The Tucson Police Department has received over $56,000 from the Arizona Governor’s Office of Highway Safety to help make city roadways a safer place to travel.
On Tuesday, TPD announced it had accepted a $10,000 distracted driving safety grant. The money will be used to enforce violations such as speeding, distracted driving, alcohol/drug impairment and other violations with an emphasis on cell phone or related hands-free violations within the city limits, a news release from TPD said.
The goal of the grant is to reduce collisions and provide a safe environment for all individuals using city roadways, the news release said. For the remainder of 2022 through 2023, 36 deployments will be scheduled for both days and evenings.
TPD also accepted a $15,000 pedestrian and bicycle safety grant. The grant will help enforce pedestrians, bicycles and related vehicular traffic violations such as jaywalking, speeding, distracted driving, alcohol/drug impairment and other violations, reducing pedestrian and bicycle crashes, the news release said.
The department said 44 deployments will be scheduled for both days and nights at different locations throughout the end of 2022 and through 2023.
In addition to the other two grants, the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety provided TPD with a $31,350 occupant protection grant. The funding will be used to heighten the awareness of the public to the hazards of non-seatbelt use and child restraint violations through public education using classrooms and hands-on training at public car-seat check events, the news release said.
Nationally certified car seat technicians will also be available to hand out information and answer questions about car seats and booster seats at the events, the news release said. To help reduce serious and fatal collisions, comprehensive enforcement efforts will be conducted until September 2023.
