State Hopes To Reduce Number Of Deadly Crashes

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- It was a bad year for Maryland drivers. Tuesday, WJZ got a look at the numbers that show a sharp increase in the numbers of roadway deaths.

George Solis has more on the state's plan of attack to put an end to it.

Zero is the only number the state will settle for when it comes to roadway deaths. Unfortunately, they have their work cut out for them.

Deadly and unacceptable. Tuesday, Maryland's top roadway safety experts tell WJZ these are the words that best define a statewide bad year on the road.

"These are real people, family members. Moms and dads, sons and daughters, members of our community," said an official.

People like transportation employee Michael Pearce, who was hit and killed on the side of I-95, gone as part of a troubling part of fatal crashes nationwide. Five hundred and twenty people died in the state last year---77 more than in 2014.

"Those numbers going up are just a dagger to my heart sometimes," said Montgomery County police officer Tom Didone.

For Didone, the state's mission to bring the number down to zero is personal.

"We had five kids in a car by an inexperienced driver, driving at night down a country road. The driver decided he was going to speed," he said.

His 15-year-old son was in the car and died in the crash. He wasn't wearing a seatbelt.

"We have to do better," Didone said.

The staggering number of deaths on the road has forced state officials to come up with a new plan to make sure this doesn't happen again. It's called the Strategic Highway Safety Plan, a five year effort to brainstorm ideas to end deadly crashes.

It also borrows from things already in play like the 4 Es of highway safety: engineering, education, enforcement and EMS services.

The state has also set nearly $2 billion to start fixing and improving roads across the state.

All the planning in the world does little good if drivers aren't doing their part. (That means avoiding distracted driving.) The key is to drive defensively and stay alert.

Last year, Maryland also saw increases in the number of teen and bike deaths on the road.