The Public Health Branch will use its funding to promote safer walking and bicycling while emphasizing motorists' responsibility to watch for pedestrians and cyclists. Photo courtesy of National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

 

SUTTER COUNTY, CA (MPG) - Sutter County has received $168,800 in state grants to expand traffic enforcement, pedestrian and bicycle safety education and programs aimed at reducing crashes and injuries on local roads.

The California Office of Traffic Safety awarded $100,000 to the Sutter County Health and Human Services Department's Public Health Branch and $68,800 to the Sutter County Sheriff's Office. Both programs will run through September 2027.

The Public Health Branch will use its funding to promote safer walking and bicycling while emphasizing motorists' responsibility to watch for pedestrians and cyclists.

The program includes community walking audits to identify potential street improvements, bicycle safety courses, helmet distribution and educational presentations at schools and community events.

Other activities include bicycle rodeos, Open Streets events and Safe Routes to Schools programs. The county also plans to support organized groups of students walking to school, commonly called "walking school buses."

Additional outreach will focus on older adults, people experiencing homelessness and others at greater risk of pedestrian and bicycle crashes. Educational workshops will address roadway visibility and safety equipment, including reflective bands and bicycle lights.

The Sheriff's Office will use its $68,800 grant to strengthen traffic enforcement and education efforts targeting dangerous driving behaviors.

Planned activities include DUI checkpoints, patrols targeting suspected impaired drivers and enforcement operations addressing distracted driving and violations of California's hands-free cellphone law.

Deputies will also focus on speeding, failure to yield, running stop signs and red lights, improper turns and unsafe lane changes. Enforcement operations will include violations that endanger pedestrians and bicyclists.

The grant will also support community presentations on impaired driving, distracted driving, speeding and pedestrian and bicycle safety.

Deputies will receive training or recertification in detecting impaired drivers, including standardized field sobriety testing, advanced roadside impaired driving enforcement and drug recognition.

The Sheriff's Office said the combination of enforcement and education aims to reduce dangerous driving behaviors and prevent crashes.

“Traffic safety begins with everyday decisions,” said California Office of Traffic Safety Director Stephanie Dougherty. “When we address the risky driving behaviors that put everyone on the road in danger, including speeding, distraction, and impairment, we can prevent crashes and save lives.”

Both grants come from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.