The Goleta Police Department has been awarded an $112,000 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) for a year-long program of special enforcements and public awareness efforts to prevent traffic related deaths and injuries. The Goleta Police Department will use the funding as part of the city’s ongoing commitment to keep our roadways safe and improve the quality of life through both enforcement and education.
Goleta Police Chief and Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Lieutenant Butch Arnoldi stated, “The City of Goleta Police Department is extremely fortunate to once again be awarded this grant for this coming year. This will allow us to continue our partnership with the California Office of Traffic Safety in our enforcement actions as well as public awareness efforts to prevent traffic related deaths and injuries. This ongoing collaboration will continue to enhance the quality of life through both proactive enforcement and educational efforts.”
After falling dramatically between 2006 and 2010, the number of persons killed and injured in traffic collisions has been slowly rising. Particularly alarming are recent increases in pedestrian and bicycle fatalities, the growing dangers of distracting technologies, and the emergence of drug-impaired driving. This grant funding will provide opportunities to combat these and other devastating problems such as drunk driving, speeding and crashes at intersections.
“Overall, California’s roadways are among the safest in the nation,” said OTS Director Rhonda Craft. “But to meet future mobility, safety, and accessible transportation objectives, we have to reverse this recent trend in order to reach our common goal – zero deaths on our roadways. The Office of Traffic Safety and the Goleta Police Department want to work with everyone to create a culture of traffic safety across Goleta and the state.”
Activities the grant will fund include:
- Educational presentations
- DUI checkpoints
- DUI saturation patrols
- Distracted driving enforcement
- Bicycle and pedestrian safety enforcement
- Speed, red light, and stop sign enforcement
- Compilation of DUI “Hot Sheets,” identifying worst-of-the-worst DUI offenders
- Specialized DUI and drugged driving training such as Standardized Field Sobriety Testing (SFST), Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement (ARIDE), and Drug Recognition Evaluator (DRE)
Funding for this program is from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The City of Goleta contracts with the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office for police services.