SACRAMENTO,
Calif. – Speed and aggressive driving continue to be major causes of death and
injury on the state’s roadways. With the
assistance of federal funds, the California Highway Patrol (CHP) will focus
additional resources on reducing these types of crashes throughout the
state.
On October
1, 2020, the CHP implemented the yearlong Regulate
Aggressive Driving and Reduce Speed (RADARS) V grant with the primary goal
of decreasing the number of people killed and injured in crashes as a result of
unsafe speed. To achieve this, the CHP
will conduct enhanced enforcement and public awareness campaigns
statewide. Additionally, the grant will provide
funding to allow officers to focus on enforcement of street racing and sideshow
activities – an increasing problem statewide.
“Speed and
aggressive driving are not only unsafe driving behaviors that can lead to
injury or death, but they have increasingly become a major cause of concern for
many roadway users,” said CHP Commissioner Warren Stanley. “The RADARS grant will assist our officers in
addressing the issue and saving lives.”
Street
racing, speeding, and aggressive driving pose a significant danger to everyone
on the road. In federal fiscal year 2017-18,
speed was a factor in approximately 31 percent of all fatal and injury crashes
in California. That year, 547 people
were killed and nearly 90,000 were injured in more than 61,000 speed-related crashes
throughout the state.
Funding
for this program is provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic
Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The
mission of the CHP is to provide the highest level of Safety, Service, and
Security.
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