WESTFIELD – The Westfield Police Department received two grants totaling nearly $15,000 to combat underage drinking as well as to protect pedestrians and bicyclists.
Both grants are from the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security’s Highway Safety Division (EOPSS/HSD) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
The department received a $10,000 grant to crack down on underage drinking and a $4,900 to help make sharing the road a safer place for pedestrians and bicyclists.
“There are many tools to combat underage drinking, and this grant provides much needed funding to target the problem,” said Capt. Michael McCabe. “Whether you are underage, plan to sell to a minor, or buy alcohol for a minor, we will be on the lookout.”
The grant will fund a variety of law enforcement activities, such as the WPD conducting alcohol compliance checks for minors in bars, restaurants and retail locations, reverse stings, and party patrols. Other operations may include “shoulder tap” and “Cops in Shops” programs.
Over the past three years, activities under this grant have resulted in 485 youth citations and 340 arrests along with 413 adults citations and 352 adult arrests across the Commonwealth.
“Teens and parents need to be reminded that underage drinking is deadly serious,” said McCabe.
According to the NHTSA, in 2013, 29 percent of young drivers 15 to 20 years old who were killed in crashes had blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) of .01 or higher. Of those young drivers who had tested positive for alcohol, 82 percent of them had BACs of .08 or higher. NHTSA estimates that minimum drinking-age laws (21 years old) have saved 29,834 lives nationwide since 1975.
WPD will use the $4,900 grant for education, enforcement and outreach to protect the city’s pedestrians and cyclists from injuries and fatalities.
According to the Massachusetts Traffic Records Analysis Center (MassTRAC), there have been 320 fatal injuries and 3,456 serious or incapacitating injuries sustained by pedestrians in motor vehicle crashes from 2008 to 2012.
During the same time frame, bicyclists sustained 1,106 serious or incapacitating injuries and 43 fatal injuries as a result of motor vehicle crashes.
“Bicyclists and pedestrians are particularly vulnerable to the motoring public because they may not be immediately visible to drivers and unlike those in vehicles, nothing protects them from impact,” McCabe said.
Grantees will pay for enforcement and decoy patrols, along with breakaway signs. The combination of enforcement techniques and equipment will help the department analyze and crack down on drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists who do not share the road appropriately, so no one puts themselves or others in harm’s way.
WPD is one of more than 70 departments in the Commonwealth to receive these two grants from the EOPSS/HSD and the NHTSA.
Staff Writer Christine Charnosky can be reached at [email protected]
