RCPD Receives Grant for DUI Program

The Rancho Cordova Police Department now has a state-issued grant to help them crack down on drunk driving.

The $117,000 grant was issued by the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Administration and will be used to set up DUI checkpoints and conduct stakeout operations targeting repeat DUI offenders.  The grant began Oct. 1 and will be effective until Sept. 30, 2010.

Rancho Cordova has already reduced the number of accidents resulting from drunk driving over the past four years. There were an average of 5.5 drunk driving-related accidents per month in 2006, and that number has been reduced to an average of 4.3 accidents per month– a 22 percent drop – as of September 2009.

Investigations Sergeant Pete James said the drop in accidents is a good indication that there are less drunk drivers on the road in Rancho Cordova. “Our enforcement is working,” James said. ”Grants that pay for extra enforcement, like this OTS grant, have the long-term result of fewer DUIs and DUI-related crashes. That makes for a happy and safe Rancho Cordova!”

A statement released by the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department said drunk driving is one of the deadliest crimes in America, with 11,700 deaths from resulting accidents in 2008 alone.

“Last year in California 1,029 died in alcohol impaired crashes, a 9 percent reduction in deaths from 2007,” said Christopher J. Murphy, Director of the Office of Traffic Safety.  “This grant will help keep that trend going by getting drunk drivers off the roadways of Rancho Cordova, making it safer for everyone.”

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Posted by Anne Lowe on Nov 13 2009. Filed under Public Safety. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.