The Sherwood Police Department has procured a $47,000 grant from the Arkansas Highway Safety Office for Selective Traffic Enforcement, according to Lt. Cheryl Williams, public information officer.
“The funding from the grant award provides overtime compensation for Sherwood police officers to enforce certain traffic violations including driving while intoxicated, driving under the influence (for minors), speeding, seat belt and child restraint laws,” said Williams. “The grant also provides limited funding the purchase of child safety seats. These child seats are loaned to families in need and who cannot afford to purchase them.”
In Arkansas during 2007, there were 218 alcohol-related fatalities reported, said Williams. “This is a decrease of eight from the previous year,” she said.
An additional area of concern is occupant protection where in 2007, 65 percent of the recorded vehicle occupant fatalities were unrestrained.
The safety belt rate in Arkansas for 2007 was 69.9 percent, while the national use rate stood at 82 percent. Arkansas’s safety belt/child restraint use rate for children under 15 years old was 75.5 percent in 2007.
However, Arkansas’s safety belt use rate increased to 70.4 percent and the child restraint use increased to 78.7 percent in 2008, according to Williams.
The grant period concludes Sept. 30, 2009.
“The Sherwood Police Department is pleased to be a partner with the Arkansas Highway Safety Office and other law enforcement agencies in Arkansas to make Arkansas a much safer place to operate a motor vehicle,” said Williams.
Police Chief Kel Nicholson said the grants are helpful in assisting the department in curbing the problem of drunken driving.
“With these grants, we don’t have to pull our officers off of their regular duties,” Nicholson said. “We can put them out on the streets looking for impaired drivers.”
The state grant is part of a program through the Arkansas State Police designed at curtailing drinking and driving.
“All too often there are innocent law-abiding people who suffer from the tragic consequences and the loss of loved ones due to the careless disregard for human life by someone who was driving while impaired. We’re committed to ending these tragedies by intensifying enforcement operations aimed at impaired drivers, said Colonel Winford E. Phillips, director of the Arkansas State Police.
During 2006 nearly 13,500 people in the United States died as the result of highway crashes involving motor vehicle drivers or motorcycle operators who were legally impaired with blood alcohol concentrations (BAC) of 0.08 or higher, according to the latest statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
“Impaired driving, whether on a city, county, state or Interstate roadway, not only puts the driver at risk of being killed but also of endangering someone else,” said Chuck Lange, executive director of the Arkansas Sheriff’s Association. “Even if an impaired driver beats the odds and walks away from a crash alive, motorists should be aware that the consequences of driving while impaired can still virtually destroy your life.”
Violators often face jail time, loss of their driver license, or being sentenced to use an ignition interlock and higher insurance rates. Other financial costs include attorney fees, court costs, lost time at work, and the potential loss of job or job prospects. When family, friends, and co-workers find out, violators can also face tremendous personal embarrassment and humiliation.
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