Kay Ivey wants to see Alabamians become safer drivers
Gov. Kay Ivey wants to see Alabamians become safer drivers. That’s why she’s awarded a $2.8 million grant to the University of Alabama and Auburn University, who are putting their gridiron rivalries aside to team up to help Alabamians become safer drivers. The two universities, along with the Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH), are gathering traffic safety data and converting it into messages to encourage Alabama drivers to use seat belts and child restraint seats, do not drink and drive or drive while distracted and obey traffic safety laws. “Regardless of your allegiance, when two of our larger universities work collaboratively to save lives and prevent injuries on our highways, our entire state wins,” Ivey said. “I am very grateful for the efforts of these universities along with the Department of Public Health to bring greater awareness to traffic safety. My administration remains committed to keeping drivers safe on our roadways, and I am proud to offer my support to this project.” The University of Alabama’s Center for Advanced Public Safety provides data to determine where crashes are occurring and the causes. The information, much of it collected by ADPH, also examines factors such as seat belt use, distracted driving and sobriety. Law enforcement agencies use that information to increase patrols and monitor traffic in high-crash zones. Auburn University’s Media Production Group produces outreach and awareness campaigns geared toward safe driving. Many of those promotions are tied to national highway safety campaigns like “Click it or Ticket” seatbelt enforcement or “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” impairment crackdown and are conducted around major holidays, like Labor Day, when more people are likely to be travelling. The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA) is administering the grants from funds made available to the state by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. “These efforts along with increased law enforcement presence send a clear signal that dangerous drivers are not tolerated on Alabama’s roads,” ADECA Director Kenneth Boswell. “ADECA is pleased to join Gov. Ivey in supporting the efforts of these institutions to increase highway safety.” Gov. Ivey notified Cynthia Hope, UA director of sponsored programs, John M. Mason, AU vice president for Research and Economic Development and Dr. Scott Harris, state Health Officer, that the grants had been approved.
Robert Bentley awards $3.7 million to improve Labor Day, holiday highway safety
Gov. Robert Bentley on Thursday awarded nearly $3.7 million to help keep Alabama roads safe during the upcoming Labor Day weekend and other major traveling holidays during the next year. Funds will be used by law enforcement agencies throughout the state to maintain a presence on highways including setting up checkpoints, increasing patrols on heavily traveled roads, and providing traffic monitoring. “I am proud to award these funds to increase safety on all of Alabama’s more than 100,000 miles of roadways,” Gov. Bentley said. “Highway safety is a very important part of our overall efforts to increase public safety. By increasing the number of troopers and police on the roads, we look to increase driver awareness and adherence to our traffic safety laws.” Bentley awarded $1.2 million to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency to keep more troopers on the road during heavy traffic times. The remaining funds will be distributed among the four traffic safety offices in the state, which allocate funds to local police and sheriff’s departments for use in their jurisdictions. Allocations to each office are as follows: North central region: $686,577 East central region: $669,581 Southwest region: $604,631 Southeast region: $536,127 The funds also help support major traffic safety campaigns like “Click it or Ticket” and “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over.” The Drive Sober campaign is now in full swing through Labor Day, with the aim of reducing highway injuries and deaths caused by impaired driving due to drugs or alcohol, and distracted driving. Funds were made available to the state from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and are being administered by the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA). “This program puts the funds into the hands of state and local law enforcement agencies who know exactly where patrols and police presence need to be,” ADECA Director Jim Byard Jr. said. “ADECA is pleased to partner with law enforcement across our state in this effort to reduce deaths and injuries on our state’s roads.”
