California Office of Highway Traffic Safety Announces 2012 Federal Grants Will Target Drugged Driving

The California Office of Traffic Safety recently announced that it has received $76 million in federal funding to support 213 traffic safety grants to state and local agencies for the grant year that begins October 1, 2011.

As in years past, many of these grants will be used to target drunk drivers through the use of sobriety checkpoints and other enforcement tools. New this year is the focus on drugged driving.

According the OTS, major emphasis will still be given to combating drunk driving with sobriety checkpoints, help for special DUI prosecutors, and targeted probation department staffing and warrant enforcement in efforts directed at the most egregious drunk driving offenders.

In addition, educational and awareness programs for youth like Every 15 Minutes, Impact Teen Drivers, Real DUI Trials in Schools, Smart Start, and other programs for high school students will be expanded.

In a new enforcement campaign, special emphasis will be placed on combating drugged driving. As the OTS highlighted, the incidence of drugs alone and in combination with alcohol in fatal crashes has been rising steadily for the last five years. Therefore, new grants will fund increases in drug recognition training, special district attorneys dedicated to drugged driving cases, and new laboratory drug testing equipment.

For a list of 2012 grants, visit the OTS website at www.ots.ca.gov.

If you have been arrested for drugged driving in California, you will need an experienced DUI defense attorney. Contact us today to find out how we can assist you to get the best possible outcome in your case.