Wonderful news for our communities! Our local law enforcement agencies have received a combined total of $745,000 in grants to deter dangerous and illegal driving.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department was awarded a $520,000 grant from the Office of Traffic Safety. Enforcements will focus on impaired drivers (DUI), distracted drivers on cell phones, speeding, improper lane changing, and much more.
“How many of you have heard of Covid driving?” said San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus during the recent State of the County address for the Greater High Desert Chamber of Commerce. “It’s the dirt shoulder of the road being used as a passing lane, the double-yellow line meaning you can pass faster…
“You’re going to see a lot of patrol cars from Victorville, Hesperia and a number of our jurisdictions descending on specific locations. We’re going to do our best to straighten out ‘Covid driving’ and make things safer here in the High Desert.”
CHP Barstow and CHP Needles are also joining the efforts, teaming up for a year-long safety campaign that ends Sept. 30, 2022. The CHP campaign comes from a $225,000 Office of Traffic Safety federal grant to “reduce traffic crashes and crash victims attributed to unsafe speed, improper turning, and wrong side of road violations.” Enhanced CHP enforcement will take place on Interstates 15 and 40, U.S. Route 395, state routes 58,127 and 247, and unincorporated roads in San Bernardino County.