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
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