FMCSA Sets $463M to Improve Commercial Vehicle Safety

Following a sharp increase in commercial vehicle-involved fatalities, the Transportation Department is hiking funding for large vehicle safety.

The department’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced June 2 it will award more than $463 million in grants to reduce commercial motor vehicle crashes through increased inspections and other measures.

Preliminary data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration indicated a 13 percent increase in commercial vehicle fatalities from 2020 to 2021.

“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,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a release.

The grants come from the Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program, and cover funding for state and local law enforcement and other government agencies. The grant money will go toward 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 make sure their vehicles are operating safely.