Tulare County supervisors back CHP impaired‑driving grant and appoint supervisor to task force

The Tulare County Board of Supervisors voted to approve a letter of support for a California Office of Traffic Safety grant awarded to the Visalia office of the California Highway Patrol and to nominate a county supervisor to a stakeholder task force aimed at reducing impaired‑driving injuries and deaths.

Captain Scott Goddard, commander of the Visalia California Highway Patrol office, told the board the grant provides about 1,600 enforcement hours and is intended to reduce collisions and fatalities linked to impaired drivers. “I’m convinced that these 1,600 hours are gonna make an impact. We’re gonna save lives, we’re gonna make our roadways safer, we’re gonna make our communities safer,” Goddard said.

The grant was awarded by the California Office of Traffic Safety. Goddard told supervisors the CHP will partner with local stakeholders — including the district attorney’s office, Tulare County Probation, Caltrans, Tulare County Roads, the California Department of Alcohol and Beverage Control and Mothers Against Drunk Driving — and will track enforcement and outreach under the state’s Strategic Highway Safety Plan priorities (education, engineering, enforcement, emergency response and emerging technology). He cited statewide integrated traffic reporting system (SWITR) data showing 671 people were injured or killed by impaired drivers in the CHP Visalia jurisdiction during the three‑year period from Oct. 1, 2019, through Sept. 30, 2022.

During board discussion, a supervisor asked whether similar stakeholder approaches had been used elsewhere; Goddard said comparable grants have been used in other jurisdictions, including Ventura, and that the Tulare County effort will run from Oct. 1, 2024, through Sept. 30, 2025. The board then nominated a supervisor with a law enforcement background to serve on the task force; a second was made and the motion—also including approval to sign the letter of support—was adopted by the board. The transcript does not provide a roll call tally for the vote.

The CHP said it will promote the effort on social media and work with the county as a named stakeholder. The CHP asked the board to send a formal letter of support for the Office of Traffic Safety grant and provided talking points to the clerk.

The nomination places a county supervisor on a stakeholder task force that will review enforcement results, outreach strategies and opportunities for coordination among local agencies. Captain Goddard encouraged supervisors and staff to contact his office with questions and to use the task force as a forum for community input and problem solving.

The board did not discuss any changes to county traffic law or local enforcement powers; the action approved a letter of support and the appointment of a board member to the CHP‑led stakeholder task force.