Long Beach
Police Department

Media Relations
400 W. Broadway
Long Beach, CA 90802
(562) 570-5273
10/13/2015
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEPress Release #
Subject:
LBPD RECEIVES GRANT FOR SPECIAL TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT & CRASH PREVENTION
Contact:
Media Relations Detail
(562) 570-5273






The Long Beach Police Department has been awarded a $340,000 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. The Long Beach Police Department will use the funding as part of the City’s ongoing commitment to keep our roadways safe and improve the quality of life through both enforcement and education.  

“We’re grateful to the Office of Traffic Safety for awarding us this grant,” said Long Beach Police Chief Robert Luna, “The grant will afford us the opportunity to continue our ongoing enforcement and education efforts to improve roadway safety for everyone.”

After falling dramatically between 2006 and 2010, the number of persons killed and injured in traffic collisions has been slowly rising. Particularly alarming are recent increases in pedestrian and bicycle fatalities, the growing dangers of distracting technologies, and the emergence of drug-impaired driving as a major problem. This grant funding will provide opportunities to combat these and other devastating problems such as drunk driving, speeding, and crashes at intersections.

“Overall, California’s roadways are among the safest in the nation,” said OTS Director Rhonda Craft. “But to meet future mobility, safety, and accessible transportation objectives, we have to reverse this recent trend in order to reach our common goal – zero deaths on our roadways. The Office of Traffic Safety and the Long Beach Police Department want to work with everyone to create a culture of traffic safety across Long Beach and the State.”

Activities the grant will fund include:

• Educational presentations
• DUI checkpoints
• DUI saturation patrols 
• Motorcycle safety enforcement
• Distracted driving enforcement
• Seat belt and child safety seat enforcement
• Bicycle and pedestrian safety 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
• Specialized DUI and drugged driving training such as Standardized Field Sobriety Testing (SFST), Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement (ARIDE), and Drug Recognition Evaluator (DRE)
 
Funding for this program is from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.