State Pursuing Aggressive Plan to Reduce Roadway Fatalities and Injuries
As part of ongoing efforts to prevent traffic crashes and save lives on Maryland roads, Governor Larry Hogan today announced that $12 million in federal highway safety funds will be granted to approximately 90 agencies and organizations across the state with the goal of reducing crashes and related injuries and deaths.
“The safety of our citizens and visitors is a responsibility we take extremely seriously, and our administration will continue to make investments to make our roadways safer,” said Governor Hogan. “This funding continues our commitment to address traffic safety challenges and get unsafe, impaired, and distracted drivers off the road.”
In 2017, there were 557 deaths as a result of traffic crashes in Maryland. The funds distributed through the Maryland Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Administration’s Highway Safety Office will help fund the following traffic-safety efforts:
- Increasing the use of seat belts in all seating positions;
- Preventing impaired, aggressive, and distracted driving;
- Increasing the safety of pedestrians, motorcyclists, and bicyclists;
- Promoting the correct use of child passenger safety seats;
- Funding overtime enforcement of Maryland’s traffic laws;
- Supporting police training for highway safety and traffic enforcement; and
- Increasing capability and efficiency of Maryland’s traffic data systems.
“The only acceptable goal is to reduce the number of traffic crashes, injuries, and fatalities to zero,” said Maryland Transportation Secretary Pete K. Rahn.
Secretary Rahn also recently announced MDOT’s Traffic Safety Pledge which encourages Maryland drivers to pledge to: always wear their seatbelt; have a safe and sober ride; park the phone before driving; use crosswalks and be seen while walking or biking; look for pedestrians and motorcyclists and give bicyclists three feet of clearance; wear proper protective gear while riding a motorcycle; and give themselves time. Speed is a factor in many crashes and greatly increases the severity. Take the pledge now at: http://www.mdot.maryland.gov/newMDOT/SafetyPledge.html.
The federal grant awards can only be used for traffic safety activities and are allocated based on crash data for each county and/or organization that applied for funding. Funds can only be spent during Federal Fiscal Year 2019 (October 1, 2018 – September 30, 2019). A breakdown of the amounts granted across the state:
| Agency | Total Grant Amount |
| Aberdeen Police Department | $11,000.00 |
| Allegany County Sheriff’s Office | $8,000.00 |
| Americans for Older Driver Safety | $6,220.00 |
| Annapolis Police Department | $25,000.00 |
| Anne Arundel County Police Department | $105,000.00 |
| Baltimore City Police Department | $94,000.00 |
| Baltimore County Health Department | $6,750.00 |
| Baltimore County Police Department | $334,431.00 |
| Baltimore Metropolitan Council | $471,500.00 |
| Bel Air Police Department | $11,000.00 |
| Berlin Police Department | $4,500.00 |
| Calvert Alliance Against Substance Abuse | $5,100.00 |
| Calvert County Sheriff’s Office | $25,000.00 |
| Cambridge Police Department | $6,978.00 |
| Caroline County Sheriff’s Office | $12,000.00 |
| Carroll County Sheriff’s Office | $25,000.00 |
| Cecil County Sheriff’s Office | $23,000.00 |
| Charles County Sheriff’s Office | $92,000.00 |
| Chesapeake Regional Safety Council | $300,839.00 |
| Cheverly Police Department | $6,000.00 |
| City of Bowie Police Department | $4,000.00 |
| City of Hyattsville Police Department | $6,000.00 |
| Cumberland Police Department | $3,000.00 |
| Denton Police Department | $3,960.00 |
| Easton Police Department | $18,000.00 |
| Elkton Police Department | $8,000.00 |
| Frederick Bicycle Coalition | $3,700.00 |
| Frederick County Sheriff’s Office | $2,000.00 |
| Frederick Police Department | $40,000.00 |
| Frostburg State University Police Department | $2,000.00 |
| Fruitland Police Department | $4,000.00 |
| Gaithersburg Police Department | $25,000.00 |
| Garrett County Commissioners Office | $6,000.00 |
| Governor’s Highway Safety Association | $98,773.30 |
| Greenbelt Police Department | $31,000.00 |
| Hagerstown Police Department | $14,000.00 |
| Hampstead Police Department | $4,000.00 |
| Hancock Police Department | $1,000.00 |
| Harford County Sheriff’s Office | $73,000.00 |
| Havre de Grace Police Department | $4,000.00 |
| Howard Co Police Department | $76,000.00 |
| Kent County Sheriff’s Office | $9,945.00 |
| La Plata Police Department | $10,000.00 |
| Laurel Police Department | $27,000.00 |
| Maryland Chiefs of Police Association | $132,710.00 |
| Maryland Department of Health | $258,255.39 |
| Maryland Institute College of Art | $43,512.00 |
| Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems | $99,938.85 |
| Maryland Judiciary – DUI Courts | $66,399 |
| Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration | $16,952.70 |
| Maryland Municipal League | $4,500.00 |
| Maryland Sheriff’s Association | $17,710.00 |
| Maryland State Police – Drug Recognition Expert Program | $129,150.80 |
| Maryland State Police – mobile Breath Testing Vehicle | $36,600.00 |
| Maryland State Police – SPIDRE DUI Team | $782,450.28 |
| Maryland State Police – Statewide Enforcement | $796,110.52 |
| Maryland State’s Attorneys Association | $192,315.20 |
| Maryland Transportation Authority Police | $151,000.00 |
| Montgomery County Police Department | $228,500.00 |
| Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office | $7,500.00 |
| Morgan State University | $54,360.00 |
| Mt. Airy Police Department | $2,000.00 |
| Ocean City Police Department | $30,019.00 |
| Ocean Pines Police Department | $2,000.00 |
| Partners In Care | $26,019.93 |
| Pocomoke City Police Department | $4,499.75 |
| Prince George’s Co Police Department | $252,400.00 |
| Prince George’s County Police Department | $32,000.00 |
| Princess Anne Police Department | $7,494.85 |
| Queen Anne’s County Sheriff’s Office | $9,000.00 |
| Riverdale Park Police Department | $9,000.00 |
| Rockville Police Department | $25,000.00 |
| Salisbury Police Department | $18,500.00 |
| Somerset County Sheriff’s Office | $3,000.00 |
| St. Mary’s County DUI Court | $21,194.80 |
| St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office | $42,500.00 |
| Statewide Traffic Safety Initiatives | $4,681,660.78 |
| Sykesville Freedom Police Department | $6,860.00 |
| Sykesville Police Department | $4,000.00 |
| Talbot County Sheriff’s Office | $4,000.00 |
| Taneytown Police Department | $4,000.00 |
| University of Baltimore Police Department | $6,000.00 |
| University of Maryland College Park Police Department | $14,000.00 |
| University of Maryland National Studies Center | $523,805.78 |
| Washington College | $503,321.49 |
| Washington Council of Governments | $250,000.00 |
| Washington County Sheriff’s Office | $39,000.00 |
| Washington Regional Alcohol Program | $382,918.40 |
| Westminster Police Department | $6,000.00 |
| Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office | $8,000.00 |
| Worcester County Health Department | $3,589.30 |
| Worcester County Sheriff’s Office | $1,999.50 |
| Wor-Wic Community College | $9,612.00 |
| Total | $11,999,056.62 |
