Workforce Language Services

 Washington state has begun a traffic safety and education outreach program called El Protector in an attempt to slow fatal car colllisions.  The data showed that the majority of those involved in fatal collisions in the past years were Hispanic, many of whom did not speak English. 

The workshops, given by bilingual officers have three main purposes:

• to educate Spanish speakers on traffic laws and safe driving;
• to inform them of what documents they must provide when being pulled over;
• and to increase Hispanic’s comfort level with law enforcement.

Trooper Oscar Garcia is extremely positive about this program and its results:

“This program’s very beneficial to them because they have an opportunity to really ask questions from someone they can communicate with,” Garcia said. “It opens doors to have a better rapport with other officers. A lot of times the conflict they run into is because of the language barrier, but I tell them it all comes down to safety.”

Last year, 121 traffic safety presentations were made in the Tri-Cities, Walla Walla County and Yakima Valley through the El Protector program.

The program is supported through partnerships with local law enforcement agencies, traffic safety task forces, a citizen advisory board and community groups.

El Protector is only offered in the Mid-Columbia, but the program’s success has received statewide attention and officials are working to try to expand it to other areas.

Click here for the full article about El Protector.