Police officers in Costa Mesa are gearing up for more campaigns that give local bar patrons voluntary breathalyzer tests.
City council members are expected to accept over $92,000 in grant funding for the program from the California Highway Patrol at their upcoming meeting tonight.
According to a staff report, the grant will be used to fund police overtime related to targeted traffic operations and costs for the “Know Your Limit” program – a California Office of Traffic Safety initiative intended to raise awareness about the dangers of drinking and driving.
This program runs on a series of campaigns
This program runs on a series of campaigns run by local law enforcement agencies. During a campaign, deputies will ask people how many drinks they’ve consumed and whether or not they think it’s safe to drive.
Officers will then take volunteers to see if they are able to guess their blood alcohol content while providing information on the impacts of alcohol and a person’s ability to drive.
Police officers will be coordinating with local bars in the city to run the campaigns, something they’ve been doing since the beginning of this year.
According to the CHP, the Cannabis Tax Fund
According to the CHP, the Cannabis Tax Fund Grant Program is a grant given to local governments and nonprofits to reduce impaired driving and increase awareness on the subject.
“Grants are used to mitigate traffic safety program deficiencies, expand ongoing programs, and/or to develop new programs,” wrote Costa Mesa Police Spokesperson Roxi Fyad in a Monday email.
“Grant funding cannot replace existing program expenditures, nor can traffic safety funds be used for program maintenance, research, rehabilitation, and/or construction.”
The grant is supposed to be used
The grant is supposed to be used to improve practices in toxicology crime laboratories, data collection in medical examiner and coroner’s offices when a death occurs from driving under the influence, training and enforcement of DUI-related traffic laws, and more.
Fyad said the grant was approved by CHP based on the prevalence of DUIs for both drugs and alcohol in the city.
According to police officials, there were 46 DUI-related incidents that caused injury to the person that was intoxicated in Costa Mesa for 2025. There were no DUI-related deaths. However, 69 DUI cases caused injury to others.
The Fullerton, Huntington Beach, Orange, Irvine, Laguna Beach
The Fullerton, Huntington Beach, Orange, Irvine, Laguna Beach and Santa Ana police departments will also be receiving a part of the over $41 million given in the grant by the CHP.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Department will also be receiving the grant.
The Anaheim Police Department has been running campaigns for the “Know Your Limit” program for a decade. However, the program is funded by the California Office of Traffic Safety for the sole purpose of reducing alcohol-related DUIs.
The cannabis tax grant helps police officers in Costa Mesa run specific campaigns that are related to both alcohol and drug-related DUIs.
This will be the second cannabis tax fund
This will be the second cannabis tax fund grant awarded to the Costa Mesa Police Department, the first being awarded to the department in 2025-2026 fiscal year.
The report also says the Traffic Safety Bureau will administer the grant, using the funds to create safer roadways and reduce fatal traffic accidents. The city’s Transportation Services Office will be working closely with the bureau to mitigate traffic hazards with better environmental designs.
“This will be accomplished by meeting the grant objectives which include highly visible targeted enforcement operations and public awareness focused on driving under the influence education and enforcement,” the report reads.
According to Fyad, the main goal
According to Fyad, the main goal of the grant is to fund education on driving under the influence. To reach this goal, Costa Mesa PD will be conducting four “Know Your Limits” campaigns and 40 DUI saturation patrols.
According to the report, DUI saturation patrols help officers to conduct DUI enforcement proactively, removing drivers under the influence from the road before a collision occurs.
Police officials say the patrol consists of officers in marked police units whose primary goal is to look for driving behaviors that could indicate alcohol or drug impairment.
They (officers) conduct traffic stops of those vehicles
“They (officers) conduct traffic stops of those vehicles to evaluate the drivers and determine if they are under the influence and effect an arrest if applicable,” Fyad wrote.
“They focus on areas that are statically shown to have a higher number of drug/alcohol related traffic collisions, usually during late night hours, or around large events where drugs/alcohol are being consumed.”
According to Fyad, the specific goals outlined in the agreement of the grant require officers to work overtime.
Specific objectives outlined in the agreement require officers
“Specific objectives outlined in the agreement require officers to work shifts outside their normal work hours so as not to negatively impact department staffing levels and patrol response times,” Fyad wrote.
To help support the goals of the grant, the city of Costa Mesa will promote traffic safety through public announcements and their social media.
Sara Leon is a Voice of OC intern. You can reach her atsleon7903@gmail.com.
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