The Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) is joining forces with federal, state and private-sector partners to encourage people who drink alcohol or other impairing substances to make the safer choice and leave the driving to someone who is sober.
The initiative comes after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently announced the findings of a new study of trauma center data that examined the presence of alcohol and drug use in serious and fatal crashes involving drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians.
According to the new NHTSA study, 56 per cent of seriously or fatally injured road users tested positive for alcohol or some type of impairing substance, with cannabis being the most prevalent.
To combat the problem NHTSA highlighted the coordinated efforts taking place nationwide to combat alcohol- and drug-impaired driving during this holiday season.
As part of those efforts, GHSA has partnered with Lyft and the Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility to provide grants to State Highway Safety Offices (SHSOs) to support alternative transportation options for alcohol- and drug-impaired revelers.
“The uptick in multi-substance impaired driving is not only troubling, but also frustrating because it is preventable,” said GHSA Executive Director Jonathan Adkins. “That’s why GHSA remains committed to working with our state and organizational partners to support initiatives that prevent alcohol- and drug-impaired driving.”
For the past eight years, GHSA and Responsibility.org have funded state impaired driving grant programs for proven and innovative countermeasures to enhance the identification and treatment of alcohol- and drug-impaired drivers.
