GRANT FUNDS HELP OSP TROOPERS TARGET EXTRA ENFORCEMENT ON HIGHWAY 30 SAFETY CORRIDOR

Following the official announcement March 4, 2011 launching the Highway 30 Safety Corridor between Scappoose and St. Helens, the Oregon State Police (OSP) has received overtime grant funds from Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) to help OSP increase enforcement aimed at improving transportation safety and reducing crashes in the safety corridor.

Oregon now has 13 Safety Corridors which are segments of the state highway system that have a local three year average fatal and serious injury crash rate at or above 110 percent of the statewide average for similar type of roadways. A Highway Safety Corridor designation involves a cooperative effort of concerned local citizens, legislators, state and local police, local public works agencies, emergency medical service representatives, and ODOT representatives.

"The partnerships involving police, ODOT, emergency medical services and local transportation safety groups and citizens are the foundation of this program to improving highway safety and helping save lives," said Anne Holder, ODOT Transportation Safety Division Roadway Safety Program Manager.

OSP is receiving $16,568 in grant funding to provide 261 hours of overtime enforcement between now and September 30, 2011. Prior to the authorized Highway 30 Safety Corridor grant funds, OSP was previously awarded $39,704 to provide nearly 800 hours of overtime enforcement in two other safety corridors:

* Highway 140W Lake of the Woods, an 18 mile stretch between milepost 29 and 47 that will get 522 hours of overtime enforcement by OSP troopers
* Highway 101 milepost 128 and 137, a nine mile stretch between Depoe Bay and Newport that will get 261 hours of overtime enforcement by OSP troopers

Since 1989 when the first safety corridor was designated on Highway 62 between Medford and Eagle Point, the Highway Safety Corridor program has helped improve safety and reduce crashes on several state roads. Six previously designated safety corridors have been decommissioned because of the successful multi-disciplinary approach blending education, enforcement, engineering and emergency medical services.

Each safety corridor has signs placed on both ends to inform travelers that they are entering areas where they need to pay extra attention and be careful to obey all traffic laws. In some safety corridors, signs may be posted informing drivers that traffic fines double. The Highway 30 Safety Corridor does not have doubled fines.

Common driving errors associated with traffic crashes within the Highway 30 Safety Corridor boundaries include speed, following too close, failure to yield right of way and disobeying traffic control devices such as stop signs at intersections.

"Our troopers enforcement focus working in the Highway 30 Safety Corridor will be toward those driving behaviors that are factors in crashes occurring in this area," said Lieutenant Duane Stanton.

In addition to the increased enforcement efforts, safety corridors benefit from short term engineering improvements such as enhanced pavement striping, raised pavement markers, rumble strips and enhanced signage.