Berkeley Police Awarded $269k Grant For Traffic Enforcement Programs

BERKELEY, CA — The Berkeley Police Department was awarded a$269,000 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, UCPD announced Thursday, Nov. 9.

According to a news release announcing the grant, UCPD will use the funds to support ongoing enforcement and education programs to help reduce the number of serious injuries and deaths on local roads.

"This funding will strengthen our commitment to public safety in our community," Berkeley Police Sgt. Dave Harston said. "We will be able to increase our efforts in making our roads safer for everyone and focus on critical areas such as distracted driving, impaired driving, and speeding."

The grant will provide additional programs and resources, including: DUI checkpoints and patrols focused on stopping suspected impaired drivers, the news release said.

Other programs that will benefit from the funding include 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 and Enforcement operations focused on top violations that cause crashes such as 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 and bicycle and pedestrian safety, Collaborative enforcement efforts with neighboring agencies and Officer training and/or recertification: Standard Field Sobriety Test and Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement programs will also benefit from the grant program which runs through September 2024, the news release said.

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