Behind the Badge
The Westminster Police Department will use state-issued funds to increase enforcement and education in an effort to reduce serious traffic collisions.
The California Office of Traffic Safety granted WPD nearly $100,000 for a year-long plan to add special enforcement and several public awareness campaigns targeted at promoting safe driving.
From 2006 to 2010, Westminster saw a drop in the number of injury and fatal traffic collisions police responded to, but that number has slowly been climbing, police said.
Police said they are especially concerned with the increase in pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities, along with the number of crashes attributed to distracted or intoxicated driving.
“Overall, California’s roadways are among the safest in the nation,” OTS Director Rhonda Craft said in a statement. “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 Westminster Police Department want to work with everyone to create a culture of traffic safety across Westminster and the state.”
Westminster will use the funds for a variety of projects including DUI checkpoints and saturation patrols, red light and stop sign enforcement, motorcycle safety enforcement, distracted driving enforcement and sting operations that target convicted intoxicated drivers ignoring license suspension or revocation, among others.
