Clovis Police Department has been awarded a $70,000.00 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) for a year-long program of special enforcements and public awareness efforts to prevent traffic related deaths and injuries.  Clovis Police Department will use the funding as part of the city’s ongoing commitment to keep our roadways safe and improve the quality of life through both enforcement and education.

“The Clovis Police Department is very appreciative of this grant and of our long partnership with the Office of Traffic Safety” said Clovis Police Department Deputy Chief Vince Leonardo. “This funding will help us to continue our long standing priority of traffic safety within the City of Clovis, and to our commitment of providing educational resources to the public on issues related to traffic safety. “

After falling to a ten year low in 2010, the number of persons killed has climbed nearly 17% across the state with 3,176 killed in 2015 according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.  Particularly alarming is the six year rise in pedestrian and bicycle fatalities, along with the growing dangers of distracting technologies, and the emergence of drug-impaired driving as a major problem. This grant funding will provide opportunities to combat these and other devastating problems such as drunk driving, speeding and crashes at intersections.

“Years of research tell us that enforcement and education work best jointly to combat unsafe driving,” said OTS Director Rhonda Craft.  “This grant brings both tactics together, with the Office of Traffic Safety and the Clovis Police Department working in concert to help keep the streets and highways safe across Clovis and the state.”