Maryland transportation officials tell drivers to slow down after deadly week

Maryland officials are urging drivers to slow down after the state reported five people were killed on Maryland roads within a week.

Fatal crash data shows that those deadly crashes happened between July 20 and July 26.

The state's fatal crash dashboard reports at least 225 deaths on Maryland roads so far this year. Around this same time last year, officials reported 272 deaths.

"July last year was our most deadly month on the roadway," said Chrissy Nizer, the state's Motor Vehicle Administrator.

Online data shows at least 35 deaths occurred in July 2026. State data recorded 55 deaths on Maryland roads in July 2025.

During July, the Maryland Department of Transportation recorded at least four deadly crashes in Baltimore City, four in Baltimore County, two in Anne Arundel County and one in Howard County.

"Slow the Fast Down"

Nizer said although this year's numbers are down, they're not low enough.

"We've seen two years of reductions of deaths on our roadways, and that certainly is progress, but we're not going to be satisfied until we reach zero fatalities," she said.

State leaders hope to save lives through their recent campaign "Slow the Fast Down," especially during the summer travel season.

"We do know that in terms of the crashes we've seen is that speed is really a significant component that leads to serious injury as well as fatality," Nizer said.

The campaign urges drivers to obey the speed limit, avoid distractions and aggressive driving, as well as share the road with pedestrians, bicyclists and motorcyclists.

"There's a lot of negligence"

Baltimore drivers say navigating Maryland roads isn't always easy.

"I'd say very chaotic," driver Nathan Long said.

"You kind of just have to like drive with the knowledge that nobody is actually watching what they're doing," said driver Kirstin Llaguno.

Their concerns grow after recent fatal deaths in Maryland last week. Long said he's already taken steps to keep himself safe behind the wheel.

"We got a dashcam on our vehicle,"  he said. "I've already captured probably at least like five clips of people cutting us off."