Drug Impaired Driving

Speeders tend to be going faster than before, drinkers drunker, there's more marijuana and drug use, of course, people are looking at their phones. But while distracted, lawless driving is up, law enforcement is down. In Kansas City, the police department's traffic enforcement division has shrunk to less than half the size it was just four years ago.

Up to $20,000 in ride-share credits will be made available to Marylanders this holiday season. In partnership with the Governors Highway Safety Association as well as Lyft and Responsibility.org, the grant will offer $20 rideshare credits and encourage Marylanders to Be the Make A Plan Driver by choosing an alternative to driving impaired from alcohol or drugs.

As we enter the holiday season – a time when impaired driving fatalities rise – the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) has again partnered with Lyft and the Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility (Responsibliy.org) to provide grants to support statewide initiatives to promote the use of ride-hailing rather than driving after consuming alcohol and/or another impairing substance.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 20, 2023

Contact: Adam Snider, 202-580-7930, 202-365-8971 (after hours)
Shadawn Reddick-Smith (Lyft), 202-573-4712
Sam Nathews (Responsibility.org), 202-355-1929
 

$40,000 in grants will support public outreach and ride-hailing credits in two states as a safer alternative to driving after drinking or consuming drugs

GHSA applauds National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy for calling out the woefully inadequate implementation of a comprehensive, Safe System approach to roadway safety – including education and equitable enforcement efforts.

GHSA Applauds NTSB Chair Homendy for Championing Use of All Roadway Safety Tools

GHSA News Release
November 15, 2023

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 15, 2023

Contact: Adam Snider, 202-580-7930, 202-365-8971 (after hours)

Statement by Jonathan Adkins, Chief Executive Officer, Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA)

Through a grant from GHSA and Responsibility.org, the Nevada Office of Traffic Safety trained judges and case managers to use the CARS tool to aid in developing personalized treatment recommendations and more individualized sentencing decisions for DUI offenders, thereby reducing their chances of reoffending. Nevada’s goals were to increase education, awareness and the use of the CARS tool by providing two virtual and one in-person training.

With the legalization of recreational cannabis in Maryland on July 1, 2023, it is necessary that the state train officers to detect cannabis-impaired driving. Through a grant from GHSA and Responsibility.org, the Maryland Highway Safety Office (MHSO) supported the expansion of green labs, providing law enforcement officers the opportunity to learn about the impairing effects of cannabis and detect cannabis impairment at the roadside. 

In 2021, there were 848 fatal crashes in Louisiana, 336 (39.6%) of which involved alcohol use on the part of one or both drivers. These crashes resulted in 369 fatalities, accounting for 39.5% of the 993 traffic fatalities during that year. Through a grant from GHSA and Responsibility.org, the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission used the funding to purchase equipment allowing the labs to test every impaired driving blood sample submitted for analysis for a wider array of drugs, including inhalants.

Since January 1, 2020, Illinois residents 21-years and older can legally purchase cannabis from licensed sellers with or without a medical card. Through a grant funded by GHSA and Responsibility.org, the Illinois State Highway Safety Office used the funding to expand its ability to test drivers arrested for impairment by synthetic opioids by partnering with the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Analytical Forensic Toxicology Lab (AFTL).