CALIFORNIA
Norwalk Traffic Safety Program

 

PROJECT CHARACTERISTICS PROGRAM AREA(S)
  Targets hard-to-reach/at risk population
Outstanding collaborative effort
  Alcohol and Other Drugs
Diversity
       
TYPE OF JURISDICTION    
  City    
       
TARGETED POPULATION(S) JURISDICTION SIZE
  General Population
Hispanic Americans
  100,000


PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION
According to 1995 data compiled by the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) and the State Department of Finance, the City of Norwalk, California ranked high for alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes, fatalities, and injuries. In other rankings developed by OTS, Norwalk was characterized as maintaining a low impaired driving arrest rate. Although city officials clearly recognized a problem, the City of Norwalk lacked sufficient resources to remedy the situation.


GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
In 1996, the City of Norwalk's Public Safety Department used an OTS grant and city general funds to develop a program addressing the city's drunk driving and related traffic safety issues. The goal of the Norwalk Traffic Safety Program was to reduce alcohol-related traffic crashes, fatalities, and injuries. Objectives of the program included the following:

  • Developing a comprehensive alcohol-related traffic safety program which included education, prevention and enforcement components
  • Promoting the development of community partnerships that support the program
  • Targeting the program, in part, to the Hispanic American community
  • Developing an instrument to measure the impact of the program


STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES
Public Safety Department officials designed the Norwalk Traffic Safety Program to assure that program components would include the community's Hispanic American population. A variety of activities were developed and implemented including the following:

  • Program coordinators purchased DUI checkpoint equipment (signs, delineators, a gas powered generator, high intensity halogen lamps), 100 child safety seats, a visible display speed detection trailer, a computer system and software programs for collision tracking and educational materials
  • Staff time for the Norwalk Sheriff's Station was shifted from roving patrols to checkpoints. The Sheriff's Station then formed a partnership with city staff, and together they conducted more than six DUI/safety checkpoints annually
  • Point-of-sale (POS) information in English and Spanish was developed and placed at more than 85 percent of off-site alcohol sales locations (liquor stores, convenience stores, club warehouses, grocery stores)
  • More than 500 "Caught in the Act" rewards were handed to motorists observed complying with all the laws at the DUI/safety checkpoints. Rewards included movie passes donated by a national theater chain, pens, key chains, crayons, coloring books and coffee mugs
  • Public Safety Operations staff and Sheriff's deputies conducted My Life Belongs to Me . . . Drug and Alcohol Free classes at all elementary and middle schools


RESULTS
Norwalk's Traffic Safety Program has made significant progress in achieving its goals during the past several years. Positive results include the following:

  • Alcohol-related crashes were reduced by 30 percent from the base year, 1995, to 1998
  • DUI arrests were increased by 25 percent from the base year, 1995, to 1998
  • Child safety seat use increased by 25 percent from 1996 through 1998
 

FUNDING
  Section 410: $82,224
CONTACT  
 

Jaime E. Becerra, Coordinator
Public Safety Operations
Public Safety Department
City of Norwalk
12700 Norwalk Boulevard
Norwalk, CA 90650
(562) 929–5731


NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION

SPRING 2000