Escondido police awarded grant to enforce traffic safety
By SDCN Editor
Escondido, CA–The Escondido Police Department was awarded a $495,000 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety.
The grant will support the department’s ongoing enforcement and education programs to help reduce the number of serious injuries and deaths on the roads.
“This funding will strengthen our commitment to public safety in Escondido,” Police Chief Ed Varso said. “We will be able to increase our efforts in making our roads safer for everyone and focus on critical areas such as distracted driving, impaired driving, and speeding.”
The grant will provide additional programs and resources, including one full-time officer dedicated exclusively to DUI enforcement, DUI checkpoints, and patrols focused on stopping suspected impaired drivers, and focus on top violations that cause crashes such as speeding, failure to yield, stop sign and/or red-light running, and improper turning or lane changes.
Escondido police will also crack down on distracted driving targeting drivers in violation of California’s hands-free cell phone law.
Officers will be trained and receive recertification on the Standard Field Sobriety Test, Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement, and Drug Recognition Expert.
The grant program will run through September 2024.
Funding for the program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
