ECPD receives grant for special traffic enforcement.

The El Centro Police Department announced Wednesday it was awarded $110,000 in grant funds from the California Office of Traffic Safety for a year-long program of special enforcements and public awareness efforts to prevent traffic related deaths and injuries.

The El Centro Police Department stated through a press release the funding will be used as part of the city’s ongoing commitment to keep roadways safe and improve the quality of life, through both enforcement and education. Activities that the grant will fund include DUI checkpoints, DUI saturation patrols, bicycle and pedestrian safety enforcement, distracted driving enforcement, seat belt and child safety seat enforcement along with speed, red light, and stop sign enforcement.

The grant funding will also provide opportunities to combat these and other devastating problems such as speeding and crashes at intersections, stated the press release. After falling to a 10-year low in 2010, the number of persons killed on roadways has climbed nearly 17 percent across the state, with 3,429 fatalities in 2015. Particularly alarming is the rise in pedestrian and bicycle fatalities that now comprise nearly 25 percent of all traffic deaths, along with the growing dangers of distracting technologies and the emergence of drug-impaired driving.

“Unsafe behaviors account for 94 percent of traffic crashes,” said OTS Director Rhonda Craft. “This grant emphasizes the two most effective ways to change behaviors — education and enforcement. The El Centro Police Department, with assistance from the Office of Traffic Safety, will use these tools to help keep El Centro streets safe.”