FMCSA Awards Over $463 Million in MCSAP Grants for Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Improvements

President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provided more than 50 percent Increase in Safety Grants

With fatalities for commercial motor vehicle (CMV) crashes increasing sharply, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to award over $463 million in grants to States to reduce CMV-involved crashes, fatalities, and injuries through 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 to reinforce the importance of responsible operation and ensure the safe movement of goods and passengers in the U.S. economy. 

These grants come after a significant rise in fatalities involving large trucks. In preliminary 2021 data from NTHSA, there was a 13 percent increase in fatalities 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 will help DOT implement the NRSS.

“We are using resources available through the President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to award more funding than ever before – a 52 percent increase from last year — to help prevent truck and bus crashes in every State and territory,” said the U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “These grants will help improve the safety of our trucks and buses and save lives on our nation’s roadways.”  

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) includes a 52 percent increase over last year to the MCSAP formula grants. MCSAP funds are an important tool to address the rising number of roadway fatalities and carry out the Department’s NRSS.

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.” 

Read more about FMCA’s grants and financial assistance.  

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