$700,000 Grant Permits the Los Angeles Police Department to Begin a Special Traffic Enforcement Program NR09548SF

Los Angeles:  The California Office of Traffic Safety has awarded the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) a $700,000 grant to increase traffic enforcement and education which will ultimately lead to safer roadways.

The objective of the grant, which is titled "Speed Awareness and Motorcycle Safety (SAMS) Project," is to compliment current efforts to reduce the number of community members killed and injured in traffic collisions.  

For reference, motorcycle fatalities have been on the rise in California,increasing 175 percent statewide in the last decade, from 204 fatalities in 1998 to 560 fatalities in 2008.  Consequently, the grant will specifically focus on speed violations and motorcycle safety.  To achieve these objectives, the Department has developed the "Back the Trailer" program that will target speed violators and will increase motorcycle safety through enforcement operations.  

"This grant will undoubtedly assist the Department in making our roadways safer by reducing the speeds of motorists and by increasing motorcycle safety" said Captain Todd Chamberlain, Commanding Officer, Emergency Operations Division.

"Every driver and every motorcyclist must get back to the basics: drive sober, always drive or ride safely, buckle up and we will save lives.  It’s just that simple," said Christopher J. Murphy, Director of the Office of Traffic Safety.  "This grant will help make Los Angeles just that much safer of a place to live and work."

Funding for this program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.  The program will begin during the month of November and continue through 2010.

For more information, please call Police Officer Donald Inman, Traffic Coordination Section at 213-
486-0703.