Santa Barbara Police Department Awarded a New Traffic Safety Grant

The $150,000.00 grant awarded by the Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) to the Santa Barbara Police Department will aid in the city’s ongoing effort to improve traffic safety and the quality of life.

“Our department is proud of the relationship we have with the California Office of Traffic Safety and these funds will help us to curtail traffic deaths and/or injuries attributed to impaired drivers in the City of Santa Barbara” said SBPD Assistant Patrol Commander Brent Mandrell.

DUI/Driver’s License Checkpoints are a key component of the grant. These highly visible, widely publicized events are meant to deter impaired driving, not to increase arrests. Research shows that crashes involving alcohol drop by an average of 20 percent when well-publicized checkpoints are conducted often enough. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), checkpoints have provided the most effective documented results of any of the DUI enforcement strategies, while yielding considerable cost savings of $6 for every $1 spent.