U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan, D-N.C., announced a $3.7 million Department of Transportation grant for the North Carolina Governor’s Highway Safety Program to implement and enforce programs that combat impaired driving.
“It is unacceptable that thousands of North Carolinians are injured or killed each year by drunk drivers. I’m pleased to announce this grant that will help make North Carolina’s roads safer for our children, our families and our loved ones,” Hagan said.
The North Carolina Governor’s Highway Safety Program funds or supplements many local law enforcement initiatives, including the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office Aggressive Criminal Enforcement (ACE) Team and two DWI enforcement deputies.
“We rely very heavily on the Governor’s Highway Safety Program,” Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Charlie Miller said.
In 2011, more than 8,500 people in North Carolina were injured in alcohol-impaired driving crashes. Of those, 392 of those crashes were fatal.
Awarded through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Alcohol Impaired Driving Countermeasures Incentive Grant Program, the funding will allow the Governor’s Highway Safety Program to implement and enforce specific programs to prevent or deter impaired driving.
