MONTGOMERY—Gov. Robert Bentley has awarded grants totaling $914,700 for an awareness campaign and educational programs that aim to increase safety on Alabama’s highways.
The programs will focus on the dangers of drunken driving and the importance of using seat belts and properly restraining children when they are in a vehicle.
“We want Alabama’s roads to be as safe as possible,” Bentley said. “These educational programs compliment the hard work of our law enforcement officers to make the state’s highways safer.”
A $500,000 grant to the Alabama Development Office is funding a statewide multimedia campaign to curb drunken driving. The campaign is using a variety of advertising mediums including television, radio, Internet, newspaper and billboard. The campaign coincides with the national Over the Limit, Under Arrest law enforcement campaign that runs through Labor Day weekend and includes increased patrols targeting DUI offenders.
The North Alabama Highway Safety Office, located at Northwest Shoals Community College, is using a $214,700 grant to train child passenger safety technicians in each of the state’s nine Community Traffic Safety Program regions. The technicians participate in a variety of activities to teach parents and caregivers the proper use of child restraint systems and safety belts to protect their children in vehicles.
A $200,000 grant will enable the Alabama Department of Public Health to produce educational materials about the proper use of seat belts and child restraints and to conduct observational surveys to measure compliance with safety restraint laws.
The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs is administering the grants from funds made available by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the state Traffic Safety Trust Fund. The trust fund receives fines paid by individuals found guilty of driving without a license or with a suspended or revoked license. The fund is used for traffic safety purposes.
Bentley informed Greg Canfield, director of ADO, and Dr. Humphrey Lee, president of Northwest Shoals, and Dr. Don Williamson, state health officer, that the grants had been approved.
Contact: Mike Presley, Larry Childers