Grant helps CHP focus on aggressive driving behaviors

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HUMBOLDT, Calif.- (KIEM)- Speed and aggressive driving are significant concerns since highway 101 goes through residential areas. But those who are just passing by and might not be familiar with the area might not be aware that the speed limit drops substantially.

Recently the California highway patrol received a federal grant to assist them in reducing aggressive driving and excessive speed through September 30, 2022; the grant supports CHP’s lifesaving grant campaign targeting dangerous driving behaviors.

“Speed has always been the biggest factor statewide, and I would imagine nationwide as well. Speed is the number one factor when it comes to aggressive driving,” said Paul Craft, Public Information Officer with Humboldt County Highway Patrol. 

The goal of the regulate aggressive driving and reduce speed grant is to decrease the traffic crashes that are caused by speed and also the number of people killed and injured in these crashes.

For the federal fiscal year of 2018 and 2019, speed was a factor in approximately 45 percent of all fatal and injury-causing crashes in California. That year, 36,036 speed-related crashes killed 335 people and injured 53,060 others.

When I asked CHP Officer Craft if they had areas in Humboldt County that they specifically focus on, this is what he said,

“I would love to say there is one particular area or certain areas that we would need to focus on, but, unfortunately, we see it in all areas,” said Paul Craft.

Since the start of the pandemic, CHP did notice a significant increase in incidents of unsafe driving behaviors between April 1, 2020, and September 30, 2021; the CHP issued more than 44,500 citations to motorists traveling at a speed of over 100 MPH, which is why they are using federal grant funding to address the issue.