The San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office and the Lathrop Police Services have received a $30,000 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety for a year long program to help prevent traffic related deaths and injuries.
Lathrop Police will be using the funding for both education and enforcement as part of the city’s ongoing commitment to keep the roadways safe and improve the quality of life in the community.
Lathrop Chief Danelle Hohe noted that the number of persons killed and injured in traffic crashes has been slowly increasing in numbers. She added that what is particularly alarming is the recent increases in pedestrian and bicycle fatalities.  She pinpointed the growing dangers of distracting technologies such as the use of cell phones in the hands of motorists.
Drunk driving, speeding and intersection crashes will be receiving more attention through the use of the grant funds.  The emergence of drug impaired driving has also become a major problem. 
“Overall, California’s roadways are the safest in the nation,” according to OTS Director Rhonda Craft. “But to reach future mobility, safety and accessible transportation objectives, we have to reverse this recent trend in order to reach our common goal of zero deaths on our highways,” she said.  “The Office of Traffic Safety and the Lathrop Police Services want to work with everyone to create a culture of traffic safety across the City of Lathrop and across the state.”