“Every year, speed and aggressive driving plays a role in the death or injury of thousands of people in California,” said CHP Commissioner Joe Farrow. “Through this enforcement and education campaign we seek to curb the number of fatal and injury collisions linked to speeding and other dangerous driving.”
With the support of a federal traffic safety grant titled, “Reduce Aggressive Driving Incidents and Tactically Enforce Speed (RADIATES) III,” the CHP will educate motorists about the dangers of aggressive driving and to take appropriate enforcement action. The primary goal of this grant is to reduce, by 5 percent, the number of fatal and injury traffic collisions where speed, improper turning, and driving on the wrong side of the road are primary collision factors. To achieve this goal by September 30, 2015, the CHP will combine enhanced enforcement with an active public awareness campaign, which includes at least 400 radar trailer deployments and a minimum of 300 traffic safety presentations throughout the state.
Speed, coupled with aggressive driving, consistently contributes to the vast majority of serious collisions in California. According to data from the Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System, in federal fiscal year 2011-2012, speed was a factor in approximately 42 percent of all fatal and injury collisions in the state. That year, more than 26,000 speed-related collisions resulted in the death of 264 people and the injury of more than 38,000 others.
Funding for this program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The mission of the California Highway Patrol is to provide the highest level of Safety, Service, and Security to the people of California.