“Walk Smart” Campaign Earns National Award

OCEAN CITY, MD –: The Ocean City Police Department recently accepted an award on behalf of the entire Ocean City Pedestrian Safety Committee at the Governors Highway Safety Association’s (GHSA) Annual Meeting. GHSA awarded the popular “Walk Smart” Campaign with the Peter K. O’Rourke Special Achievement Award, a nationwide award which recognizes notable achievements in the field of highway safety. The Peter K. O’Rourke Special Achievement Award is named after the past GHSA chairman and highway safety leader who served to make highways safer through many roles.

The “Walk Smart Campaign” began in the winter of 2013 after the Ocean City area experienced a significant increase in pedestrian collisions in 2012. Since the campaign went into effect, there has been no fatalities as a result of a pedestrian collision. Two years later, the Pedestrian Safety Committee continues to see dramatic decreases in the number of pedestrian collisions and has experienced 50 percent less year-to-date in 2015 than in 2014.

In addition to the Ocean City Police Department and Town of Ocean City, the Pedestrian Safety Committee is comprised of the Maryland State Highway Administration, Maryland Highway Safety Office and a number of private businesses in the Ocean City Community. Without the support from partnering agencies, the “Walk Smart” campaign would not be possible.