The Wisconsin Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Safety has been awarded a $20,000 grant to help combat drugged driving.
The funds will provide Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement training to 384 law enforcement officers across the state.
Wisconsin is one of five states to receive an award from the national Governors Highway Safety Association and Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility.
According to the GHSA, in 2015, drugs were present in 43 percent of the fatally-injured drivers with known test results in the U.S. – appearing more frequently than alcohol. “Thanks to on-going public education and law enforcement efforts, we’re making progress when it comes to preventing alcohol-impaired driving, but Wisconsin and many states are seeing growing problems with drugged-driving especially due to heroin and other opiates” said David Pabst, Director of WisDOT’s Bureau of Transportation Safety. “This award will provide specialized training to even more Wisconsin law enforcement officers to help them better recognize and deter these dangerous driving behaviors.”
Wisconsin already has 2,630 are currently ARIDE certified officers.
