California awards Elk Grove more than $500,000 to help reduce deadly crashes
ELK GROVE — More than 9 million Californians are traveling by car this Thanksgiving, according to AAA, and last year, there were more than 1,000 DUI arrests over the holiday.
With the roads expected to be packed with holiday travelers, people are being urged to drive safely.
"We're going to see a lot of crashes [this Thanksgiving] and the new year, Christmas, all of those occasions where families get together and drink and celebrate," said Rhonda Campbell with Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
Efforts are underway to reduce the number of unsafe drivers on the roads.
California's Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) just awarded the Elk Grove police department more than a half million dollars to help reduce crashes that lead to injuries and deaths.
"It will fund DUI checkpoints and high visibility distracted driving enforcement operations, looking for people who are violating California's hands-free cellphone law," said Samantha Demelo, with OTS. "It will also focus on dangerous driving behaviors."
The Elk Grove Police Department suffered its own tragedy in 2022 when motorcycle Officer Ty Lenehan was killed by a wrong-way driver suspected of DUI.
"There's no excuse for driving impaired on the roads during the holidays or any other day," Demelo said.
The Sacramento Police Department is also trying new ways to encourage safe driving this season. It's releasing a series of social media videos showcasing family members who have lost a loved one in a DUI crash.
"It shows the real-life effects of what happens when someone is killed by a drunk driver," Campbell said.
Last year, Sacramento had a record number of fatal collisions and safety advocates hope these new efforts will help save lives.
"It's maddening and frustrating to see the numbers and see it's going up," Campbell said.
The grant money in Elk Grove will also help pay for traffic safety presentations and training officers on how to conduct drug recognition and field sobriety tests.