Rainy Day Driving Reminders

Here are some more helpful tips for rainy day driving:

SAFETY TIPS

• Turn on your headlights!  It will help you see better on foggy or rainy days and it will help other drivers see you!
• Increase your following distance and watch for brake lights ahead.
• Slow down –  it takes longer to stop in wet weather.  Plus the faster you drive, the greater the chances of hydroplaning!
• Drive slowly through any puddle of uncertain depth.  That way if it’s deeper than you thought, you can still back out. 
• Defog your windows.  rain will quickly cause your windows to fog up.  

MAINTENANCE TIPS

• Replace old or brittle wiper blades. Wiper blades are inexpensive and are very easy to change!
• Check the tread and inflation of your tires.  Properly maintained tires provide the added traction you will need on wet roads.

New Years Eve Safety Tips

Are you hosting or attending a New Year's Eve party? Following a few simple guidelines could prevent a tragedy: 

 

• Plan ahead by naming a "designated driver." Make this your responsibility. Remember that buzzed driving is drunk driving. 

• Contact a local cab company to provide rides for you and/or your guests. 

• Caltrain will offer free rides after 11p.m. to encourage partygoers to use the train as their designated driver.  They will be adding four extra post-midnight, southbound trains to its regular holiday schedule.  Visit www.caltrain.com for more information.

• Serve non-alcoholic beverages as an option. 

• Make sure you have plenty of food on hand. 

• Stop serving alcohol to your guests several hours before the party ends. 

• Provide your guests with a place to stay overnight in your home. 

• Take the keys from someone if you think he/she is too impaired to drive. 

• Staying inside at midnight to celebrate with friends and family is always the safest place to be. 

• DO NOT fire weapons into the air. Bullets and projectiles can travel long distances causing injury and death. You have no control where a projectile will land when fired indiscriminately into the air. 

*Remember that celebrating the New Year by shooting a gun into the air is not only illegal, it can hurt or kill people.

• All fireworks (even those deemed safe and sane) are illegal in Redwood City. 

• Keep an eye on your pets. Loud noises, fireworks, gunshots, all can be frightening to animals. Keep your pets indoors or consult your veterinarian for options. Make sure they are wearing collars with identification should they become lost. 

 

If you are the designated driver: 

- Be a defensive driver. 

- Keep distractions (cell phones, food, and drunk friends) to a minimum. 

- Make sure that you and your passengers are wearing a seat belt. 

- Find a safe location and call 9-1-1 if you see a drunk driver on the road. 

 

All of us at the Redwood City Police Department would like to wish you and your family a happy and safe New Years!  

Redwood City Bike Share

 

Redwood City Bike Share

 

 Have you ever asked yourself...

"How do I get to work once I get off the train?" 

"How can I run errands at lunch if I don't have a car?" 

"Can I live downtown without a car, or just one car for my family?"

 

 If so, try Bike Share! 

 

You can rent specially-designed heavy-duty bikes at a network of stations in our downtown, making this a great option for getting to work after getting off the train or running lunchtime errands without having to jump in your car. 

 

And of course, by using this convenient and affordable new public transit option, you can help to reduce traffic and pollution! 

 

Redwood City bike kiosk locations: 

• Franklin Street just north of Maple Street - in two existing parking spaces
• Downtown Library - front plaza between parking lot at Library building
• Broadway between Main and Walnut - on the sidewalk adjacent to Wells Fargo Bank
• Marshall between Walnut and Maple - adjacent to Kaiser Hospital
• Caltrain Station - on the sidewalk within the station adjacent to southbound platform
• San Mateo County Government Center - on the sidewalk, east side of Winslow Street at Bradford Street

 Questions? Visit www.bayareabikeshare.com.   

from: Redwood City E-News, Sheri Costa-Batis

Redwood City Police launch Police Leadership Program

The Department launches the Redwood City Police Leadership Program.

This week, the Redwood City Police Department delivered the first block of the Redwood City Police Leadership Program. This 12-month course offers practical rank-specific leadership skills to newly promoted sergeants and lieutenants, as well as certain civilian management personnel within the Department. Later in the year, a separate curriculum will be offered to officers at the line level to ensure that leadership ability is identified early and thoroughly developed at all organizational levels.
Participants of The Redwood City Police Leadership Program meet for a full day each month to receive lectures, participate in practical exercises and hear guest speakers discuss leadership strategies and theories within the context of the law enforcement profession. Each monthly instructional block builds on the last while incorporating leadership materials derived from various military and university graduate school organizational leadership curricula. Participants also receive  structured mentoring from senior commanders throughout the program who guide them as they select and complete a visionary capstone project that is directly related to their work assignments.
Ten lieutenants and sergeants, as well as a Communications manager, are currently enrolled in the course.
For more information on the Redwood City Police Leadership Program, please contact the program, facilitator Captain John Spicer at 650-780-7130.

