The Maryland Department of Transportation’s Motor Vehicle Association (MDOT MVA) has been awarded a grant aimed at reducing drug-impaired driving in the state.
The nearly $45,000 grant — awarded by the Governors Highway Safety Administration (GHSA) in partnership with Responsibility.org — will be used to better prepare state law enforcement to recognize and respond to the signs of drug-impaired driving.
“We are committed to ensuring the safety of all who travel on Maryland roads,” said MDOT MVA Administrator Chrissy Nizer. “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.”
The MVA will use the grant to train officers in the use of toxicology equipment and software, and offer courses for qualifying officers to become “drug-recognition experts” — officers who can offer an expert opinion on whether a driver is drug-impaired. Another course in roadside impaired driving enforcement will train 15 to 25 officers to spot and articulate signs of drug-related impairment.
Six other states received similar grants from the GHSA, including Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Washington and Wyoming.
The GHSA hopes the grants will help create safer road conditions, as Americans return to the roads amid loosened pandemic restrictions.
“Vehicle miles traveled fell drastically during the pandemic, but that 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.”
