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On Wednesday, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey announced that she has awarded more than $7.6 million to various agencies to enhance highway safety in Alabama and reduce the number of reckless drivers on the road.

These grants provided to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) and the state’s traffic safety regions covers all 67 counties in the state and will help fund major highway safety campaigns, including “Click It or Ticket” and “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over.” The funds also enable law enforcement agencies to increase traffic patrols in areas with high crash rates and other traffic violations.

As a part of this grant, the Southeast Alabama Regional Highway Safety Office will receive $1.5 million. This safety office serves Pike County in addition to Autauga, Barbour, Bullock, Butler, Coffee, Covington, Crenshaw, Dale, Geneva, Henry, Houston, Lowndes, Montgomery and Russell Counties. The office is located on the campus of Enterprise State Community College in Enterprise.

Additionally, the Franklin County Commission for the North, Central and East Central Regional Highway Safety offices will receive $3.5 million, the Mobile County Commission for the Southwest Regional Highway Safety Office will receive $1.36 million and ALEA will receive $1.6 million.

Part of the funds going to ALEA will be used for the Drug Recognition Expert Program, which trains officers, deputies and troopers to determine if a person suspected of impairment is under the influence of drugs or drugs other than alcohol, the combined influence of alcohol and other drugs or is suffering from an injury or illness that produces similar signs of alcohol or drug impairment.

The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA) will administer the grants, which are funded to the state by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

“ADECA supports Governor Ivey in her efforts to reduce traffic crashes and make our roads safer,” said ADECA Director Kenneth Boswell. “Like Governor Ivey, we are grateful for the dedication of our law enforcement agencies in Alabama who work hard to protect their communities.”