Elk Grove Police Commence Special Traffic Enforcement Program
To target DUI, street racing and red light running violations among other things More traffic enforcement and safer streets are coming...
https://www.elkgrovenews.net/2009/11/elk-grove-police-commence-special.html
To target DUI, street racing and red light running violations among other things
More traffic enforcement and safer streets are coming to Elk Grove beginning this month thanks to a recent $172,000 grant awarded by the California Office of Traffic Safety. New accident reconstruction equipment, new speed radars and increased special traffic enforcement measures are on tap for the Elk Grove Police Department as law enforcement continues their commitment to keeping our roadways safe through both enforcement and education.
“The Elk Grove Police Department is very fortunate to have been awarded this grant,” Robert Lehner, Elk Grove Police Chief said. “Through a combination of education and enforcement, we expect to see a reduction in the number of impaired drivers on the roadways.”
The Selective Traffic Enforcement Program (STEP) grant is to assist in efforts to deal with increased traffic safety problems and reduce the number of persons killed and injured in traffic collisions.
The grant activities will specifically target Motorcycle Safety, DUI offenders, drivers with suspended or revoked licenses, illegal street racing, red light running, and seatbelt violations. This will be done through the use of DUI/driver’s license checkpoints and special enforcement operations.
The grant also provides funding for new accident reconstruction equipment, new speed radars and overtime to conduct special enforcement activities.
“Every driver and every motorcyclist must get back to the basics: drive sober, always drive or ride safely, buckle up and we will save lives. It’s just that simple,” Christopher J. Murphy, Director of the Office of Traffic Safety said. “This grant will help make Elk Grove just that much safer of a place to live and work.”
New this year is the addition of 2 special Motorcycle Safety Enforcement Operations. Motorcycle fatalities have been on the rise in California , increasing 175 percent statewide in the last decade, from 204 killed in 1998 to 560 killed in 2008.
Elk Grove Police Officers will be conducting specialized enforcement efforts throughout the course of the next year. Extra officers will be on duty patrolling areas frequented by motorcycles.
Officers will also be cracking down on traffic violations made by motorcyclists, and other vehicle drivers, that result in far too many motorcycle collisions, injuries and deaths.
Funding for this program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
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What does this photo have to do with Elk Grove, CA?
I would say the photo represents the madness of throwing out grant money to curb traffic safety problems in any suburban environment. The photo might be Aurora, CO or Bloomington, IL -- it matters not; low density suburban sprawl and its high speed collector roads are everywhere and the traffic "problems" are ubiquitous.
In my opinion, it's the layout of Elk Grove and its total dependence on the motor vehicle that underwrites all our "traffic safety" problems -- DUIs, because the only way to get home after the ballgame and the beer is via your car; red light running, because of our impatience on Laguna Blvd. having to wait three light cycles just to make a left hand turn; street racing, because Franklin Blvd. is built just like Excelsior raceway -- even housewives in minivans easily do 70 down Franklin. I argue that it underwrites it; it doesn't rationalize it.
Sacramento's top 12 worst intersections are all on collector roads in the second and third tier suburban rings around the city core. The Sacramento city core hosts none. It was built on a scale suitable for humans, not for cars. Cars and people interact equitably. It is my minority opinion that we can blow $172,000 or $1,720,000 on "traffic safety," but until we address building cities on human scales instead of on automotive scales, we will never STEP into safe Elk Grovian roadways.
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