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Federal Automobile Safety Administration Awarded $479 million in grants to law enforcement states to conduct commercial vehicle safety inspections, investigations and inspections; the agency announced on Monday.
Annual funding is sent to all states under the Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program upon completion of an FMCSA-approved commercial vehicle safety plan. The amount varies each year because it is determined by a formula, according to the agency.
“Across the country, we’re making our roads safer and strengthening our national supply chains with resources made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in the release. “The funding we’re announcing today will help our local safety partners invest in initiatives that will continue this important work and make our roads safer.”
The program, FMCSA’s largest grant source, is the federal government’s mechanism for paying more than 12,000 state and local law enforcement officers to perform truck and bus safety inspections and law enforcement across the country.
The grants promote responsible truck and bus operation and promote other initiatives, such as outreach and education efforts to combat human trafficking, distracted driving and other road safety issues, according to FMCSA.
In the announcement, deputy managing director Sue Lawless described the safety assistance funding as “an important tool in reducing crashes and fatalities in commercial motor vehicles.”
Lawless cited an estimated 8% reduction in deaths on the nation’s roads from 2022 to 2023.
“We know the needle is moving in the right direction, but until we get to zero road deaths, there will always be more work to do,” he said. “These grants help fund this project.”