Woodland City Council Approves Traffic Safety Funding
I’m Ed Smith, a Woodland car accident lawyer. Although the grant was received in early November, the city of Woodland just recently approved a $75,000 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) to be dispersed to the Woodland Police Department (WPD).
The Grant
The grant will be used for three separate traffic safety measures. These measures include money to reimburse for staffing expenses, money for buying traffic radar scanners and DUI checkpoint equipment, and money for training programs. The measures will respectively be given $59,564, $13,792, and $1,743 worth of the total grant.
Selective Traffic Enforcement Program
This money is all part of the OTS Selective Traffic Enforcement Program which seeks to reduce the frequency of deaths and injuries associated with collisions involving primary factors like DUI and speeding. WPD Police Chief Luis Soler reported to the city council that, in order to attain these goals, WPD will employ “best practice” strategies.
Strategies that will be funded could include DUI saturation patrols, DUI checkpoints, stakeout operations, educations presentations, warrant service operations, personnel training, and a ‘HOT Sheet’ program.
Soler added that the program may also involve concentrating on distracted driving, speeding, seatbelt enforcement, operations at intersections with high accident frequencies, and special operations that encourage bicycle safety. Soler reported that these strategies aim to stir up media attention in order to enhance the overall effect of deterring dangerous roadway actions.
The Problem
Reports indicate that after reaching a decade-long low in 2010, the amount of people killed on the state’s roadways has gone up almost 17 percent, with a total of 3,429 accident fatalities in California in 2015.
Police Sergeant Dallas Hyde reported at a council meeting that he is particularly alarmed by the rise in bicycle and pedestrian fatalities that now make up “almost 25 percent of all traffic deaths.” Hyde also noted that he is alarmed by the growing danger of technologies that distract drivers as well as the emergence of drug-impaired driving. Hyde noted that money from the grant will provide a way for his department to combat these issues as well as “other devastating problems” like intersection collisions and speeding.
A Small Hiccup
The grant had originally been awarded in October and announced on November 10, 2017 by Hyde. The council included the recommendation on their consent calendar, which usually means that the measure will be approved quickly and without comment.
However, approval of the funds was delayed by council member Tom Stallard, who pulled the measure before it could be passed in order to urge that it pay more attention to the problem of speeding in residential areas of the city.
More From Woodland Car Accident & Personal Injury Lawyer, Ed Smith
- Woodland Area Fatality Accident
- Woodland Resident Killed in Crash
Woodland Car Accident Lawyer
I’m Ed Smith, a Woodland Car Accident Lawyer. Accidents can result in serious trauma. If you or a loved one has been hurt in a collision, call my local number, (530) 392-9400, for some free, friendly advice. I am also available at my toll free number, (800) 404-5400, and AutoAccident.com.
I have been practicing personal injury and wrongful death law in the Woodland area for over than 35 years in order to help families and individuals receive the compensation that they deserve.
Reviews from my clients have been written on Yelp, the attorney raknking service, Avvo, and Google.
I’m part of a forum for of U.S. trial attorneys who have won verdicts or settlements worth $1 million at minimum- Million Dollar Advocates Forum.
See my Past Settlements and Verdicts here.
Visit AutoAccident.com, Northern California’s top resource for blogs and info on vehicle accidents and personal injury.
pic credit: “auto stopped highway” by Osvaldo Gago under CC A-SA2.5G
:ms [cs 639] cv