Mississippi honored for work in reducing traffic fatalities

Special to The Mississippi Link

JACKSON – Every year the Mississippi Department of Public Safety (MDPS) and Mississippi Highway Patrol sets a lofty goal, that of zero fatalities on Mississippi’s interstates and highways. While that goal is yet to be realized, the state is making strides towards that achievement and garnered some national attention for their efforts last month.

Jon Kalahar, Public Affairs Director for MDPS said the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) announced that Mississippi was the 2011 winner of this prestigious highway safety award at their annual meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina.

AAMVA Region II President and Commissioner of the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles, Mike Robertson presented the award to Major Jason Jennings representing the Mississippi Department of Public Safety at the North Carolina State Banquet.

The recognition of Mississippi for this award shows its outstanding performance in reducing highway traffic fatalities within the region, composed of 14 Southern states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Fatalities on Mississippi roadways have been reduced each year since 2005. In 2005, 931 people lost their lives in automobile crashes. Last year, that number was reduced to 641 fatalities

“While we have not reached the goal we set for ourselves, this proves we are making strides in the right direction. I am proud of what we have accomplished, but we will keep working to reduce deaths until there are none,” said Commissioner Albert Santa Cruz, Mississippi Department of Public Safety.

“This has been a total team effort for this department and the Mississippi Highway Patrol. We are getting our message of zero tolerance for drinking and driving across as well as the fact that seatbelt violators will be ticketed. More people are listening and more lives are being saved,” said Colonel Donnell Berry, Director of the Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol.

The American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA), composed of officials from state and provincial motor vehicle and state law enforcement agencies throughout the United State and Canada, places high emphasis on state and provincial programs designed to reduce highway traffic fatalities.

Each year AAMVA Region II presents a highway safety award to the member jurisdiction that had the greatest average reduction in highway traffic death rate per 100 million highway miles driven for the past five reporting period.