LINTHICUM HEIGHTS, Md. — Six construction workers dead after a crash on the Baltimore Beltway last month serves as a painful reminder of what’s at stake at the Annual Highway Safety Summit in Linthicum Heights where today, state leaders released last year’s toll in lives lost on Maryland’s roads.
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“In ’22, it’s 563 fatalities,” said Maryland Transportation Secretary Paul J. Wiedefeld, “How tragic. Right?”
It is the exact same number as the previous year, and Motor Vehicle Administrator Chrissy Nizer adds this twist to the latest total.
“The longest stretch we had without a fatality was five days,” said Nizer, “Think about that for a minute. Not even a week went by, a full week, without a fatality.”
Aggressive driving, distracted driving and impaired driving all have contributed to preventable crashes.
The state used the summit to unveil a new crash data dashboard to help better focus on what’s behind the numbers, but there are new challenges every day.
On his first full day on the job as the superintendent of the Maryland State Police, Colonel Roland Butler is looking ahead to the additional training troopers will need as the legalization of marijuana in a few months carries the potential of more people who are high getting behind the wheel.
“Of course, it’s a concern at this point,” said Butler, “Impaired drivers are always going to be our concern. I think the primary focus for years were those operating under the influence of alcohol and now you have alcohol and/or drugs. The cannabis initiative—-that’s going to change things.”
