Manhattan Beach Receives Traffic Safety Grant
Nov 18, 2023 05:22PM ● By Mb News Staff
Manhattan Beach police screen drivers at a DUI checkpoint. Photo via MBPD.
The Manhattan Beach Police Department has been awarded a $75,000 grant from California's Office of Traffic Safety (OTS). The grant aims to support ongoing enforcement and education programs to help reduce the number of serious injuries and deaths on local roads.
According to a statement by MBPD, the funding will
allow the department to increase its efforts in making roads safer and focusing on critical areas such as distracted driving,
impaired driving and speeding.
At a police forum this week, MBPD Traffic Officer Tony Presgraves explained that it was difficult to conduct, for example, a DUI checkpoint with MBPD officers alone, so MBPD typically brings in officers from other local jurisdictions to assist on a specific date. This grant would pay those outside officers for that type of exercise, he said.
Programs and resources covered by the grant 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.
• 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 and bicycle and pedestrian safety.
• Collaborative enforcement efforts with neighboring agencies.
• Officer training and/or recertification in the Standard Field Sobriety Test, Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement and Drug Recognition Expert programs.
