San Bernardino County Sheriff receives grant to bolster road safety enforcement
The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department has been awarded $1.14 million dollars in grant money for traffic enforcement programs that they say will increase safety on the roads.
The grant comes from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the program runs through September of 2026.
In a press release, Corporal Dustin Whitson from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department says that the grant money will help with traffic safety through “a combination of education and enforcement efforts” with a goal of reducing dangerous driving behaviors and preventing crashes.
They say they plan on doing that with additional programs and resources that the grant money provides, including:
- DUI checkpoints and patrols focused on stopping suspected impaired drivers.
- They will also be Enforcing distracted driving laws such as California’s hands-free cell phone law. and
- Focusing on the most dangerous driver behaviors that put the safety of pedestrians at risk
The press releases cites the top violations that cause crashes as speeding, failure to yield, stop sign and red-light running, and improper turning or lane changes.
They will also be stepping up education with community presentations on traffic safety issues such as distracted driving, impaired driving, speeding and bicycle and pedestrian safety.
Many of those safety issues are amplified here in the hi-desert, with long two-lane highways with speed limits at 55 mph and higher. Improper passing and impaired driving claims multiple lives each year on Old Woman Springs Road and Twentynine Palms Highway.
