FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 18, 2021
Sergeant O. Williams, [email protected], 951-461-6360
Murrieta Police Department was Awarded a $90,000 Grant from the Office of Traffic Safety
Murrieta, Calif. – The Murrieta Police Department will roll out a police traffic services program to deter dangerous and illegal driving behaviors that increase the risk of crashes in the community.
“Driving impaired, speeding and other dangerous driving behaviors jeopardize the safety of everyone on the road. In Murrieta, we have seen some very serious collisions this past year, excessive speeding and red light violations as well,” Murrieta Police Chief Tony Conrad said. “Murrieta PD has made it our priority to attack these problems through enforcement and education. This funding allows us to provide the necessary enforcement and education measures with the goal of reducing the serious injury collisions and arresting impaired drivers.”
The grant will pay for additional enforcement measures, including:
• DUI checkpoints and 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 presentation on traffic safety issues such as distracted driving, DUI, speeding, and bicycle and pedestrian safety.
• 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.
Funding for this program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.