South San Francisco, CA October 5, 2016 SSFPD Press Release 
The South San Francisco Police Department has been awarded a $70,000 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) for a year-long program of special enforcements and public awareness efforts to prevent traffi c related deaths and injmies. The South San Francisco Police Department will use the fund ing as part of the city’s ongoing commitment to keep our roadways safe and improve the quality of life through both enforcement and education.
Police Chief Jeff Azzopardi said, “This marks the ninth consecutive year of our partnership with the Office of Traffic Safety and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. During this partnership, as a direct result of the grant-funded operations, we have arrested and removed 130 intoxicated and impaired drivers from our roadways. We have also made 80 criminal arrests for other offenses during the grant-funded operations. In addition to the arrests, over 750 drivers who were unlicensed or driving with a suspended license were issued citations and in some cases, had their vehicles towed.”
“When compared to the two years before we began working with the Office of Traffic Safety, we have seen a 40 percent reduction in fatality traffic collisions, a 17 percent reduction in alcohol related injury traffic collisions, and a 36 percent reduction in speed-related injury collisions. In addition to this, we have also seen reductions in the number of hit and run injury and fatality collisions,” stated Chief Azzopardi.
After falling to a ten year low in 2010, the number of persons killed has climbed nearly 17% across the state with 3,176 killed in 2015 according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Particularly alarming is the six year rise in pedestrian and bicycle fatalities, along with the growing dangers of distracting technologies, and the emergence of drug-impaired driving as a major problem. This grant funding will provide opportunities to combat these and other devastating problems such as drunk driving, speeding and crashes at intersections.
“Years of research tell us that enforcement and education work best jointly to combat unsafe driving,” said OTS Director Rhonda Craft. “This grant brings both tactics together, with the Office of Traffic Safety and the South San Francisco Police Department working in concert to help keep the streets and highways safe across South San Francisco and the state.”
Acti vities that the grant will fund include:
- DUI checkpoints
- DUI saturation patrols
- Bicycle and pedestrian safety enforcement
- Motorcycle safety enforcement
- Distracted driving enforcement
- Seat belt and child safety seat enforcement
- Speed, red light, and stop sign enforcement
- Warrant service operations targeting multiple DUI offenders
- Compifation of DUI “Hot Sheets,” identifying worst-of-the-worst DUI offenders
- Stakeout operations to observe the “worst-of-the-worst” repeat DUI offender probationers with suspended or revoked driver licenses
Funding for this program is from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.