Manteca Police have secured a $126,000 California Office of Traffic Safety grant to target speeding and other reckless driving behavior.

The grant will augment existing efforts of the department’s dedicated traffic unit by paying patrol officers overtime on regularly scheduled days off to target specific drinking behaviors.

*High-visibility distracted driving enforcement enforcing California’s hands free cell phone law.

*DUI checkpoints and patrols focused on stopping suspected impaired drivers.

*Rolling out enforcement efforts focused on the most dangerous driving behavior that puts the safety of bicyclists and pedestrians at risk.

*Zeroing in on behavior that causes crashes — failure to yield, speeding, red-light running and improper turning or lane changes.

The grant also will cover community presentations on traffic safety issues such as distracted driving, impaired driving, speeding, as well as bicycle and pedestrian safety.

Officers will also be recertified or trained to properly conduct field sobriety tests for suspected impaired drivers.

The grant will fund stepped up enforcement efforts through September 2027.

It is in addition to other efforts such as grants specifically to conduct DUI checkpoints as well as joint enforcement efforts with traffic officers from other cities to blitz the city during one day with maximum enforcement.

During such effort, between 100 and 250 tickets are typically issued in a day.