HomeMy WebLinkAbout13-11-22 A Life Interrupted Grant Kick Off
BAKERSFIELD POLICE
DEPARTMENT
PRESS RELEASE
Greg Williamson, Chief of Police
Contact Sgt. Jeff Saso
(661) 326-3896
jsaso@bakersfieldpd.us
For Immediate Release November 22, 2013
BAKERSFIELD POLICE DEPARTMENT RECEIVES GRANTS FOR
SPECIAL TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT AND CRASH PREVENTION
The Bakersfield Police Department has been awarded a $ 43,912.00 “A Life Interrupted”
grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) for a year-long program aimed at
preventing deaths and injuries on our roadways through presentations and public
awareness efforts. The grant received by Bakersfield will aid in the city’s ongoing effort
to educate the public on the dangers of distracted driving and driving while impaired.
Bakersfield Police Department will use the funding as part of an on-going commitment
to keep our roadways safe through public education.
“The Bakersfield Police Department is committed to ensuring traffic safety on city
roadways,” Bakersfield Police Chief Greg Williamson said.
This grant will assist in efforts to deal with traffic safety problems and to reduce the
number of persons killed and injured in traffic collisions. While traffic deaths from all
causes declined by nearly 39 percent between 2006 and 2010 in California, they rose
by 2.6 percent in 2011. State and federal officials anticipate that figures will show
another rise for 2012. DUI deaths remain the largest sector, at nearly 30 percent of
traffic fatalities. Recent trends show increases in two new categories – distracted
driving and drug-impaired driving.
The major component of the grant will be conducting “A Life Interrupted” presentations
to high schools as well as businesses and community organizations. It is a multi-media
presentation which includes actual, and sometimes graphic, collision scene photos, as
well as original 911 recordings. Background information on the collision and the victims
was obtained which personalizes each incident. Each presentation features one or more
parents of a victim killed in a collision to relate the personal impact on the parent and
the family.
Funding for this program is from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
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You can now send an anonymous text message to the Bakersfield Police Department. It’s quick and it’s easy.
Simply enter 274637 into your phone and text BPDCRIMES along with your message. The text is sent to the
police department and the sender remains completely anonymous.
Tips can also be anonymously sent through the smartphone “TipSubmit” mobile App or via email at
https://www.tipsubmit.com.