For Immediate Release:
Oct. 1, 2020

Contact:
Tim Weisberg
OTS Marketing and Public Affairs
timothy.weisberg@ots.ca.gov
(916) 509-3020

The Office of Traffic Safety Awards $93.7 Million to Support Transportation Programs

Elk Grove, Calif. – The California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) has awarded $93.7 million for more than 400 grants to agencies throughout the state.

“The funding will go toward efforts aimed at preventing deaths and serious injuries on our roadways,” OTS Director Barbara Rooney said. “Our road safety problems are clear. We must work toward improving roadway safety for everyone by changing behaviors to ensure every person, regardless of how they travel, goes safely.”

The grants are part of the OTS Highway Safety Plan (HSP), which serves as a roadmap for addressing the biggest traffic safety challenges.

Among the traffic safety programs the OTS grants will fund include:

  • Collaborative efforts with neighboring police/sheriff’s departments to address traffic safety priorities, including alcohol and drug-impaired driving prevention, the hands-free cell phone law, bicyclist and pedestrian safety, and primary actions that cause crashes.
  • Officer training in the detection of alcohol and/or drug impairment.
  • A statewide prosecutor training network for managing DUI cases and treatment programs for DUI offenders.
  • Child safety seat programs that educate the public on the proper use of child safety seats.
  • Teen and older adult education programs on safe road behaviors.
  • Development or enhancement of crash data collection and reporting.
  • Community walks and workshops to look at ways to improve safety for bicyclists and pedestrians, with special emphasis around public transit hubs and areas with higher bicycle/pedestrian traffic.
  • Bike “labs” that provide tools, equipment and other resources for the public to learn how to perform pre-ride safety checks, helmet fittings and regular bike maintenance, and understand the rules of the road.
  • New, specialized equipment that assists first responders in rescuing crash victims.

The one-year federal grant awards are for the Oct. 1, 2020 to Sept. 30, 2021 federal fiscal year.

Grants are awarded based on identifiable traffic safety problems, proposed strategies to improve the safety of roads, as well as proven measures taken to reduce traffic deaths and injuries.

The OTS administers traffic safety grants that deliver innovative programs with the goal of eliminating traffic fatalities and injuries on California roads. The OTS is a department under the California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA).

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