New grant helps San Diego Sheriff's Department stop impaired drivers

SAN DIEGO – The California Office of Traffic Safety has awarded the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department a $744,100 grant that will fund a year’s worth of special operations and campaigns designed to stop drivers under the influence of alcohol and drugs.

“We are thankful to once again partner with OTS in our ongoing efforts to keep impaired drivers off San Diego County roadways,” Sheriff Bill Gore said.

Impaired driving checkpoints, patrols and distracted driving/traffic enforcement will all be funded by the grant. The goal is to reduce impaired driving-related crashes and deaths in the region.

So far in 2020, more than 4,000 people have been arrested for impaired driving in San Diego County. More than 500 of those arrests have been made by sheriff’s deputies.

Impaired driving doesn’t just mean alcohol. It can include marijuana and prescription drug use.

Funding for this program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The grant-related activities are for the 2021 federal fiscal year, which runs from Oct. 1, 2020, to Sept. 20, 2021.

Submitted by the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department.