MOTOR VEHICLE ADMINISTRATION AND PARTNERS TO SPOTLIGHT MARYLAND’S EXPANDED IGNITION INTERLOCK LAW (NOAH’S LAW)

CONTACT: 
Motor Vehicle Administration 
Office of Media Communications 
mvamedia@mdot.maryland.gov

**MEDIA ADVISORY**

WHAT:
The Maryland Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Administration will join highway safety advocates, including the Leotta Family, to announce the expansion of the Ignition Interlock Law that will now require all DUI offenders to participate in the Ignition Interlock System Program. HB 105 (CH 715), which was signed into law by Governor Wes Moore, will go into effect October 1, 2024, and close the loophole within the original law. The Drunk Driving Reduction Act of 2016, known as Noah's Law, was passed after Montgomery County Police Officer Noah Leotta was killed in the line of duty by a drunk driver.

WHEN:
Monday, September 30, 2024
10:00 a.m.      

WHERE:
Marian Fryer Town Plaza
2424 Reedie Drive
Wheaton, MD 20902

WHO:
Chrissy Nizer, Motor Vehicle Administrator and Governor Moore's Highway             Safety Representative
Senator Jeff Waldstreicher, District 18, Judicial Proceedings Committee (Vice Chair)
Senator Will Smith, District 20, Judicial Proceedings Committee (Chair)
Rich Leotta, Father of Officer Noah Leotta
Stacey D. Stewart, CEO, MADD
Kurt Erickson, President, Washington Regional Alcohol Program (WRAP)
**Vehicle equipped with an ignition interlock device will be available on site for demonstration purposes**

WHY:
Impaired driving is 100% preventable. However, over the past five years in Maryland, nearly 800 people have been killed and 15,000 have been injured in crashes involving an impaired driver. According to MADD, in 2023 in Maryland, ignition interlocks prevented more than 76,800 drinking and driving attempts (.02 BAC+), including preventing more than 8,100 drunk driving attempts (.08 BAC+).

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