Atascadero Police Department Awarded $50,000 Grant

By Paso Robles Press · Thu Nov 04 2021

Traffic services program will deter dangerous and illegal driving that increase the risk of crashes

ATASCADERO — The Atascadero Police Department will roll out a police traffic services program to deter dangerous and illegal driving behaviors that increase the risk of crashes in the community.

“Impairment, speeding, and other dangerous driving behaviors jeopardize the safety of other people on the road,” Atascadero Police Department Commander Jason Carr said. “This funding allows us to provide necessary traffic enforcement measures with the goal of reducing serious injury and fatal crashes on our roads; furthermore, this grant has allowed us to purchase a Radar speed trailer to assist in controlling speeding vehicles in high traffic areas.”

The grant will pay for additional enforcement measures, including:

• DUI checkpoints and patrols specifically focused on suspected impaired drivers.
• Enforcement operations focused on suspected distracted drivers in violation of California’s hands-free cell phone law.
• Bicycle and pedestrian safety enforcement operations focused on driver behaviors that put vulnerable road users at risk.
• Enforcement operations focused on top violations that cause crashes: speeding, failure to yield, stop sign and/or red-light running, and improper turning or lane changes.
• Community education presentations on traffic safety issues such as distracted driving, DUI, speeding, bicycles, and pedestrian safety.
• Officer training and/or recertification: Standard Field Sobriety Test (SFST), Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement (ARIDE), and Drug Recognition Expert (DRE).

The grant program will run through September 2022.