LOS ALAMITOS, CA — The Seal Beach Police Department has been awarded a tremendous grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the department announced in a press release on Tuesday. The $117,000 grant will support the department’s ongoing enforcement and education programs to help reduce the number of severe injuries and deaths on Seal Beach roads.
“This funding will strengthen our commitment to public safety in our community,” Seal Beach Chief of Police Michael Henderson said in the official press release. “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 generous grant will provide DUI checkpoints and patrols that are focused on stopping impaired drivers, an extremely beneficial effort to combat drunk driving. High-visibility distracted driving enforcement operations will go into effect as well, targeting drivers violating California’s hands-free cell phone law.
Increased enforcement procedures focused on speeding, failure to yield, ignoring stop signs, inappropriate lane changes, and/or red light running will also result from the grant. Such activities are top violations that cause crashes in the Seal Beach and Los Alamitos areas.
Many Los Alamitos High School students have witnessed dangerous traffic violations while driving, sometimes committed by fellow students.
“A student driver cut me off and ran a red light while people were crossing [the crosswalk],” said Layla Martinez, a Los Al senior.
“Students just drive recklessly in general. I think that people will be more aware of how they’re driving [with the increased safety measures],” senior Hayley Bergstrom said.
The increased safety measures will allow student drivers a more comfortable environment as they continue to learn and improve their driving skills. Hopefully, the increased safety enforcement will also influence student drivers to drive more carefully.
With the grant, the department will be able to engage in further collaborative enforcement efforts with other agencies such as the Los Alamitos Police Department to educate individuals on traffic safety and enforce the law. The grant program will run through September 2024.
