The California Office of Traffic Safety recently awarded the Pleasanton Police Department a $50,000 grant that will help provide additional programs and services focused on preventing roadside injuries and deaths.

Some of the programs and resources the grant will fund include driving under the influence saturation patrol officers -- which are officers who stop drivers suspected of drunk driving -- and other enforcement operations to catch drivers using their phones, drivers driving who risk pedestrian and cyclist safety due to dangerous driving, and drivers who speed or break any other general driving violations.

"This funding will strengthen our commitment to public safety in our community," PPD Sgt. Steve Ayers said in a Nov. 8 press release from the department. "We will be able to increase our efforts in making our roads safer for everyone and focus on critical areas such as distracted driving, impaired driving and speeding."

The California Office of Traffic Safety grant, which came through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, will last until September 2024.

Other services that will be funded by the grant include community presentations on traffic safety issues such as distracted driving, impaired driving, speeding, bicycle, and pedestrian safety; collaborative enforcement efforts with neighboring agencies; and officer training or recertification.

The training and recertification will be on the Standard Field Sobriety Test, Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement and Drug Recognition Expert.