The Lincoln City Police Department, working in partnership with Oregon Impact, is pleased to announce they have recently been awarded three traffic safety grants for 2019-2020. The grant funds in the amount of $6500.00 are for Enhanced DUII Enforcement, Distracted Driving Enforcement, and Pedestrian Safety Enforcement. The Enhanced DUII Enforcement funds, in the amount of $2,500.00, will be utilized to put extra officers on patrol specifically to seek out drivers who are operating their vehicles while impaired and remove them from the roadways. The enforcement operations will occur in conjunction with the National High Visibility Enforcement event time periods, which are designed to increase the number of patrol officers on the streets nationwide with an emphasis on seeking out drivers impaired by alcohol or drugs. DUII’s continue to be a leading cause of motor vehicle crash deaths and injuries throughout the nation. DUII grant funds where last used in August 2019 during the Labor Day weekend time period. During those enhanced DUII enforcement operations two DUII arrests were made. The Distracted Driving Enforcement funds, in the amount of $2,000.00, will be utilized to put extra officers out on patrol specifically looking for drivers who are using their cell phones or other electronic devices while operating their vehicles. The goals of these operations are to raise awareness to the dangers of distracted driving, and to reduce distracted driving by enforcement action and education. The effort is to change the behaviors of drivers and make distracted driving unacceptable. The end goal is to increase the safety of everyone on the roadways and reduce crashes caused by distracted driving. The Pedestrian Safety Enforcement funds, in the amount of $2,000.00, will be utilized to conduct specific operations where a decoy pedestrian will cross the roadways in a designated crosswalk while an officer acting as an observer will watch for violators of the applicable pedestrian-related crosswalk laws. The observing officer will notify other officers in chase vehicles, who will then conduct a traffic stop on the violator of the crosswalk law and take the appropriate educational or enforcement action. The primary focus of the operations is to raise pedestrian safety awareness in motorists with an emphasis on enhancing the safety for pedestrians crossing our roadways. The members of the Lincoln City Police Department are committed to the safety of our citizens and visitors and these grants will assist us in taking proactive steps towards improving the traffic safety in our community. These grant funds were made possible through Oregon Impact and the Oregon Department of Transportation.