April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month

 

"In partnership with the California Office of Traffic Safety and the California Highway Patrol, we have joined the statewide enforcement and awareness campaign to discourage Distracted Driving.  The entire month of April has been designated as Distracted Driving Awareness Month.  Our participation includes a commitment to increase enforcement efforts throughout the month. As part of April’s Distracted Driving Awareness Month campaign, the Redwood City Police Department will be actively ticketing those texting or operating hand-held cell phones on April 3rd and April 16th." said Traffic Sergeant Neil Uyeda.

Drivers who break the law and place themselves and others in danger will be cited with no warnings.  The current minimum ticket cost is $159, with subsequent tickets costing at least $279.

Last April, over 57,000 tickets were written statewide for texting and hand-held cell use. There were nearly 450,000 convictions in 2012. Whether it’s a ticket or a crash, as the campaign theme states, “It’s Not Worth It!"

Distracted driving is a serious traffic safety concern that puts everyone on the road at risk.  In recent years, hundreds have been killed and thousands seriously injured in California as a result of collisions that involved at least one driver who was distracted.  Nationally, an estimated 3,331 died in 2011.

As a result, law enforcement across the state, including the Redwood City Police Department, are increasingly cracking down on cell phone use and texting.  This April will see over 225 local agencies plus the CHP conducting zero tolerance enforcements.

Drivers who use hand-held devices are four times as likely to get into crashes serious enough to injure themselves. Younger, inexperienced drivers under 20 years old have the highest proportion of distraction-related fatal crashes.   In addition, studies show that texting while driving can delay a driver’s reaction time just as severely as having a blood alcohol content of a legally drunk driver.

Studies also show that there is no difference in the risks between hands-free and hand-held cell phone conversations, both of which can result in “inattention blindness” which occurs when the brain isn’t seeing what is clearly visible because the drivers’ focus is on the phone conversation and not on the road.  When over one third of your brain’s functioning that should be on your driving moves over to cell phone talking, you can become a cell phone “zombie.”

To avoid a distracted driving ticket or crash, the Redwood City Police Department offers drivers the following tips:

• Turn off your phone and/or put it out of reach while driving.
• Include in your outgoing message that you can’t answer while you are driving.
• Don’t call or text anyone at a time when you think they may be driving.

Beware Of Door-To-Door Burglar Alarm Scam

Be cautious of people going door to door asking about resident’s alarm systems, as they do not appear to be working for the city and could be casing homes for burglaries.

Oakland Police warned that a community member reported that a man wearing an orange safety vest and a tag reading “Oakland Public Safety” knocked on her door inquiring about how up to date the resident’s alarm system was.   The man also asked whether or not it was monitored and whether it was tied to a cell phone or landline.

The Redwood City Police are not aware of any city-sponsored program making this sort of inquiry, it is likely that the questions were aimed at gathering information for criminal use.  Criminals usually use these tactics to case the house and attempt to find ways to defeat alarm systems.

Residents should not answer any questions about home alarm systems, and should report anyone asking similar questions to police immediately.

Another consumer rip-off that shows no sign of abating is the invasion of door-to-door salespeople who use dubious and intrusive tactics to sell burglar-alarm systems to unwary homeowners.

Law-enforcement and consumer-protection officials warn you to be wary of an alarm salesperson who:

• Attempts to alarm you by citing rashes of burglaries in their neighborhoods.

• Claims to represent or wear clothing with logos from major alarm manufacturers like GE and Honeywell. These firms don't sell directly to consumers and don't allow their logos to be used by door-to-door salespeople.

• Tries to gain entrance into your home

• Offers a free system. Experts say "free" systems usually come with higher monthly service fees.

• Says the company is ready to install your system right away. Experts say legitimate alarm companies don't mind taking the time to talk to consumers to get a comprehensive view of their security needs.

• Claims your current alarm company is defunct.

Non-emergency calls can be made to (650)780-7100, or dial 911 for emergencies.

Redwood City Police Social Media Connections

The Redwood City Police Department engages with our community on several social media platforms.  We post news releases, crime prevention tips, crime statistics, photos and videos, and human interest stories.  We encourage you to connect with us!

Twitter
	Join the conversation at www.twitter.com/redwoodcitypd
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Vimeo
Nixle	Watch all of our videos at http://vimeo.com/user11653973  We post crime prevention videos, wanted subjects, and information on our video chat
	Go to: http://www.nixle.com/ and subscribe to us.  You can elect to receive text message alerts, e-mail alerts, or simply view our content on Nixle’s website.  Check out our Nixle page at http://local.nixle.com/city/ca/redwood-city/ and subscribe to us for free.

            Netop Video Chat

Join our award winning video chat by visiting www.redwoodcity.org/police  Click on the link and be connected to an Officer.

Our social media presence is maintained by members of our Social Media Team, but it is not a substitute for 9-1-1.  Please do not use social media to report criminal activity that requires a police response. If you have an emergency, please call 9-1-1. If you require non-emergency police assistance or want to report suspicious activity, please call our 24-hour dispatch center at 650-780-7100.