The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department was recently awarded a traffic education and enforcement grant in an effort to create safer roads, including Santa Clarita.

The $1.9 million grant from the Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) is intended to fund programs through September 2019, the end of the fiscal year for LA County, according to LASD officials.

Sheriff’s officials hope their enforcement activities will help deter motorists from violating traffic laws and end unsafe behaviors on the road that can lead to injuries and fatalities.

“The funds for DUI enforcement is essentially for overtime pay for deputies working extra shifts to allow for more deputies (on) the streets,” said Sgt. Robert Hill of the traffic services detail. “Some funds are for buying supplies for DUI checkpoints, such as preliminary alcohol-screening devices, conessheriff and signs, but the majority is for personnel.”

Enforcement activities anticipated to be funded by the grant include DUI checkpoints, saturation patrols, patrols at intersections with high rates of pedestrian and bike collisions, motorcycle safety operations, warrant service operations targeting multiple DUI offenders and specialized training on the identification and apprehension of suspected impaired drivers.

“The distribution of the grant across the various branches of the department is determined by statistics that the California Office of Traffic Safety gathers,” said Hill. “They see problem areas where pedestrian collisions, traffic collisions or DUIs occur, and that’s where they place the money.”

The department has received a grant from the OTS to fund these activities annually for the last 13 years, according to LASD officials.

“April is National Distracted Driving Awareness Month and May is National Bicycle and Motorcycle Safety Month, so there will be more deputies on the roads for those particular events, and just throughout the year, more deputies on the road for DUI enforcement,” said Hill. “However, there won’t be DUI checkpoints in Santa Clarita, just saturation patrols, which unfortunately is a big problem for Santa Clarita.”

The education efforts are expected to focus on presentations for youth and community members about the dangers of distracted and impaired driving, teen driving, as well as bicycle and pedestrian safety.

“Almost all crashes are preventable,” said OTS Director Rhonda Craft. “Education and enforcement go hand in hand helping change behaviors that cause devastating crashes.”

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