The Irvine Police Department will increase traffic enforcement throughout the community and provide other traffic safety programs to help reduce the number of serious injuries and deaths on roads.
"We appreciate our great partnership with the California Office of Traffic Safety," Chief Michael Kent said. "This generous funding will be used for innovative traffic safety programs, sobriety checkpoints, and increased traffic enforcement. The Irvine Police Department works every day to keep our roadways safe and we remain committed to reducing collisions in Irvine."
The grant from OTS will fund various education and enforcement activities for the 2023 Federal Fiscal Year (Oct. 1, 2022 to Sept. 30, 2023) including:
- DUI checkpoints and patrols focused on stopping suspected impaired drivers.
- High visibility distracted driving enforcement operations targeting drivers in violation of California’s hands-free cell phone law.
- Enforcement operations focused on the most dangerous driver behaviors that put the safety of people biking or walking 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 presentations on traffic safety issues such as distracted driving, impaired driving, speeding, bicycle and pedestrian safety.
- Collaborative enforcement efforts with neighboring agencies.
In addition, a Child Passenger Safety Program grant was also awarded in the amount of $26,625. These grant funds will provide funding for car seat/ booster seat education, officer training, and purchasing child safety seats to distribute to families in need.
Funding for this program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.