OCSD Nabs Safety Grant for DUI Education Program

Rancho Santa Margarita, CA - The Orange County Sheriff’s Department  (OCSD) has been awarded a new $70,293  safety grant by the California Office of Traffic Safety for a year-long comprehensive Driving under the Influence Education Program for traffic safety efforts in the South Operations region and the Cities of Stanton and Villa Park.

The special DUI Education and Enforcement grant is to assist in efforts to reduce the number of persons killed and injured in alcohol and other drug related collisions by focusing on under-age drinking and young impaired drivers in the community.  The education efforts include facilitating teen peer to peer education efforts, conducting multimedia events at local schools and using student journalists as part of the High School Media Challenge program to help reach the 30,000 high school students in the region.

In addition to the education efforts, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department will also be conducting targeted underage drinking enforcement efforts.  These events will be used to curb underage alcohol use at sporting events, school dances, house parties and other areas where underage drinking is occurring.  These enforcement efforts are already underway in the region. 

Drunk driving is one of America’s deadliest crimes. In 2009, over 10,839 people died in highway crashes involving a driver or motorcycle operator with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 or higher.  California data for 2009 shows that 950 died in Alcohol Impaired Collisions, a 7.6 percent reduction in deaths from 2008.