 |
| Wilson Announces $2.75 Million for NM |
September 16, 2004 |
| |
| Reducing Crashes Caused by Alcohol
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Heather Wilson today announced $2.75 million for New Mexico to help reduce alcohol-related crashes as a national test case for a new program.
The funds, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, can support improvements, such as highly visible enforcement, publicity, courts and prosecutors.
“This is an important commitment to support our state’s law enforcement as they work to save lives,” Wilson said.
According to the NHTSA, alcohol-related crashes in the United States were successfully reduced from 26,000 in 1982 to 17,300 in 1994, but the statistics leveled throughout the 1990s and remain at 17,401 in 2003.
The Comprehensive Impaired Driving Program can include efforts at prevention and deterrence, treatment and rehabilitation, assessment of results, and planning and coordination of the program. The state of New Mexico would contribute $600,000 to the effort, bringing the total to $3.35 million, and have flexibility to determine how to best achieve those objectives within agreement guidelines. New Mexico was selected for the program through a competitive application process.
The project is an NHTSA effort to study the results of a statewide, comprehensive effort to reduce traffic fatalities from alcohol for use in national systemic improvements.
-END- |
|
|
|