LAREDO POLICE DEPT. RECEIVES TxDOT GRANT FUNDS FOR COMMUNITY TRAFFIC SAFETY ENFORCEMENT
Written by Post Public Information Representative, Oct 21, 2013, Comments Off
Courtesy Raul Leal,
LAREDO, TX – In an official presentation of ceremonial grant checks held last week at the Laredo Police Department, the Texas Department of Transportation Laredo District and the TxDOT Traffic Safety Division delivered two traffic safety grants to the City of Laredo and the Laredo Police Department (LPD).
The Laredo Police Department was awarded grants in the amount of $50,077 for Selective Traffic Enforcement Program (STEP) Comprehensive infraction enforcement, and $25,004 for STEP Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) grant infraction enforcement. The City of Laredo will match the aforementioned grant amounts for each grant, thus doubling the traffic safety enforcement production of the Laredo Police Department.
Funds will be payable to the Laredo Police Department on a reimbursement basis from the Texas Department of Transportation made possible by the State and Community Highway Safety Grant Program from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Grant funds for use October 1, 2013 to September 30, 2014.
The Selective Traffic Enforcement Program (STEP) Comprehensive grant will be utilized for the enforcement of DWI arrests, speed and safety belt citations, and intersection traffic control for the purpose of reducing the number of alcohol-related and speed related citations and intersection traffic control crashes as well as to increase safety seat belt usage.
The Selective Traffic Enforcement Program (STEP) Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) grant will be utilized for CMV speed and safety belt citations and hazardous moving violation citations to reduce the number of speed and/or hazardous moving violation related crashes that involve a CMV, in efforts to increase the CMV speed compliance rate and increase of CMV safety belt usage rate among drivers and front seat passengers.
The Laredo Police Department plans to use 1,590 STEP Comprehensive enforcement hours to increase citations in the area of DWI arrests, speeding, child safety belt and intersection traffic control, 842 STEP CMV enforcement hours to increase CMV speed, safety belt and harzardous moving violation (HMV) citations.
LPD’s Comprehensive grant goals are to increase speed compliance and safety belt usage to 50 percent and 88 percent, respectively, up from the October 2012 baseline of 33 and 78 percent, respectively, for the same targeted Comprehensive grant objectives.
In the same manner, an increase of speed compliance and safety belt usage is also projected for STEP CMV enforcement to 70 and 90 percent, respectively, up from last year’s October 2012 baseline of 32 and 74 percent, respectively, for the same CMV grant targeted objectives.
