Pleasanton PD earns $32,500 traffic safety grant

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The Pleasanton Police Department recently received a $32,500 state grant to fund a yearlong program of special enforcement and public education efforts to reduce traffic-related deaths and injuries.

The grant money will help PPD target traffic fatality prevention, particularly pedestrian and bicyclist deaths, as well as other major contributing problems such as speeding and collisions in busy areas, according to Sgt. Benjamin Sarasua.

“The Pleasanton Police Department, with assistance from the Office of Traffic Safety, will use these tools to help keep Pleasanton streets safe,” Sarasua said in a statement. “Specific enforcement activities that the OTS grant will fund include DUI saturation patrols, distracted driving enforcement, traffic enforcement, and collaborative traffic enforcement with allied agencies within Alameda County.”

The sergeant added, “While alcohol remains the worst offender for DUI crashes, the Pleasanton Police Department supports the new effort from OTS that aims to drive awareness that ‘DUI Doesn’t Just Mean Booze.’ Prescription medications and marijuana can also be impairing by themselves, or in combination with alcohol, and can result in a DUI arrest.”

The OTS grant is funded through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.