A $440,000 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety will enable the San Diego County Sheriff's Department to conduct a year's worth of special operations and campaigns designed to stop drivers under the influence of alcohol and drugs.

The grant aims to enhance traffic safety by funding DUI checkpoints and patrols focusing on suspected impaired drivers, enforcement of California's hands-free cell phone law and reducing top violations that cause crashes, including speeding, running red lights and failing to yield.

Other measures supported by the grant include:

• Bicycle and pedestrian safety enforcement operations focused on driver behaviors that put vulnerable road users at risk
• Community education presentations on traffic safety issues such as distracted driving, DUI, speeding and bicycle and pedestrian safety
• Collaborative enforcement efforts with neighboring agencies
• Officer training and/or recertification: Standard Field Sobriety Test (SFST), Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement (ARIDE) and Drug Recognition Expert (DRE)

According to the Sheriff's Department, the goal of the program is to reduce impaired driving-related crashes and deaths in the San Diego region.