San Rafael to use more than $300,000 in state funds for traffic enforcement

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http://www.marinij.com/marinnews/ci_16630662?source=most_emailedSan Rafael to use more than $300,000 in state funds for traffic enforcement By Jessica Bernstein-Wax Marin Independent Journal
Posted: 11/16/2010 05:00:42 PM PST
San Rafael police will be using more than $300,000 in state money to seek out drunken drivers, texting motorists and people who get behind the wheel without a valid license this year.
The California Office of Traffic Safety has awarded San Rafael a $262,400 traffic enforcement grant, which will fund drunken and unlicensed driver checkpoints, new equipment, increased patrols for drunken drivers and motorcycle safety initiatives, among other programs, through next September. San Rafael also received a $44,000 grant specifically for anti-drunken driving operations and a $2,600 grant for seat belt enforcement, police Lt. Glenn McElderry said.
The grants "(help) our department and the safety of the motoring public,"
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McElderry said. "Our staffing levels have shrunk and this allows us to put officers out on the street under the grant funds."
Since January 2008, the department's traffic enforcement unit has declined from seven motorcycle officers and a sergeant to four motorcycle officers and a sergeant because of budget cuts, McElderry said. No one was laid off, but the positions disappeared due to hiring freezes and transfers.
Almost $90,000 of the traffic enforcement grant will go to red light and speed enforcement operations, with about $67,000 funding DUI patrols and $45,000 paying for five drunken-driving and unlicensed-driver checkpoints.
The City Council in August unanimously agreed to accept the grant, but not without discussion of the city's impound practices.
Some community members have criticized the checkpoints, calling the city's policy to impound unlicensed drivers' vehicles for 30 days excessive and questioning whether the program targets the immigrant-heavy Canal neighborhood.
California bars drivers' licenses for illegal immigrants and the state's vehicle code says cars seized from unlicensed or suspended drivers will be impounded for 30 days. However, cities around the state, including San Francisco and Berkeley, have adopted their own interpretations of the law. San Francisco, for example, won't impound a vehicle if a licensed driver comes to pick it up within 20 minutes.
"Some agencies choose to interpret their own version of the vehicle code," McElderry said. "We as a department are going to follow the law. However, we allow our officers discretion on 30-day impounds."
At the August council meeting, Mayor Al Boro said unlicensed drivers have a higher rate of accidents than licensed drivers.
"To me, it's folly to say we're going to stop someone that doesn't have a license and let his car go home that night because the next morning he's going to ... drive it again," Boro said.
Judith Bloomberg, a San Rafael resident and member of a Marin Organizing Committee research team looking into the impoundment issue, said the vehicle code isn't "so black and white" as San Rafael's interpretation.
The real hardship is the length of the impoundment, which "adds up to thousands of dollars" over the 30 days, Bloomberg said.
"Sometimes the cars aren't even worth the impound fee," she added, noting that her group has been focusing on vehicle seizures stemming from traffic stops rather than checkpoints.
Canal Alliance Executive Director Tom Wilson said he supports drunken driving checkpoints but has concerns about including license checks as part of those programs.
"Getting people off the road who are drinking is really important," Wilson said. "When they added in the driver's license check, even though a very good case can be made that we don't want unlicensed drivers on the road, it seems to me to be a little intrusive in terms of our civil rights. A police officer can't just stop me and ask me to show identification on the street."
Allowing illegal immigrants to get driver's licenses may be a better solution, he said, adding, "Maybe there's some hope with the new governor."