FMCSA provides $80M in grants for commercial motor vehicle safety

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration awarded nearly $80 million in grants to states and educational institutions to enhance commercial motor vehicle safety, the agency announced this week.

According to the FMCSA, the money will be divided into three areas:

• $45 million in high-priority grants to enhance states’ commercial motor vehicle safety efforts, as well as advance technology capabilities within states.
• $32.7 million in commercial driver’s license program implementation grants to enhance efforts by states to improve the national CDL program.
• $2 million in commercial motor vehicle operator safety training grants to 20 educational institutions to help train military veterans for jobs as commercial bus and truck drivers.

“These awards of nearly $80 million represent the highest funding level for these critical safety grants to enhance commercial motor vehicle and road safety,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao said in a news release.

FMCSA’s acting Administrator Jim Mullen said the grants show a commitment to increasing highway safety.

“This critical funding will support FMCSA’s state and local safety partners and illustrates the Trump administration’s commitment to reducing crashes and improving safety on America’s roadways,” he said. “These funds will go directly to where they are needed the most – our states, local communities, and educational institutions.”

A full listing of the high-priority grants can be found here.

There also are breakdowns of the recipients for the CDL grants and the safety training grants.