The Sacramento Police Department has been awarded two new traffic safety grants from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) for year-long anti-DUI programs aimed at preventing deaths and injuries on our roadways as well as to educate the public on the dangers of drinking and driving.  The Sacramento Police Department and OTS are committed to keeping our streets safe through enforcement and education.

DUI and Driver's License Checkpoints are a key component of the grants.  These highly visible, widely publicized events are meant to deter impaired driving. Research shows that crashes involving alcohol drop by an average of 20 percent when well-publicized checkpoints are conducted often enough.  According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), checkpoints have provided the most effective documented results of any of the DUI enforcement strategies, while yielding considerable cost savings of $6 for every $1 spent.

Grant funding also allows for roving DUI saturation patrols, warrant sweeps and stakeouts for repeat DUI offenders, along with court stings targeting DUI offenders with suspended or revoked driver licenses who drive after leaving court hearings or court mandated DUI school. The DUI Enforcement Team will be conducting special Motorcycle Safety Enforcement Operations.  Officers will be enforcing traffic violations made by motorcyclists, and other vehicle drivers, that result in motorcycle collisions, injuries and deaths. OTS is also funding a DUI Education program for media to educate drivers on the cost of getting arrested for drunk driving, and the effect it will have on your life, including its potentially tragic consequences.

Drunk driving is one of America's deadliest crimes. In 2009, 950 people throughout California died in roadway crashes that involved a driver or motorcycle operator with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 percent or higher. 

"Thanks to the dedicated hard work of agencies like the Sacramento Police Department, California has seen a drop of nearly 27 percent in DUI fatalities," said OTS Director Christopher J. Murphy.  "While this is good news, we know that only by keeping the pressure on through enforcement and public awareness can we hope to sustain these declines and save lives."

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