Drivers in San Luis Obispo could see increased traffic enforcement in the months ahead as police target impaired driving, distracted driving and unsafe behavior around bicyclists and pedestrians.
The San Luis Obispo Police Department has been awarded a $110,000 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety. The department has also successfully applied for the funding in previous years.
Lt. Tim Koznek said the grant will allow officers to spend additional time on the road focusing on specific traffic violations.
The grant is all based on overtime for officers, so it specifically allows officers to go out and target certain behaviors, Koznek said.
One of the departments main focuses will be driving under the influence.
As of Wednesday morning, Koznek said San Luis Obispo police had made approximately 90 DUI arrests so far this year, putting the city roughly on pace with last years numbers.
Its heavy on DUI enforcement, Koznek said.
The funding could lead to additional DUI checkpoints and patrols focused on identifying and stopping suspected impaired drivers.
Another focus will be unsafe driving around people walking and biking.
Cal Poly students Benjamin Jimenez and Cole Stevens said they have been biking around San Luis Obispo for nearly four years. Neither reported experiencing a major incident, but both said they have encountered situations that left them feeling uneasy on the road.
A guy ran the stop sign, and I waited at mine, and then he just ran it. So yeah, he braked pretty hard, Jimenez said.
Stevens said some routes around San Luis Obispo can feel safer than others.
Biking down Santa Rosa out to Cuesta is definitely a little more nerve-wracking, Stevens said.
Those concerns come as local crash data show bicyclists make up a higher share of serious and fatal crashes in San Luis Obispo than they do statewide.
According to UC Berkeleys Transportation Injury Mapping System, 12 of the 68 reported crashes resulting in a fatality or serious injury in San Luis Obispo over the past three years involved bicyclists.
That amounts to about 18% of those crashes, more than double the statewide rate of 7%.
Distracted driving is another behavior officers plan to target using the grant funding.
Koznek said officers typically focus enforcement efforts around areas that see a high number of collisions.
Their typical enforcement is the high collision intersections in town, Koznek said.
According to Koznek, those areas include stretches of Los Osos Valley Road, Foothill Boulevard and Broad Street.
The grant program runs through September of next year.