Georgia Governor’s Office of Highway Safety Teams Up With Bicycling Advocacy Organizations Through ‘Share the Road’ Tag Grant
Thanks to the popularity of Georgia’s “Share the Road” specialty license plates, the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety (GOHS) is proud to once again support statewide and local bicycle advocates in reducing bicycle-related injuries and fatalities in Georgia. GOHS is renewing a grant for Georgia Bikes, your statewide bicycling advocacy organization. Our friends at the Savannah Bicycle Campaign will also receive a portion of the grant award. Recipient organizations will use grant funds to coordinate a statewide media campaign encouraging road sharing and safe cycling behaviors and to distribute funds to county governments for the installation of “Share the Road” signage and other street markings. Funds will also be distributed to local advocacy organizations through our Seed Grants program.
With increasing numbers of cyclists on Georgia’s roads, as recreational riders and as commuters, the Department of Driver Services and the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety recognize the urgent need to reduce bicycle injuries and fatalities in the state. To accomplish this goal, these agencies made available a “Share the Road” specialty license plate in 2006. Through the “Share the Road” tag grant, fees collected from these plates will fund: increased awareness of bicycles on the road; programs that improve safety through bicyclist/motorist educational and awareness programs; public safety media campaigns; bicycle safety training and workshops; law enforcement programs; local bicycle advisory committee seed grants; and the purchase and installation of bicycle signage.
While local bicycle safety campaigns have been underway in some communities throughout the state, there has never been a well-funded, coordinated effort to address driver and cyclist education. This grant will connect existing local campaigns and increase their effectiveness by spreading a cohesive, coherent message to improve bicycle safety across Georgia.
“Thanks to the GOHS “Share the Road” tag grant,” says Georgia Bikes’ Executive Director Brent Buice, “bicycling advocates around the state now have a meaningful opportunity to increase safety for all of our road’s users and, hopefully, positively impact the transportation culture of our state.”