WASHINGTON, DC -- In an effort to reduce drinking and driving related crashes, injuries, and fatalities through enforcement and education initiatives, U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) today announced Rhode Island will receive a $972,000 federal grant to boost anti-drunk driving enforcement campaigns and highway safety activities. The grant, which is administered by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA), may be used to implement and enforce specific programs, such as setting up road blocks, increasing patrols, and implementing other countermeasures to prevent and deter drunk driving.

"Cracking down on drunk driving will literally make our streets safer. Our law enforcement officers make over 2,800 drunk driving arrests throughout the state each year. They are doing everything they can to enforce the law, but we also need to do more to discourage drunk drivers from getting behind the wheel. This federal funding will provide law enforcement with additional support and resources to curb drunk driving on Rhode Island's roads," said Reed, a member of the Appropriations Committee.

In 2009, 34 people in Rhode Island were killed in alcohol-related road fatalities, an increase of 48% over the previous year, when 23 Rhode Islanders were killed in drunk driving related crashes, according to a recent NHTSA report. Overall, 83 people throughout the state were killed in traffic related incidents in 2009.

Rhode Island had the third highest percentage increase in drunk-driving fatalities in the nation, behind only South Dakota and Vermont. Nationally, the number of alcohol-impaired road fatalities declined by 7.4%.

An NHTSA study also found that 8 percent of American drivers nationwide admitted to drinking and driving at least once in the past year.