The California Highway Patrol recently received a grant aimed at decreasing deaths and injuries caused by speed and aggressive driving — two of California’s main contributors in traffic collisions — statewide, including in Santa Clarita, according to officials.

With the grant, CHP has begun a year-long, grant-funded education and enforcement campaign to reduce the number of collisions where speed, improper turning and driving on the wrong side of the road are the primary factors leading to death or injury.

“Speed is the No. 1 cause of traffic collisions in California,” said Warren Stanley, CHP commissioner. “With this grant, the California Highway Patrol will strive to change this dangerous behavior through increased enforcement and education.”

During 2015 and 2016, speed was a factor in approximately 45 percent of all fatal and injury collisions in the state. More than 36,000 speed-related collisions resulted in the death of more than 370 people and the injury of nearly 53,000 people, according to officials.

The grant, titled “Regulate Aggressive Driving and Reduce Speed (RADARS) III,” comes at a time when street racing and sideshows are also an increasing problem on the state’s roads.

“An active public awareness campaign and enhanced enforcement, which will deploy additional officers to provide more patrols to affected areas, will focus on the expanding problem,” said officials.

Earlier this month, four people were killed in a fiery crash after a van smashed into the back of a big rig on the northbound I-5 in Santa Clarita.

Investigators believe that excessive speed and impairment by drugs or alcohol may have played a role in the crash.

In September, a Santa Clarita father and daughter were taken to the hospital in critical condition after a wrong-way driver hit their vehicle head-on while driving on the 14 Freeway. They are currently recovering after a number of surgeries.

The driver of the wrong-way vehicle sustained major injuries as a result of the collision, and was declared dead at the scene.

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

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