OTS Grant - DUI Enforcement

Goleta - December 28th, 2007

More DUI enforcement and safer streets are coming to the City of Goleta. Increased special impaired driving enforcement measures are on tap this holiday season and throughout the next year as a result of a recent $45,832 grant awarded by the Office of Traffic Safety to the City of Goleta Police Department. The City of Goleta Police Department is dedicated to keeping our roadways safe through both enforcement and education.

“Driving under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol threatens public safety. This is a crime that the City of Goleta Traffic Bureau and other elements of the Sheriff’s Department take very seriously,” said Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown. “We are proud to partner with the City of Goleta through this grant to crack down on drunk driving in Goleta.”

The special grant is to assist in efforts to deal with increased impaired driving problems and reduce the number of persons killed and injured in alcohol and drug related traffic collisions.  Last year 1597 people were killed and over 31,000 injured in California in drug and alcohol related crashes.

Since September of 2004, the City of Goleta Traffic Bureau has conducted 24 DUI Checkpoints in the City of Goleta. 14,886 drivers have been screened /or contacted during these checkpoints resulting in; 117 Field Sobriety Tests, 76 DUI Arrests, 6 DUI Zero Tolerance, 5 Felony Arrests, 41 Misdemeanor Arrests (non-DUI), 15 Suspended / Unlicensed Driver Citations, and 380 Vehicles Towed.    

The grant activities will specifically target DUI offenders and drivers with suspended or revoked licenses. This will be done through the use of checkpoints set up to screen for drivers who may be impaired or operating without a valid driver’s license.  Checkpoints have been shown to significantly reduce DUI fatalities when utilized aggressively and consistently. The most positive aspects of DUI checkpoints are their ability to increase public awareness, to prevent impaired driving in the first place, and to encourage designating a sober driver.

“When more people drive sober and safely, lives are saved.  It’s just that simple,” said Christopher J. Murphy, Director of the Office of Traffic Safety.  “This grant will help make the City of Goleta just that much safer of a place to live and work.”

Funding for the grant comes from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

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