Traffic Safety
The Traffic Division is responsible for monitoring and soliciting citizen cooperation and compliance with state motor vehicle laws. The focus of its duties is to target hazardous moving violations (speeding, running red lights, careless driving, etc.) and to strictly enforce Driving Under the Influence (DUI) violations in an effort to improve the quality of life for our citizens while traveling on the city's roadways.
The Traffic Division places a high priority on solving all reported traffic issues as well as those that are discovered by the officers in their routine police activities. We accomplish this with a partnership between other police units, private organizations, and state government.
One of the primary safety concerns within the City of San Ramon is “Traffic Safety.” A majority of the concerns reported by San Ramon citizens involves traffic safety on our city streets and in our neighborhoods. Because of the daily work force population that commutes into the city each day, we can experience a rise in traffic related incidents.
The San Ramon Police Department also places a high priority on education, intervention, and enforcement concerning traffic and criminal law violations. This includes Driving Under the Influence of alcohol and/or drugs and a variety of vehicle code violations which have resulted in serious injuries and several deaths. This is accomplished in a variety of ways that include arrests, citations, or warnings.
We currently dedicate four full-time Traffic/Motor Officers and a Sergeant to investigate and respond to traffic collisions as well as the traffic-related concerns reported by the citizens of San Ramon. The Traffic Division makes a concerted effort in preventing injuries and deaths by dedicating the majority of their time issuing citations or warnings when warranted for vehicle code violations involving speed, right-of-way, traffic signals, seatbelts, bicycles, and pedestrians.
Special attention is given to monitoring traffic around schools during morning and afternoon hours. Intersections and city roadways which have higher than normal occurrences of collisions or vehicle code violations are systematically monitored by the Traffic Officers and/or the placement of traffic monitoring devices such as radar and message trailers.
Seat Belt Enforcement
The San Ramon Police Department recognizes the important relationship between wearing a seat belt and the reduction of injuries and deaths in vehicle collisions. As a part of the ongoing public education, the San Ramon Police Department participates in the Office of Traffic Safety's "Click it or Ticket" seat belt enforcement campaign conducted each spring.
More than 280 law enforcement agencies participate statewide in the "Click it or Ticket" Campaign. The campaign relies on heavy enforcement and public education as a means to help California achieve the highest seat belt use rate in the nation. The Traffic Division uses a number of enforcement strategies aimed at not only gaining compliance, but also increasing the public's awareness regarding wearing seat belts and utilizing child safety seats where appropriate.
According to state officials, since the campaign began in 2005, public safety officials have been
seeing an overall yearly increase in the use of seat belts. Funding for officer overtime to support California's "Click It or Ticket" campaign was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.