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“We are committed to ensuring the safety of all who travel on Maryland roads,” said MDOT MVA Administrator Chrissy Nizer, who also serves as Governor Larry Hogan’s Highway Safety Representative. “We are honored to be selected by GHSA and Responsbility.org to receive this grant and look forward to being able to provide more tools to eliminate drug-impaired crashes on Maryland roads.”
Maryland is one of seven states awarded the Diving Under the Influence of Drugs and High-Risk Impaired Driving grant. Between 2014 and 2018, an average of 26 people were killed and nearly 800 injured each year in Maryland crashes involving a driver impaired by drugs (includes illicit drugs and medications). Over that same period, drug-impaired driving arrests increased 87 percent. With incidents of drug-impaired driving on the rise nationwide, it is necessary to train officers to recognize driver impairment. The grant funding will benefit these programs:
In December 2019, GHSA released High-Risk Impaired Drivers: Combating a Critical Threat, a report focusing on the challenges and opportunities associated with the high-risk impaired driver. The report identified a 16 percent increase over the past 10 years in the number of alcohol-impaired drivers killed in crashes who also tested positive for drugs (Nordstrom, 2019).
Even with lower traffic volumes on America’s roadways during the COVID-19 emergency, concerns about impaired driving remain.
“Vehicle miles traveled fell drastically during the pandemic, but this decline didn’t result in improved safety on our nation’s roadways,” said GHSA Executive Director Jonathan Adkins. “Alcohol and drug impaired driving persisted, with prevention experts warning the problem may worsen as people continue to worry about contracting the virus, recover from the economic fallout and adhere to social distancing requirements. All are triggers for substance use, making this grant program even more important.”
Learn more about the MDOT MVA’s Highway Safety Office’s commitment to zero deaths on Maryland roadways at ZeroDeathsMD.com and on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at zerodeathsmd.
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