AASHTO Journal - Maryland MVA Unveils Zero Deaths Website

The Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration’s Highway Safety Office recently launched a new ZeroDeathsMD.gov website, designed to provide easier access to statewide crash data, resources and toolkits to highlight state roadway safety programs and safety themes, as well as general information for law enforcement agencies, grantees, partners and all road users.

[Above graphic via the Maryland DOT]

The MVA – a division of the Maryland Department of Transportation – said this website seeks to help the Maryland Highway Safety Office achieve its “ultimate goal” of eliminating roadway fatalities and serious injuries by 2030.

“Providing highway safety resources in a streamlined, user-friendly format is so important to continuing our mission to reach zero deaths on our roadways,” explained Chrissy Nizer, MVA’s administrator, in a statement.

“We appreciate all of the input that went into redesigning the website and will continue to find new ways to educate and engage all Marylanders,” she said.

In 2020, MVA said 574 fatalities occurred on Maryland roadways, and every year the same factors cause most fatal crashes: impaired driving, distracted driving, aggressive driving and speeding. Other key factors in traffic fatalities include failure to wear a seat belt; failure to look twice for pedestrians, bicyclists and motorcyclists; failure to use a crosswalk; inexperience of young drivers; and the potential decline in health of older drivers.

The MVA highlighted ways to identify and overcome those issues on its new Zero Deaths website, along with resources on how to combat unsafe driving behaviors.

The new website includes crash data displayed in easy-to-read charts, broken out by statewide metrics as well as jurisdictional breakdowns of crash data to assist agencies with identifying areas of concern. The website also is home to the state’s most recent Strategic Highway Safety Plan, which went into effect in early 2021.

“Sharing resources and information about highway safety and the impact of dangerous driving behavior is critical to support our law enforcement partners and the public,” noted Greg Slater, Maryland DOT secretary.

“The new website is an important educational and motivational tool, and sends the message that we all must work together to reach the goal of zero highway deaths,” he added.