The Sacramento Police Department will be conducting specialized Motorcycle Safety Enforcement, Pedestrian and Bicycle Enforcement, and DUI Enforcement Operations during the next two weeks, August 11^th- 24^th. This is an effort to reduce deaths and injuries caused during collisions involving motorcycles, pedestrians, and bicyclists.

Officers will be patrolling areas that are frequented by these vulnerable roadway users and in areas where higher concentrations of collisions between them have occurred.  Officers will be looking for violations made by drivers, riders, and walkers which may lead to collisions. Officers will focus on violations that involve speed, turning movements, cell phone use, and other moving violations that are dangerous to unprotected roadway users when they share the roadway with motor vehicles. Officers will also be focusing on persons riding motorcycles and motorists who are under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Officers will be deployed during morning/evening commute times and DUI patrols will be focused during the evening/nighttime traffic. Operations like this are aimed at combating the factors that lead to collision related deaths and injuries.  The goal is to reduce serious injuries and tragic loss of life and, eventually, to eliminate them entirely.

Motorcycle and Pedestrian fatalities have been on the rise nationally since 2012. Since January 2015, 15 motorcyclist, 56 pedestrian and 20 bicyclist deaths have occurred in the City of Sacramento. Collision data reveals that primary causes of motorcycle-involved crashes include speeding, unsafe turning and impairment due to alcohol and other drugs by both riders and drivers. Pedestrian right of way, violation of crossing signals/red lights, and crossing outside of crosswalks are the most common violations relative to pedestrians. Bicycle collisions were primarily caused by turning violations, bike lane right of way, or riding against the flow of traffic. The Sacramento Police Department will be out during the busiest times of the day looking for violations that are dangerous by all roadway users.

Funding for this program is provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The message to all drivers, walkers and riders is: Share in the Responsibility and Do Your Part by Safely "Sharing the Road." Please direct any inquiries to Sergeant Chris Prince via email at cprince@pd.cityofsacramento.org or by telephone at (916) 808-6069.