The SAPD has been awarded a $482K grant to reduce deaths and injuries on our roads

The safety of everyone traveling is the focus of a grant awarded to the Santa Ana Police Department. The $482,700 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) will assist in the Santa Ana Police Department’s efforts to reduce deaths and injuries on Santa Ana roads.

“The City of Santa Ana is at the forefront in addressing traffic safety,” Santa Ana Police Chief David Valentin said. “This funding allows us to educate and enhance the safety of all residents.”

The one-year grant is for the 2021 federal fiscal year, which runs from Oct. 1, 2020 to Sept. 30, 2021.

The grant will fund a variety of traffic safety programs, including:

• Patrols with emphasis on alcohol and drug-impaired driving prevention.
• DUI / Driver License checkpoints with emphasis on alcohol and drug-impaired driving prevention.
• Patrols with emphasis on awareness and education of California’s hands-free cell phone law.
• Patrols with emphasis on education of traffic rights for bicyclists and pedestrians.
• Patrols with emphasis on awareness and education of primary causes of crashes: excess speed, failure to yield, failure to stop at stop signs/signals, improper turning/lane changes.
• Community education presentations on traffic safety issues such as distracted driving, DUI, speed, bicycle and pedestrian safety.
• Collaborative efforts with neighboring agencies on traffic safety priorities.
• Officer training and/or recertification: Standard Field Sobriety Test (SFST), Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement (ARIDE) and Drug Recognition Expert (DRE).

“Through education and behavior changes, we hope to create an environment that is safe and equitable for all road users in our community,” Chief David Valentin said. “Vehicular and pedestrian safety is one of our community’s highest priorities”.

Funding for this program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.