As fatalities for commercial motor vehicle (CMV) crashes rise, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is taking action. FMCSA is 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.”
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.
In preliminary 2021 data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NTHSA), there was a 13% increase in fatalities involving at least one large truck from 2020. Earlier this year, DOT announced the National Roadway Safety Strategy (NRSS) to address traffic fatalities and serious injuries by adopting the “safe system” approach, which focuses on safer roads, safer people, safer vehicles, safer speeds, and better post-crash care. These grants aim to help DOT implement the NRSS.
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"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.”
