(February 11, 2008) – Motor vehicle crashes continue to be the leading cause of death in the United States among people age four through 34. Each year, there are more than 100,000 motor vehicle crashes on Maryland's roadways – that’s one every five minutes. These crashes result in an average of more than 50,000 injuries and 630 lives lost every year. To help address this epidemic, the Maryland Department of Transportation’s State Highway Administration (SHA) urges everyone to join the crusade to improve roadway safety throughout Maryland. SHA is offering federally funded grants for projects that support the State’s traffic safety goals.          
          
SHA’s Highway Safety Office, which administers the funds provided by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, encourages State and local government agencies, institutions of higher education, hospitals, associations and other not-for-profit and non-profit groups to develop projects that address the “four Es of highway safety” – Education, Enforcement, Engineering, and Emergency Medical Services. Competitively awarded, more than $10 million in funding is available for the most innovative and creative projects. To qualify for funding for Federal Fiscal Year 2009, October 1, 2008 through September 30, 2009, all grantees are required to attend a mandatory Grant Applicant Seminar (GAS) scheduled for this month. The dates for the seminars are as follows:          
Tuesday, February 19, 2008 – Potential Grantees           
9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.          
Maritime Institute – Conference Center          
Building # 3          
Linthicum Heights, MD          
          
and          
          
Thursday, February 21, 2008 – Safe Routes to School Program          
9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.          
Maritime Institute – Conference Center          
Building # 3          
Linthicum Heights, MD          
          
At the seminar, applicants will:          
• find out about the various types of highway safety funds that are available;          
• learn about traffic statistics and traffic safety priorities;          
• learn about current highway safety programs;          
• discover how their agencies can fit into Maryland’s overall highway safety plan;          
• learn about the MHSO administrative requirements for highway safety grants;           
• learn about eligible costs and reimbursement procedures; and          
• meet and network with MHSO staff and other important members of Maryland’s highway safety community.          
          
All eligible organizations wishing to apply for highway safety funding must attend this seminar. Anticipated projects must be statewide, regional, or “pilot” in nature and specifically correlate to a highway safety program area such as impaired driving, aggressive driving, pedestrian and bicycle safety, motorcycle safety, young and senior driver safety, inattentive and drowsy driving, as well traffic enforcement and emergency medical services. Funding applications are due April 30. The link to the strategic highway safety plan is http://www.sha.state.md.us/safety/oots/strategichwyplan.asp.          
          
Who should attend? Preferably, the attendee should be the person from the agency who will likely be directly responsible for the project. However, any other interested parties are also encouraged to participate.           
          
For more information on this event or to register, please contact Ms. Joyce Kregelka, Office Manager for the MHSO. Ms. Kregelka may be reached at 410-787-4050, toll-free at 1-888-963-0307, or via email at jkregelka@sha.state.md.us.          
          
          
          
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