GLEN BURNIE, Md — Maryland recorded 16 traffic fatalities in a single week — the second time this year the state has hit that grim milestone — prompting the Maryland Department of Transportation and Maryland State Police to urge drivers to exercise greater caution on the road.
Twelve of the 16 deaths occurred over the weekend.
"Having 16 fatalities in a week, as you have seen by the press releases we've put out over the summer, is a pretty shocking number; it's not a number that we are used to seeing, and it's certainly not one that we like to see," Tim Kerns said.
As of Aug. 31, 279 people have died on Maryland roadways this year. While that figure is lower than the 314 deaths recorded at the same point last year, Kerns said the number remains unacceptably high.
Speeding and impaired driving are each factors in roughly one-third of the state's traffic fatalities, according to Kerns. The department recently launched a "Slow the Fast Down" campaign in response.
"We just started a Slow the Fast Down campaign because speeding is involved in about a third of our fatalities across the state; impaired driving is involved with another third of fatalities across the state," Kerns said.
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Kerns said excessive speeds are a persistent problem on Maryland roads.
"We will have reports regularly of people exceeding 90 or 100 miles per hour on our interstates or even our state-maintained roadways," Kerns said.
Speed, however, is not the only contributing factor. Kerns said even drivers traveling within the speed limit can find themselves in dangerous situations due to a range of road conditions.
The surge in fatalities comes as students across Maryland return to school, adding urgency to the department's call for distraction-free driving.
"We want to make sure that everybody is focused and their attention is on the road, especially as you said now that school is back in session," Kerns said.
The department said road safety remains a top priority.
"Our goal every day is to make sure that everybody, when they leave home in the morning, they get back home at night," Kerns said.
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