The state funds will pay overtime for additional traffic enforcement for one month.
Red Bank police expect to roll about 20 additional street patrol shifts this month under a state grant awarded yesterday, Capt. Darren McConnell tells redbankgreen.
The borough was one of 75 municipalities awarded a $4,000 grant under the state Division of Highway Safety’s new ‘Obey the Signs or Pay the Fines’ initiative to help local cops reduce common motor vehicle violations.
The idea behind the program is to boost driver awareness of violations such as failing to come to a full stop at an intersection, passing on the right, speeding and tailgating, says McConnell, who heads the department’s traffic safety division.
By having many towns throwing additional resources at enforcement simultaneously, “you get the synergistic effect,” McConnell says. “It’s better in terms of getting the message out to people.”
The grant will fund overtime for an estimated 20 patrol shifts over the course of the program, which begins today and runs through July 31, McConnell says.
Ocean Township and Freehold Township were the only other Monmouth County towns to also get the grants.
Here’s the full press release on the grant program.