$60K Grant Awarded to UCPD For Traffic Safety

UNION CITY, CA — The Union City Police Department has been awarded a $60,000 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety. It will be used for a program to deter dangerous and illegal driving behaviors that increase the risk of crashes.

"Impairment, speeding and other dangerous driving behaviors jeopardize the safety of other people on the road,” Union City Police Department Sgt. Stan Rodrigues said. “This funding allows us to provide necessary traffic enforcement measures with the goal of reducing serious injury and fatal crashes on our roads."

Here's how the money will be spent:

• DUI checkpoints and patrols specifically focused on suspected impaired drivers.
• Enforcement operations focused on suspected distracted drivers in violation of California’s hands-free cell phone law.
• Bicycle and pedestrian safety enforcement operations focused on driver behaviors that put vulnerable road users 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 education presentations on traffic safety issues such as distracted driving, DUI, speeding, and bicycle and pedestrian safety.
• Collaborative enforcement efforts with neighboring agencies.
• Officer training and/or recertification: Standard Field Sobriety Test (SFST), Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement (ARIDE) and Drug Recognition Expert (DRE).

The grant program will run through September 2022.