Monterey Park Police Department Receives Grant for Special Traffic Enforcement and Crash Prevention

Monterey Park Police Department has been awarded a $171,000 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) for a year-long program of special enforcements and public awareness efforts to prevent traffic related deaths and injuries. MPPD will use the funding as part of the city’s ongoing commitment to keep our roadways safe and improve the quality of life through both enforcement and education.

After falling to a ten year low in 2010, the number of persons killed has climbed nearly 17% across the state with 3,176 killed in 2015 according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Particularly alarming is the six year rise in pedestrian and bicycle fatalities, along with the growing dangers of distracting technologies, and the emergence of drug-impaired driving as a major problem. This grant funding will provide opportunities to combat these and other devastating problems such as drunk driving, speeding and crashes at intersections.

“Years of research tell us that enforcement and education work best jointly to combat unsafe driving,” said OTS Director Rhonda Craft. “This grant brings both tactics together, with the Office of Traffic Safety and the Monterey Park Police Department working in concert to help keep the streets and highways safe across Monterey Park and the state.”

Activities that the grant will fund include:
• Educational presentations
• DUI saturation patrols
• Bicycle and pedestrian safety enforcement
• Distracted driving enforcement
• Seat belt and child safety seat enforcement
• Speed, red light, and stop sign enforcement
• Warrant service operations targeting multiple DUI offenders
• Compilation of DUI “Hot Sheets,” identifying worst-of-the-worst DUI offenders
• Specialized DUI and drugged driving training such as Standardized Field Sobriety Testing (SFST), Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement (ARIDE), and Drug Recognition Evaluator (DRE).

Funding for this program is from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

State Transportation and Safety Agencies Warn That Many At-risk Airbag Inflators Remain on Cars

The Monterey Park Police Department would like to remind residents of a potentially deadly issue regarding airbags and recommends immediate action if their vehicle is being recalled. The following is reprinted from a joint California State DMV and OTS news release…

“California State departments that oversee vehicle and driver safety are warning that owners of tens of thousands of vehicles, particularly Hondas and Acuras, may not have received or have overlooked the recall notices urging replacement of potentially deadly Takata airbag inflators. Recall repairs are free of charge to all vehicle owners.

The California Office of Traffic Safety, California Highway Patrol, California Department of Motor Vehicles and Bureau of Automotive Repair are working together to urge Californians who own certain 2001-2003 Honda and Acura vehicles to immediately take their cars to an authorized dealer for repair of potentially deadly Takata airbag inflators.

Recall notices have already been sent to registered owners of affected vehicles, but who have not yet taken action on the required recall repair. These vehicles are at high risk of an airbag inflator rupture. When a recalled airbag inflator ruptures, pieces of metal could shoot through the airbag cushion and hit the driver or passengers, resulting in serious injuries or deaths.

While all areas of the state are affected, portions of certain counties have the greatest concentrations of recalled vehicles with owners who have not been heard from. These include east and south Bay Area regions, northern Monterey County, the Central Valley, northern and central Los Angeles County, western Riverside and San Bernardino counties, and San Diego County along the border. However, not being in one of these areas does not mean your airbag is safe.

The following are the 2001-2003 Honda/Acura vehicles that may be equipped with recalled Takata driver airbag inflators, and are the subject of this State call to action:
• 2001-2002 Honda Accord • 2001-2002 Honda Civic
• 2002 Honda CR-V • 2002 Honda Odyssey
• 2003 Honda Pilot • 2002-2003 Acura 3.2TL
• 2003 Acura 3.2CL

Honda and Acura owners should check for recalls by locating their vehicle identification number (VIN) – found in the top left corner of the vehicle’s dashboard through the windshield – and enter the number into the VIN check on www.recalls.honda.com, www.recalls.acura.com or www.safercar.gov.

Honda/Acura urges affected drivers to immediately call 1-888-234-2138 for repair information. The U.S. Department of Transportation recommends that these vehicles only be driven to an authorized dealer in order to have the Takata airbag inflators replaced as rapidly as possible. To search for an authorized dealer, consumers can visit www.recalls.honda.com or www.recalls.acura.com depending on the make of their vehicle.

Consumers also can find answers to general questions about the Takata airbag inflator recalls, including about the higher risk inflators in these vehicles, at the following site: http://hondaairbaginfo.com/faq/ . Any concerned customer can also contact Honda/Acura’s Automobile Customer Service at 888-234-2138.

The replacement of the Takata airbag inflator is free of charge for all customers. Customers are not obligated to have unrelated maintenance or other vehicle issues fixed at the same time as the recall repair. Honda/Acura will provide a loaner car, if necessary, while a customer’s car is being repaired and a Honda/Acura dealer can also arrange to tow a vehicle to and from the desired location at no cost.