The 2026 Roadwise Award Nomination

Driving while impaired is a legitimate public safety concern. Preventing cannabis impaired driving is essential to protecting drivers, passengers, pedestrians, and communities. Cannabis can affect attention, reaction time, coordination, and judgment, but assessing impairment presents challenges that differ from alcohol. The presence or concentration of THC does not provide the same straightforward measure of impairment as blood alcohol concentration, and individual responses can vary based on dose, method of consumption, tolerance, and other factors. Effective roadway safety policies must distinguish between cannabis use and actual impairment while protecting responsible medical cannabis patients from inappropriate penalties.

The Roadwise Award recognizes education campaigns, professional training, researchbased programs, technologies, and public service initiatives that improve understanding of cannabis impairment and help prevent impaired driving. It celebrates efforts that strengthen impairment recognition, inform responsible decision-making, promote transportation alternatives, and provide law enforcement, employers, safety professionals, and consumers with practical tools grounded in evidence. These initiatives demonstrate that preventing impaired driving requires more than warnings and enforcement. It also requires credible education, improved assessment methods, and opportunities for people to understand risks before making decisions that affect roadway safety.

The 2026 nominees, Chesapeake Region Safety Council (CRSC) and the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), demonstrate complementary approaches to cannabis-impaired driving prevention. CRSC's Impairment Education and Recognition training brings cannabis consumers, law enforcement, employers, and safety professionals together to observe assessments and better understand the distinction between cannabis consumption and observable impairment. CDOT combines research, public awareness campaigns, educational resources, and cannabis industry outreach to help people recognize driving risks and plan safer transportation. Together, their work demonstrates how evidence-based education, professional training, and prevention can advance roadway safety while supporting fair policies that respect medical cannabis patients and responsible consumers.

Learn more about the Roadwise Award and the nominees' role in Cannabis Safety.

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