NHTSA: Highway safety programs receive $260 million in grants
From Transport Topics. Federal programs aimed at improving safety along the country’s highways will receive a boost in funding, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recently indicated. The agency announced that nearly $260 million will be provided for highway safety grants nationwide. The funding, approved in the recently enacted $1 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs…
From Transport Topics.
Federal programs aimed at improving safety along the country’s highways will receive a boost in funding, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recently indicated.
The agency announced that nearly $260 million will be provided for highway safety grants nationwide. The funding, approved in the recently enacted $1 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, targets state-level transportation agencies, as well as agencies in Washington, D.C., U.S. territories, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
The funds back a variety of traffic safety programs.
“Traffic crashes take the lives of too many Americans, but these tragedies are not inevitable, and we will not accept them as part of everyday life,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Dec. 16. “Bolstered by additional funding from President [Joe] Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure law, these grants will save lives by improving safety on America’s roadways.” In particular, the bill includes language to increase funding by about 30% for myriad life-saving programs.
“The variety of funds available allows each state to target its specific challenges,” added NHTSA Deputy Administrator Steven Cliff, nominated by Biden to lead the agency. “Traffic safety may be a national problem, but the solutions are regional and local.”
Appearing before a U.S. Senate committee in December for his nomination hearing, Cliff elaborated on the infrastructure law’s potential impact on highway safety. He told senators, “This historic legislation increases NHTSA’s budget by 50% — the largest investment in motor vehicle and highway safety since NHTSA was established more than 50 years ago.”
Cliff continued, “This funding will improve our understanding of where and how crashes happen by improving data quality.”
Of the funding, $133.3 million aims to back highway safety via data-driven state-level traffic programs. Per background from USDOT, such programs are associated with initiatives for high-visibility enforcement campaigns, enforcement and education of seat belt laws, and the harms of risky driving.
See the complete article online at Transport Topics.