The California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) has awarded DUI grants to several local courts and law enforcement agencies. In 2018, 13 county probation departments were awarded grants. The grants enabled probation departments throughout California to supervise drunk driving offenders. In some cases, the departments required alcohol testing and conducted DUI warrant searches with the additional funding granted by OTS.
In addition to grants awarded to probation departments, OTS awarded the San Mateo County Superior Court a $300,000 grant. The grant was given to the Multiple Driving Under the Influence Court to help combat DUI recidivism in the county. The Multiple DUI Court requires participants to install an ignition interlock device on their vehicle, engage in alcohol treatment programs and comply with alcohol testing. Depending on the case, participants may be required to wear an alcohol monitoring device such as a SCRAM Continuous Alcohol Monitoring which monitors alcohol consumption 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for a designated time period. The San Mateo County Superior Court has received the OTS grant for two years in a row (2018 and 2019).
The OTS also partners with national organizations such as NHTSA to increase drunk driving enforcements. 2018 saw the “DUI Doesn’t Just Mean Booze” campaign which focused on impaired driving. The collaboration also helps to fund additional checkpoints, warrant searches and awareness campaigns.