Calif. PD awarded $300K grant for traffic safety, officer training

By Marcus D. Smith
The Sacramento Bee

ELK GROVE, Calif. — California traffic officials awarded the Elk Grove Police Department with a grant of $305,000 to provide additional programs and resources that help reduce the number of serious injuries and deaths on the road.

The grant, awarded by the California Office of Traffic Safety via funding from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, is expected to support continuous enforcement and educational driving courses.

In a news release Tuesday, Elk Grove traffic Lt. Jason Bolfango said the objective is to make roads safer.

“We will be able to increase our efforts in making our roads safer for everyone and focus on critical areas such as distracted driving, impaired driving, and speeding,” Bolfango said.

The grant program is expected to run through September 2024 and will provide the Police Department funding for the following resources and additional programs, according to the news release:

• DUI checkpoints and patrols.
• High-visibility distracted driving enforcement operations targeting drivers in violation of California’s hands-free cellphone law.
• Enforcement operations focused on dangerous driver behaviors that put bicyclists and pedestrians at risk.
• Enforcement operations focused on top violations resulting in crashes: speeding, failure to yield, stop sign and red-light running, and improper turning or lane changes.
• Community presentations on traffic safety issues such as distracted driving, impaired driving, speeding and bicycle and pedestrian safety.
• Collaborative enforcement efforts with neighboring agencies.
• Officer training and recertification.

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