81 Maryland Officers Honored as Traffic Safety Specialists

Officers from 24 Agencies Across the State Received Designation in 2022

GLEN BURNIE, MD (April 26, 2023) – The Maryland Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Administration’s Highway Safety Office this week honored 81 officers from 24 agencies across the state as Traffic Safety Specialists. This recognition honors the officers’ commitment and contributions to traffic safety in 2022. In total, 72 officers received a Level I Traffic Safety Specialist designation, eight officers received a Level II designation, and one officer received a Level III designation.

The statewide Traffic Safety Specialist program recognizes officers who have attained distinct levels of experience, training and proficiency in highway safety and traffic enforcement methods and procedures. The program is a collaborative effort between the MVA’s Highway Safety Office, the Maryland Chiefs of Police Association and the Maryland Sheriffs’ Association.

“I’m very proud of all of the officers who took the initiative to earn their Traffic Safety Specialist designation,” said Motor Vehicle Administrator Chrissy Nizer, who also serves as Governor Wes Moore’s Highway Safety Representative. “Providing our law enforcement partners with highway safety education and proper training plays a critical role in our efforts to eliminate deaths on Maryland roadways.”

To develop effective solutions that address local and statewide traffic safety, law enforcement agencies must have personnel who are highly skilled in traffic safety. The Traffic Safety Specialist program offers a framework providing officers an opportunity to receive credit and recognition for their skills and contributions.

Established in 2008, the Traffic Safety Specialist program is available to all police officers, deputy sheriffs and state troopers across Maryland, as well as those serving federal law enforcement agencies. The program offers Level I, Level II and Level III designations, each requiring specific levels of experience, training, job performance and skills proficiency. Specialized requirements, such as Speed Detection Device certification, Standardized Field Sobriety Test certification and participation in High Visibility Enforcement campaigns are examples of specifications needed to achieve one of the three Traffic Safety Specialist levels. To be eligible, officers must enroll in the program and submit required documentation for the level they are working toward. Level III requires an extensive traffic safety project, which must be reviewed and approved by the Executive Committee comprised of current and retired law enforcement officers.

Ocean City Police Officer Ryan Flanagan was honored as the sole Traffic Safety Specialist Level III designee in 2022 – only the third such designee since 2008. Officer Flanagan successfully presented his project about reducing serious injury and fatalities among traffic violations that occurred during recent Car Rally Events in Ocean City to the Traffic Safety Specialist Executive Committee.

“As a member of the Ocean City Police Department’s Traffic Safety Unit, Cpl. Flanagan has demonstrated his commitment to highway safety and traffic enforcement to the residents and visitors of Ocean City,” said Chief Ross Buzzuro of the Ocean City Police Department. “Cpl. Flanagan continues to demonstrate his dedication by being a certified standardized field sobriety testing instructor, intoximeter operator and commercial motor vehicle inspector. As the only recipient of the Traffic Safety Specialist III this year and only the third ever to achieve this designation, Cpl. Flanagan sets a high standard for highway safety for others to follow.”

Nearly 1,000 officers throughout Maryland have earned Traffic Safety Specialist Designation since the program’s inception. Agencies with Traffic Safety Specialist officers designated in 2022 include:

Learn more about the Motor Vehicle Administration’s Highway Safety Office at ZeroDeathsMD.gov or on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @ZeroDeathsMD.

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Additional photos available upon request​