State Grants to Fuel Local DUI Crackdown

Expect to see a lot more DUI enforcement this year.

The State Office of Traffic Safety recently awarded several million dollars in grants to cities and counties across the state, including $1.4 million to Los Angeles County to be tapped for the DUI Enforcement and Awareness, Intensive Probation Supervision for High-Risk Felony and Repeat DUI Offenders, and Selective Traffic Enforcement programs.

The California Highway Patrol will also receive money for enforcement but the amount has not yet been released. The CHP plans to use the federal money to launch the Impaired Driving Enforcement and Apprehension or IDEA campaign which includes DUI checkpoints and an educational media campaign, CHP officials said.

CHP Commissioner Joe Farrow said grants could help the agency crack down.

“We will be tracking the progress of this anti-DUI program for positive results, as we work toward our goal of removing impaired drivers from California’s roadways,” said CHP Commissioner Joe Farrow.

According to the CHP, alcohol-involved collisions in California accounted for 14 percent of the total number of crashes reported in the state in 2009. As a result of the more than 8,600 alcohol-involved collisions, 754 people were killed and another 11,764 others were injured.