The San Diego Police Department received over $1 million in grant money from the California Office of Traffic Safety for a year-long program to prevent traffic related deaths and injuries.
The $1,503,000 grant will be used as part of the city's ongoing commitment to keep roadways safe and improve the quality of life through education and enforcement, according to a statement from SDPD.
"The grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety is going to assist us in keeping our community safe on our roadways," said San Diego Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman. "We will continue to use data driven information to direct our traffic safety efforts here in San Diego with both educational and enforcement efforts."
Pedestrian and bicycle fatalities now comprise nearly 25 percent of all traffic deaths, along with distracting technologies and the emergence of drug-impaired driving, according to SDPD.
The grant will help combat these issues and other problems like speeding and crashes at intersections.
"Unsafe behaviors account for 94 percent of traffic crashes," said OTS Director Rhonda Craft.
To prevent fatalities the grant will fund:
Local
• Educational presentations
• DUI checkpoints
• DUI saturation patrols
• Bicycle and pedestrian safety enforcement
• Motorcycle safety enforcement
• Distracted driving enforcement
• Speed, red light, and stop sign enforcement
Craft said the grant is for targeting the most effective ways to change behaviors: education and enforcement.
"The San Diego Police Department, with assistance from the Office of Traffic Safety, will use these tools to help keep San Diego streets safe," said Craft.
