Hayward Police Department Awarded Grants from the Office of Traffic Safety for Traffic Enforcement Program to Increase Safety on Roads

Hayward, CA.- The Hayward Police Department was awarded a $235,000 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) to support our ongoing enforcement programs to help reduce the number of serious injuries and deaths on our roads. The Hayward Police Department was also awarded a $25,000 grant from OTS for our Civilian Motorcycle Safety Course, an education program to increase safety on Hayward roadways.

Sergeant Mike Matthews commented, stating, "With these grants, we're able to enhance our traffic safety initiatives, targeting key areas like speeding, impaired driving, and distraction on the road. Our priority is to keep our community safe, and these resources will help us do just that."

The grants will provide additional programs and resources, including:

• DUI checkpoints and patrols focused on stopping suspected impaired drivers.
• High visibility distracted driving enforcement operations targeting drivers in violation of California's hands-free cell phone law.
• Enforcement operations focused on the most dangerous driver behaviors that put the safety of people biking or walking at risk.
• Enforcement operations focused on top violations that cause crashes: speeding, failure to yield, stop sign and/or red-light running, and improper turning or lane changes.
• Community presentations on traffic safety issues such as distracted driving, impaired driving, speeding and bicycle and pedestrian safety.
• Collaborative enforcement efforts with neighboring agencies.
• Officer training and/or recertification: Standard Field Sobriety Test (SFST), Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement (ARIDE) and Drug Recognition Expert (DRE).
• Hands-on motorcyclist safety courses.

The grant programs will run through September 2026.

Funding for these programs was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety Administration.