The North Carolina Governor’s Highway Safety Program recently awarded more than $18 million in grants to support 96 local and state transportation safety initiatives.
Rural counties, including those taking part in the Hometown Strong Initiative, received approximately $1.6 million of the total.
Initiatives target key traffic safety areas such as teen and senior drivers, pedestrians and cyclists, occupant protection, motorcyclists, speeding, and impaired driving.
Grant recipients include state departments, nonprofit organizations, courts, and local and state law enforcement agencies.
Many of the initiatives have yet to launch. Grant recipients, in those instances, are required to provide a portion of the project costs and continue the program after the funding ends.
“Reducing the number of traffic deaths and serious injuries is a top priority, and our agency partners are instrumental in working toward that goal,” Mark Ezzell, program director, said.
Recipients include:
The Department of Health and Human Services received $580,460 for Blood Alcohol Testing Units that enable local law enforcement agencies to conduct DWI checking stations.
The state Highway Patrol received $300,000 to strategically place troopers in the top 25 counties for impaired driving fatalities.
BikeWalkNC received $144,000 to expand its Bike Friendly Driver Program.
The Governor’s Highway Safety Program will administer community-based grants through September 2022.