The National Alliance to Stop Impaired Driving (NASID) released this virtual tool in March 2022 to eliminate every form of impaired driving. It is a real-time database that organizes the impaired driving laws and confusing cannabis across the United States. The interactive map is a user-friendly digital software application that helps to identify what drivers can and should not do.
The map’s essence is to empower users to navigate DUI and cannabis-law labyrinths for free. The NASID director, in a statement, said that traffic safety advocates, among others, had to sort through random databases to understand these laws. However, they can now access a snapshot of the complex DUI and cannabis laws in seconds by clicking a button.
What Is the Interactive Map All About?
An interactive map is a user-friendly online mapping tool that allows one to embed a map directly into web pages. Companies often seek simple but detailed maps to help clients find their address and the physical map. The interactive map keeps visitors engaged, demonstrating relevant information concerning their destination.
Customized interactive maps are 100 percent accurate and reflect a company’s brand and information relevant to the brand’s message. Interactive maps contain information that users can switch on and off, depending on their points of interest. These points of interest can show pictures, links, and videos about the particular area, which is even more effective.
Interactive maps contain customizable reference points and are completely branded in a company’s colors. Creators of interactive maps design them with the ability to demonstrate future developments and update changes that could affect users.
Features of the Interactive Map
The interactive map uses the Global Information System (GIS) to pinpoint data on a map. It works in a system of layers such that the different geographical information levels are arranged on top of each other. Interactive maps have the advantage over static maps in that they have many features that simplify complex data, including:
- The ability to create information layers that users can view or hide at the click of a button.
- Zoom functions with which users can focus on a region’s details or obtain a quick overview of a larger area.
- Ability to quickly update data and which users can view.
- Text boxes that appear when users click on them, giving a quick description or summary of location.
- Ability to link points on the map to external supporting documents such as graphs, images, and videos.
What Is the Purpose of the Interactive Map?
The map’s creators designed it to address a problem caused by the evolving laws concerning cannabis and impaired driving. “Drug charges can disrupt your personal life, your employment, your education, and even your housing arrangements,” says Summerville Drug Lawyer, Chad Shelton. Meanwhile, these laws vary by state and are constantly changing daily, making it hard for entities and individuals to stay atop the legal landscape.
The creators of the interactive map organized it by state, adding a brief overview of state-specific laws. It also includes additional links to more detailed information, which the creators will update regularly. These include statutes, judicial decisions, enacted bills, rules, websites, and other sources of information concerning laws for cannabis use and driving under the influence.
Conclusion: How Has the Interactive Map Influenced Death Rates?
Jonathan Adkins, the NASID board chair, expresses how important and mission-critical the map is to help entities remove substance-impaired drivers from roads. The map came at a critical time when needed, particularly considering the increasing fatality rates. 2020 recorded an alarming increase in traffic death rates, which was the highest since 2007, despite the lockdown.
The NASID particularly quoted federal statistics of the death rates at 11,654 people killed in preventable accidents caused by drunk driving. The statistics for 2020 were 14 percent higher than those recorded in 2019, according to the National Alliance safety group.