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Survey: 14% of drivers test positive for drugs

That impaired driver you see on the road may be on drugs rather than drunk, a state survey shows. More than 1,300 drivers voluntarily provided breath and/or saliva samples at roadside locations last summer in nine cities around the state between 10 p.m. and 3 a.m. on Friday and Saturdays [...]

By | December 6th, 2012|10 Comments

Dozens of special traffic safety ops by SRPD planned

Santa Rosa police recently received two state grants totaling about $165,000 to beef up enforcement of traffic laws, so here's how the money will be be spent. One grant is for $75,850 for DUI/license checkpoints. Police Sgt. Rich Celli said that will allow eight checkpoints throughout the year. The other [...]

By | November 23rd, 2012|5 Comments

Teen seat belt use up in state, not in Mendocino

Seat belt use by teenagers is California is at a record high, although not in Mendocino County, the state Office of Traffic Safety reports. A survey by California State University Fresno found 96.1 percent of teens were buckling up this year in the state, up from 94 percent in 2010. [...]

By | September 5th, 2012|1 Comment

Five-peat for Petaluma police

It's a five-peat for Petaluma police. For the fifth year in a row, the department was honored by the California Law Enforcement Challenge  for having the best  program of cracking down on impaired drivers among the state's police departments. (When it comes to five-peats, the New York Yankees [...]

By | August 12th, 2012|3 Comments

Zero tolerance enforcement under way for seat belts

It's click it or ticket time. The CHP and more than 200 police departments statewide, including Petaluma's, are implementing a zero tolerance enforcement of drivers and passengers who don't use seat belts. The special enforcement program, which began Monday, runs through June 3. The state Office of Traffic Safety reported [...]

By | May 21st, 2012|10 Comments

57,000 cellphone tickets issued in April crackdown

The tally is in from April's statewide Distracted Driving Awareness Month crackdown, and police throughout California wrote more than 57,000 tickets to drivers for using a hand-held cellphone or texting, according to the state Office of Traffic Safety. Of those, the CHP issued about 30,000 statewide, including about 5,900 in [...]

By | May 16th, 2012|8 Comments

Results of SRPD’s motorcycle crackdown / Petaluma’s is Saturday

Tuesday's Santa Rosa crackdown on motorcycle traffic violations resulted in 24  motorcyclists being stopped by officers. Sgt. Lance Badger said 15 were ticketed for such things as helmets, mechanical and failing to yield. The remaining nine were given warnings. The all-day enforcement, funded by a grant from the state Office [...]

By | May 11th, 2012|7 Comments

Motorcycle ‘lane splitting’: Some drivers try to block it

It's known as "lane splitting" or "splitting lanes." It's controversial, and it's legal. Now, the state Office of Traffic Safety has issued a survey of motorcyclists and drivers about their reaction to lane splitting, in which bikers snake their way between cars on Highway 101 or on local roads with [...]

By | May 4th, 2012|5 Comments

DUI/license checkpoint Friday in Santa Rosa

Santa Rosa police on Friday plan to hold a DUI/license checkpoint. The checkpoint, the location of which wasn't being disclosed, will be from 7 p.m. Friday to 1 a.m. Saturday. Funding for the operation comes from the state Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Safety Administration. ---------------- Follow [...]

By | March 19th, 2012|15 Comments

Study: Traffic deaths dropped after cellphone ban

Fewer people have died on California's roads and highways since a ban on drivers using hand-held cellphones took effect in July 2008, according to a study. The state Office of Traffic Safety on Monday reported the number of deaths of drivers who were using hand-held cellphones dropped 47 percent in [...]

By | March 5th, 2012|2 Comments