APPLE VALLEY – The California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) awarded $69,960, announced on October 7, to the Apple Valley Police Department to focus on unsafe driving behavior and increase road safety.

“The public safety in our community has always been a top priority of this council,” said Town of Apple Valley Mayor Pro Tem Art Bishop. “Ultimately, this grant will increase our ongoing efforts of traffic control and pedestrian safety, as well as new community outreach programs and services. We have a great team of officers at our station and these additional services will reflect the incredible work they continue to provide to our town.”

The new grant will provide the Apple Valley station with additional funding for increased DUI patrols, officer training, community presentations and other additional traffic safety efforts.

Apple Valley’s DUI special patrols will focus on impaired drivers, California’s hands-free cell phone law and other behaviors that put pedestrians and bicyclists at risk.

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According to the OTS 2021 annual report traffic fatalities increased 3.4 percent from 3,719 in 2019 to 3,847 in 2020.

The agency annually funds over $80 million dollars in evidence-based education, enforcement programs and technologies designed to make California’s roadways safer. OTS says they are “determined to identify and overcome new traffic safety issues as travel habits change and transportation technologies emerge.”

The grant to the Apple Valley Police Department was just a portion of the $1,050,000 grant OTS awarded to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.

The grant funding will run through September 2023. Public Entities are eligible to submit applications for funding yearly, due January 31.

For more information about the OTS grant, contact the Apple Valley Police Station at (760) 240-7400. For more information about the OTS grant program visit https://www.ots.ca.gov/grants/