year in the number of highway fatalities which have occurred on
our highways in Maryland. As of the end of last week, 216 persons
had been killed in motor vehicle accidents in our State. This is
39 fewer than were killed for a corresponding period of 1963. Of course
this is far too many, and we cannot relax our efforts so long as highway
accidents continue to take such heavy toll in deaths and in injuries.
One of the first measures for accident prevention which I recom-
mended, and which the General Assembly approved after I became
Governor of this State, was the initiation of the point system for
penalizing careless drivers of motor vehicles. This system, in effect
since 1960, is administered by our Department of Motor Vehicles. It
is not possible to ascertain precisely just what effect this system has
had, but we are all sure that it has served to reduce the number
of accidents on our highways.
In 1961, we inaugurated a system, our first permanent license re-
newal program in Maryland. Under it, operators are required to renew
their licenses every two years. Last year, we established a system of
driver rehabilitation. On June 23, 1963, a group of violators attended
the first driver rehabilitation clinic at the Department of Motor Ve-
hicles. The purpose of the program is to rehabilitate the motorists
who have lost their license, or are in danger of losing them, and to
return them to the roads as safe, law-abiding citizens. The program
is now statewide in scope, and to date more than 10, 500 students
have been graduated.
Last year, our Department was awarded top national honors by the
American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, of which this
conference is a part, for its driver licensing program by earning 100
per cent in the 1962 inventory of traffic safety activities by the National
Safety Conference.
I cite these efforts which we have been making in Maryland to im-
prove our system of motor vehicle administration to indicate that we
are keenly conscious of our heavy responsibilities in this area. I am
sure that the other states and the Canadian provinces which are
represented here at this meeting are just as conscious of these obligations
as we are.
Let me conclude by saying once more that it is a great pleasure
to me to be with you here this evening and that the State of Maryland
is highly honored to have you with us as our guests at this annual
meeting of your conference. I sincerely hope that each of you, through
the exchange of ideas, has gained some knowledge that will assist
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