Dear Friends,  
 
     I am proud to share with you the newsletter from AAA, detailing a bill I fought to see get enacted for three years. I introduced this bill after hearing many tragic stories of families torn apart by drugged driving fatalities and their feelings of helplessness as they watched when the judge could only give the repeat offender a maximum of three years.
 
 
"HB 635/Chapter 168 - Homicide by Motor Vehicle or Vessel While Impaired by Controlled Dangerous Substance - Penalties, which AAA Mid-Atlantic supported, increases the maximum jail time for vehicular homicide or homicide by vessel while impaired by a controlled dangerous substance (CDS), from three to five years. The bill also increases from five to ten years, the maximum jail time for those previously convicted of vehicular homicide or homicide by vessel while impaired by CDS, or several other serious offenses. 
"Tragically, drugged driving fatalities are becoming more and more prevalent on our roadways, even eclipsing alcohol-related fatalities," stated Ragina Cooper Averella, Public and Government Affairs Manager for AAA Mid-Atlantic. 
The Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) and the Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility Study released stats this spring, showing that for the first time, 43 percent of drivers tested in fatal crashes in 2015 had used a legal or illegal drug, compared to 37 percent who tested above the legal limit for alcohol." American Automobile Association"
 
      
     I will continue my fight this coming session to address the dangers of impaired drivers on our roadways in an effort to keep us all just a little safer while driving. As always, please feel free to share your thoughts or comments with me at [email protected]. 
 
  Sincerely,
Geraldine Valentino-Smith
Delegate Geraldine Valentino-Smith
6 Bladen Street Room 427
Annapolis, MD 21401
301-858-3101/410-841-3101

By Authority of Friends For Geraldine Valentino-Smith, Elizabeth Ryan, Treasurer