$463M in Grants Awarded By FMCSA for CMV Safety
Grants include funding for investigations of motor carriers in response to safety concerns, safety inspections of trucks and buses and audits of new trucking and bus companies.
The FMCSA is looking to take action, considering fatalities for commercial motor vehicles are on the rise. They are awarding more than $463 million in grants to states to reduce CMV-involved crashes, fatalities, and injuries through what the agency calls “uniform, equitable, and effective CMV safety programs.”
MCSAP Grant Program
The Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program (MCSAP) grant program includes funding to state and local law enforcement and other government agencies for safety inspections of trucks and buses, investigations of motor carriers in response to safety concerns, and audits of new trucking and bus companies.
There was a near 13% increase in fatalities involving at minimum one large truck from 2020 according to preliminary data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NTHSA). The Department of Transportation announced earlier this year, the National Roadway Safety Strategy (NRSS), which was established to address traffic fatalities and serious injuries by adopting the “safe system approach”. This approach focuses on safer roads, safer people, safer vehicles, safer speeds and better post-accident care. These grants will assist the DOT in implementing the NRSS.
Bipartisan Resources to the Rescue
“We are using resources available through the president’s bipartisan infrastructure law to award more funding than ever before—a 52% increase from last year—to help prevent truck and bus crashes in every state and territory,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement. “These grants will help improve the safety of our trucks and buses and save lives on our nation’s roadways.”
All 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. territories of American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands will receive federal funds.
“FMCSA’s core mission is safety, and our work supports the U.S. Department of Transportation’s comprehensive National Roadway Safety Strategy working towards zero fatalities on our roadways,” said FMCSA Deputy Administrator Robin Hutcheson. “MCSAP grant funding is an important tool to help reduce large truck crashes by supporting critical CMV safety programs in every state.”
Related Articles: