The Lincoln City Police Department has been awarded three traffic safety grants for 2018-19 totaling $6500 for enhanced DUII enforcement, distracted driving enforcement and pedestrian safety enforcement.

The enhanced DUII enforcement funds, in the amount of $2,500, will be utilized to put extra officers out on patrol when higher numbers of impaired drivers are likely to be on 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 and removing them from the roadways. DUIIs continue to be a leading cause of motor vehicle crash deaths and injuries throughout the nation.

The $2,000 in distracted driving enforcement funds 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.

Pedestrian safety enforcement funds ($2,000) 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 Lincoln City Police Department is committed to the safety of its citizens and visitors, and these grant funds are a valuable resource that assist in improving the traffic safety in the community. These grant funds were made possible through Oregon Impact and the Oregon Department of Transportation.

Enforcement operation gives drivers crash course on pedestrian safety