As California's economy flourishes, the transportation infrastructure that feeds this industrial boom has grown as well. More than 20 million licensed California drivers and 23 million registered vehicles are now using our state's highways and roadways. Despite these staggering figures, California has maintained one of the safest traffic records in the nation.

Success Is No Accident

California has become a national leader in traffic safety by enacting tough legislation, increasing traffic enforcement throughout the state and providing grants to community-based organizations and other local entities to educate Californians about relevant traffic safety issues. Since its inception in 1967, it has been the role of the California Office of Traffic Safety to save lives and reduce the injuries and economic losses resulting from motor vehicle crashes. Safer roads mean a better quality of life for all Californians.

One method employed by the office to achieve this goal is the organization of the largest state-sponsored traffic safety conference in the country to develop new ideas, enhance existing programs and increase the quality and number of local programs it supports.

Last month, San Diego played host to more than 800 traffic safety professionals from around the country at the OTS Super Summit 2000. The summit offered traffic safety leaders and organizations an opportunity to review breakthrough technology, discuss groundbreaking safety programs and interact with other agencies and corporations.

Highlighting the event were cutting-edge workshops and expert panel discussions on a variety of traffic safety issues including congestion relief programs; highway pursuit intervention; an insurance fraud discussion; critical strategies to reach multicultural audiences, mature pedestrians and drivers; the effectiveness of traffic calming techniques; and youth DUI prevention.

The Governor's Plan

The summit also gave traffic safety professionals the opportunity to discuss Gov. Davis' transportation proposal. Last month, Gov. Davis announced a proposal that allots $5.2 billion for transportation projects throughout the state. As the governor noted at the unveiling, his transportation package is intended to "get California moving again."

The governor's commitment to funding projects that reduce traffic congestion will directly benefit traffic safety and supplement OTS and its grantees' efforts to reduce congestion by increasing safe driving practices. Improving risky driver behaviors such as inattention, aggressive driving and speeding, and increasing education and enforcement activities in San Diego will mean less congestion on already stressed roads. The OTS already funds more than 20 grantees in the San Diego region that work to promote traffic safety issues.

New San Diego Grants

Local streets and freeways will be a little safer now that new OTS grants have received preliminary approval in San Diego County. The funding of nine San Diego grants totaling $2.1 million was announced at a special ceremony during last month's summit. These grants provide San Diego’s local agencies and organizations the resources necessary to implement high visibility, results-oriented programs.

The local organizations that will receive OTS grants this year focus on issues ranging from alcohol and drug enforcement and prevention to improving emergency medical services; from seat belt use to pedestrian and bicycle safety; and include several programs aimed at reducing child passenger safety seat misuse. Following are several of the newest ways that OTS and the state of California are partnering with San Diego:

• The San Diego Police Department has received a grant for the High Visibility, Multi-Agency Law Enforcement Public Information Campaign that will include high-visibility prevention, deterrent DUI operations and public information activities. Police will target motorists and pedestrians at key border crossing locations to deter intoxicated crossers from driving under the influence, and it will target habitual or repeat DUI offenders.
• The National City Police Department will create the High Intensity Prevention Zone by collaborating with community prevention specialists to coordinate DUI enforcement activities coupled with public information and policy development strategies to reduce alcohol-related crashes in the South Bay.
• The Pine Valley Fire Protection District was granted an Initial Response Rescue/Command Vehicle to provide the district with a needed rapid emergency response vehicle designed to decrease response times to emergencies.
• The California Center for Child-hood Injury Prevention was awarded a grant for a public information campaign called Transportation Safety Among Older Adults: A Strategic Plan for California. The purpose of the program is to increase knowledge among older drivers. The center will develop for OTS a statewide plan, including policy and programmatic recommendations. OTS also granted the center funding to support a statewide conference on childhood injuries.
• The San Diego State University Foundation was given funding to implement Safe Communities — San Diego. The goals of this project are to identify the rates and types of child passenger safety seat misuse, reduce the number of motor vehicle occupant injuries among 20- to 44-year-olds and to expand the program throughout the county.

Lt. Teresa M. Becher was named as interim director of the California Office of Traffic Safety in December by Business, Transportation and Housing Secretary Maria Contreras-Sweet. Becher's responsibilities include directing the California Highway Safety Program — the state's combined legislative, educational, organizational and financial plan to improve statewide traffic safety efforts and to create awareness of traffic safety's impact on the lives of Californians.