By Lookout Staff

January 15, 2026 -- The Police Department will hold a traffic safety operation for the second time in a week Thursday that targets areas with a history of collisions, police officials said.

The operation -- which will take place from 2 to 8 p.m. -- focuses on "the most dangerous driver behaviors that put the safety of people biking or walking at risk."

The violations include speeding, making illegal turns, failing to yield or provide right of way to bicyclists or pedestrians, or failing to stop for signs and signals.

Police officials remind bicyclists that they must follow similar traffic laws as motorists, must travel in the same direction of traffic and have the same requirements as any slow moving vehicle.

They should also avoid riding too close to parked cars and use available bike lanes unless making a left turn, passing or approaching a place where a right turn is allowed.

Police advise pedestrians to "be predictable," "use crosswalks, when available and "be extra careful crossing streets or entering crosswalks at night."

Meanwhile, drivers should slow down at intersections and be prepared to stop for pedestrians at marked and unmarked crosswalks and between intersections where pedestrians may cross.

They also should avoid blocking crosswalks while waiting to make a right-hand turn

Traffic safety is a top priority for the City Council, with the current $793.3 million fiscal year budget boosting funding to make streets safer to navigate.

The budget earmarks $750,000 for streetlight maintenance and repairs, including money to add one full-time employee, and another $460,000 to hire a "Traffic Painter/Signs and Markings Technician" and a "customer service" employee.

The Council also approved $200,000 "to create an automated bike lane enforcement program using cameras mounted on parking enforcement vehicles," after a pilot program with only two vehicles found 1,679 violations in 6 weeks, according to staff.

The enhancements were made after the number of Fatal and Severe Injury (FSI) crashes in Santa Monica soared in 2024, marking the fourth straight year the numbers had risen ("Crashes Resulting in Severe Injuries, Deaths Soar," February 14, 2025).

Funding for the program is provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.