell phone law.
• Bicycle and pedestrian safety enforcement operations focused on driver behaviors that put vulnerable road users 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 education presentations on traffic safety issues such as distracted driving, DUI, speeding, and 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).

The grant program will run through September 2022 using funding provided by the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Petaluma police Chief Ken Savano elaborated on the importance of the grant.

"When it comes to public safety, traffic crashes kill and injure more community members than all crimes combined," Savano said. "This grant funding will help our department improve public safety throughout the community. We are grateful to be awarded these traffic safety grant funds and for the continued support from Director Rooney and her staff at the Office of Traffic Safety."