Boardman Police Department gets $41,000 in traffic safety grants

Staff report

BOARDMAN

The police department has been awarded nearly $41,000 in federal traffic safety funding for fiscal year 2015, Police Chief Jack Nichols announced Friday.

About $25,000 of the funds come from the state’s Impaired Driving Enforcement Program, and the rest comes from the state’s Selective Traffic Enforcement Program.

The funds will be used in the police department’s efforts to crack down on motorists for violations such as speed, distracted driving, impaired driving and seat- belt usage. Motorcycle-crash reduction also will be a focus of the funds.

High-visibility enforcement, overtime hours and educational and awareness events are ways police said funds could be spent.

The purpose of the funds is to help the department reduce traffic fatalities.

There were 120 alcohol-related crashes that caused four fatalities in Boardman between 2011 and 2013, in addition to six other traffic fatalities over that period, according to township police.

The award comes from the Ohio Department of Public Safety Office of Criminal Justice Services, which gets funds from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.