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Your Monthly Update
October 2025
| | Our grant activities kicked off this month and will continue through next September, supporting engaging safety campaigns, innovative programs, and expanded outreach and education efforts. As we look ahead, we’re excited to continue working with our incredible partners, grantees, and communities to keep California’s roads safe for everyone. We can’t wait to see what we’ll accomplish together. | | The OTS Kicks Off New Fiscal Year Strong with Pedestrian Safety | | |
The new grant year kicked off on a high note with National Pedestrian Safety Month, setting the tone for another year dedicated to protecting everyone who walks, rolls, or bikes on California’s roads. Throughout October, OTS traffic safety partners have amplified the message that safe streets are a shared responsibility. To strengthen these efforts, the OTS awarded 68 pedestrian and bicycle safety grants and 226 police traffic services grants for Federal Fiscal Year 2026, supporting local initiatives focused on education, outreach, and data-driven enforcement in communities across the state.
From walking and biking safety assessments and trainings to implement infrastructure solutions that improve active transportation, grantees are working to change behaviors and raise awareness about the importance of staying alert and slowing down. Programs include Safe Routes to School activities, classroom education, community events, bicycle trainings, and temporary road demonstrations focused on overall biking and walking safety.
The campaign also coincided with Walk and Roll to School Day (October 8), a nationwide event that encouraged students and families to choose active, safe transportation options while fostering lifelong habits that promote health, safety, and community connection. We were excited to see so many of our traffic safety partners out and about in their communities!
| | CalSTA Launches State Priority Safety Corridor Initiative | | |
On October 15, the California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA) and California Health and Human Services Agency (CalHHS)unveiled the State Priority Safety Corridor initiative, uniting state, local, and community partners to reduce severe traffic crashes in California’s highest-risk areas. The program launches with a new joint statewide policy between CalSTA and CalHHS on road safety and two designated safety corridors: Avalon Boulevard in Los Angeles and State Route 91 in southeast Los Angeles County.
Reflecting the state’s strong commitment to preventing fatal and serious roadway injuries, this effort applies the Safe System Approach at the corridor scale. Corridors are prioritized based on data identifying high-injury locations, where state, regional, and local agencies together will use prevention, shared responsibility, and equity to reduce harm and save lives. This marks a pivotal shift, making safety the foundation of California’s transportation system. The initiative aims to demonstrate the lasting impact of collaborative, prevention-focused action across agencies and communities.
The initiative’s comprehensive approach combines infrastructure, engagement and policy innovation to create safer, more connected corridors, including a new SLOWCAL social media campaign to promote awareness and community involvement.
| | Child Passenger Safety: National Seat Check Saturday | | |
The OTS joined Safe Kids Greater Sacramento for a car seat checkup event on September 26 at the South Sacramento Family Resource Center. Certified child passenger safety technicians worked one-on-one with parents and caregivers to make sure car seats were properly installed and used. The event also served as the final exam for a car seat technician certification course. Event partners included UC Davis Health, South Sacramento Family Resource Center, the office of California State Senator Angelique Ashby, Dignity Health Mercy San Juan Medical Center, and the California Highway Patrol.
Event by the numbers:
- 16 Families served
- 29 Seats Checked
- 23 Car seats distributed
- 19 new Child Passenger Safety Technicians Certified
- 1 new Child Passenger Safety Instructor Certified
The OTS invested $7.27 million in 34 occupant protection grants to agencies statewide in 2024-2025. These agencies hosted over 250 car seat check events during the year. For 2025-2026, the OTS raised its investment in California's car seat safety programs to $8.38 million, awarding 39 grants.
| | Safety Snapshot of the Month | | Congratulations to Pam Basi with the Sutter County Children and Families Commission, who submitted winning entries to the I’m Safe! Child Passenger Safety Photo Contest. The contest is hosted by the I’m Safe division of Child Safety Solutions, Inc. Pam’s photos were recognized for showing children secured correctly in their car seats and an older child correctly secured with a vehicle seat belt. | | |
Publications, resources, training opportunities, and other relevant updates from our state and national traffic safety partners.
📰 NHTSA Approves More Than $800M for States to Make Roads Safer
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) published a news release announcing Federal Fiscal Year 2026 traffic safety grant funding to states and other jurisdictions to make roads safer. Read the release
📈 2025 SafeTREC Traffic Safety Facts
UC Berkeley Safe Transportation Research and Education Center (SafeTREC) released the 2025 series of Traffic Safety Facts, which features traffic safety data and trends at the national and state levels on a variety of road safety topics. Get the facts
📑 Teen Driving Performance Associated with Distraction, ADHD, and Other Risk Factors
The Behavioral Traffic Safety Cooperative Research Program (BTSCRP), a partnership between GHSA, the Transportation Research Board and NHTSA, has published a new report that examines how attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) can impact distraction and driving safety in teens. Read the report
📈 SCAG Releases New Transportation Safety Data and Modeling Tool
The Southern California Association of Governments released two new resources to support safer streets across the region: the 2025 Transportation Safety Regional Existing Conditions Report and the SoCal Community Transportation Safety Modeling Tool.
💻 Traffic Safety Champions Webinar: Inspirational Champions
The OTS held a webinar on September 29 featuring inspirational traffic safety champions Isaac Gonzalez with Slow Down Sacramento, and Kellie Montalvo with Streets Are for Everyone (SAFE) Inland Empire. Watch the webinar
| | The OTS participates in community outreach and engagement events to connect with residents, local partners, and stakeholders to share information, gather feedback and encourage Californians to Go Safely. These events provide valuable opportunities to build relationships, support local initiatives and ensure our traffic safety efforts are informed by the voices and needs of the communities we serve. | | 2025 San Luis Obispo Safe Streets Forum – On September 25, the OTS joined San Luis Obispo Council of Governments (SLOCOG) for the 2025 San Luis Obispo (SLO) Safe Streets Forum. This year’s theme was “The Last Call: Charting a Safer Course for Streets, Roads and Paths in SLO County” with an emphasis on bicycle and pedestrian safety. The OTS, Caltrans, CHP, Safety Sam, and other OTS grantees provided traffic safety materials to more than 60 attendees. The OTS conducted two public participation and engagement (PP&E) activities at the forum, and collected information from SLO County residents, business owners, and students from California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) about traffic safety concerns and improvements needed in their respective communities. | | Cupertino Bike Fest – On September 27, approximately 1,000 people attended the City of Cupertino’s 12th Annual Bike Fest in Santa Clara County, and stopped by the Go Safely CA booth. The OTS provided attendees with traffic safety outreach materials and information about the Traffic Safety Champions program, and more than 100 attendees pledged not to drive under the influence. | | |
📌 November 2 – Daylight Saving Time
📌 November 16 – World Day of Remembrance
📌 November 17-21 – Crash Responder Safety Week
📌 November 26-30 – Thanksgiving Travel (Click-It-Or-Ticket)
📌 December 1-5 – Older Driver safety Awareness Week
📌 December 1-9 – Pre-Season Holiday Safety
Keep an eye on your inboxes for campaign templates and social media assets. Additional outreach materials are always available at GoSafelyCA.org/MediaToolkits.
| | The OTS administers traffic safety grants that deliver traffic safety programs to prevent people from being killed and seriously injured in California. The OTS is a department under the California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA). | | |
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