The U.S. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) recently awarded more than $471 million in Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program (MCSAP) grants to initiatives that prevent crashes, fatalities, and injuries involving commercial motor vehicles (CMV).
The program supports state, territorial, and local transportation offices and law enforcement agencies increased education, outreach, and safety activities. Safety programs support enhanced driver and vehicle safety inspections, traffic enforcement, innovative commercial driver training, investigations, data collection, public education and awareness, and enhanced compliance and enforcement initiatives.
The states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. territories receive funding annually using a formula. The formula was revised in 2020 to ensure that no state’s percentage can decrease by more than 3 percent, or increase by more than 5 percent, annually.
A state or territory must have an FMCSA-approved Commercial Vehicle Safety Plan to be eligible for the grants.
“These grants align with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Roadway Safety Strategy and ensure we are all working towards the same goal: zero fatalities on our roadways,” FMCSA Administrator Robin Hutcheson said. “FMCSA’s core mission is safety, and we are committed to working with our state and territorial partners to enhance the safety of our roadways.”