The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) reports it has awarded more than $471 million in Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program (MCSAP) grants to help fund initiatives aimed at preventing crashes, fatalities, and injuries involving commercial motor vehicles (CMVs).
“Commercial vehicles are an essential part of our supply chains, our economy, and our way of life—and we must ensure that they are as safe as possible,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a news release. “This funding will help save lives by making our roads safer for commercial vehicle drivers and everyone who shares the road with them.”
The MCSAP is FMCSA’s largest grant program. It supports state, territorial, and local transportation offices and law enforcement agencies in the utilization of more than 12,000 officers to increase education, outreach, and safety activities. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provided for a 61% increase in the amount of funding available through MCSAP grants, giving states and territories more money than ever before to support roadway safety through enhanced driver and vehicle inspections, traffic enforcement, investigations, data collection, and public education and awareness.
The goal of the MCSAP is to reduce CMV-involved crashes, fatalities, and injuries through consistent, uniform, and effective CMV safety programs that support innovative commercial driver training, safety inspections, and enhanced compliance and enforcement initiatives.
“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,” said Robin Hutcheson, FMCSA administrator. “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.”
Administrator Hutcheson and other leaders from FMCSA met with MCSAP grant recipients last month to further align efforts and best maximize the use of grant funding.
To be eligible for the grants, a state or territory must have an FMCSA-approved Commercial Vehicle Safety Plan (CVSP). FMCSA partners with grantees to support consistent, uniform, and effective CMV safety programs.
All states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and U.S. territories receive funding annually through MCSAP grants. A revised MCSAP formula issued in 2020 promotes stability in the size of the awards to ensure that no state’s percentage of MCSAP funding will decrease by more than 3%, or increase by more than 5%, each year.