Law enforcement participation is essential in removing impaired drivers from community streets. Increasing law enforcement patrol activity will reduce the number of drivers who drive while impaired and ultimately will decrease traffic crashes caused by impaired drivers. The reduction is principally attributed to two factors: increased law enforcement visibility creates a perception of risk by drivers who may drive while impaired, and extra law enforcement personnel increase the probability of being detected and arrested.

At a time when most police and sheriffs' agencies are hampered by budgetary constraints, no law enforcement agency has the luxury of having sufficient personnel "to be everywhere at once." The demand placed on the law enforcement community today is unprecedented. This is why individuals and communities are being asked to take a stand against impaired drivers and other dangerous traffic safety violations. Law enforcement needs the help of individual citizens to get involved in the community. If your community lacks a Safe Communities program or a Neighborhood and Crime Watch Program, contact your local law enforcement agency and ask for their help in starting these efforts. Active community programs are valuable in providing additional "patrolling eyes and ears" for law enforcement agencies.

To discuss increasing enforcement opportunities during National Holiday Lifesavers Weekend, arrange to meet with local law enforcement agency representatives no later than the first week of November. Most police chiefs and sheriffs are members of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) or the National Sheriffs' Association (NSA). Ask if they have received the information packet about the national program. Encourage them to contact state agencies and their associations to discuss ways to develop multi-jurisdictional enforcement activities. Urge them to support anti-impaired pedestrian and motorcycle operator activities. The following ideas are included in the information packet sent to IACP and NSA members. Consider them as you begin planning 3D Prevention Month and year-round events and make law enforcement part of your Safe Community.

Ideas for 3D Prevention Month and Year-Round Activities:

• Elicit the support and participation of all the law enforcement agencies within the community (municipal police departments, county sheriffs' offices, and state police and highway patrols);
• Ask agencies to maximize the deployment of traffic enforcement patrols, thereby increasing enforcement efforts and visibility;
• Emphasize public service and roadside assistance to the motoring public;
• Actively enforce safety belt and child safety seat laws;
• Monitor and enforce the speed limits on all roadways, including local streets; and
• Promote media coverage of projects enhancing public awareness.

Remind participating members to look for the packet and urge them to participate to the fullest extent possible. Contact the Governor's Highway Safety Office to obtain additional information or check the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) web site at http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov.

Successful Alcohol and Impaired Driving Program
San Jose, California, Takes A Stand
Increasingly, cities are becoming more ethnically diverse. Promoting a comprehensive traffic safety program must include each ethnic segment of the community. The San Jose Police Department recently conducted such a program. San Jose's population ranks third in the state and the city is confronted with numerous challenges in its efforts to maintain traffic safety. A 1992 study revealed the city's population was 23 percent Hispanic and that this segment of the population was involved in 51 percent of the traffic crashes resulting in fatal or bodily injury. The study also revealed that this segment of the community contributed to a disproportionate number of hit and run crashes. The department recognized that the lack of educational traffic safety programs, their limited participation in community events, and an insufficient number of multilingual/multicultural traffic safety messages were contributing to the traffic safety problem.

The goal of the San Jose Traffic Enforcement Program was to implement a comprehensive traffic safety program targeting the specific needs of the city's diverse community. The program objectives were:

• To reduce the incidence of alcohol and drug impaired driving;
• To increase safety belt and child safety seat usage; and
• To improve multilingual and multicultural communications in promoting traffic safety.

The Traffic Enforcement Unit of the San Jose Police Department designated a bilingual public information officer. The officer coordinated a multilingual and multicultural education and awareness campaign in addition to presenting a weekly television spot highlighting various traffic laws. The program included traffic checkpoints which heightened public awareness of the department's strict enforcement policy on impaired driving and safety belt violations. To increase child safety seat usage, the department purchased and distributed seats to low income families and enlisted the assistance of community-based organizations to educate recipients on proper installation and use. Officers used community meetings, school presentations, seminars, and traffic safety fairs to get their message out to every segment of the community.

The success of this program was realized as follows:

• Hispanic involvement in fatal crashes involving alcohol impaired driving dropped from 66 percent to 45 percent;
• Fatal crashes dropped 56 percent during the program;
• Injury crashes fell 14 percent and property damage crashes decreased 23 percent; and
• Safety belt usage increased to a rate of 85 percent, above the state average.

The program was the recipient of the 1995 NHTSA Administrator's Highway Safety Program of Excellence Award.