People in trucking often complain about being overregulated.
Fair enough.
And they often point to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) as the chief provider of burdensome regulations.
Also, fair enough.
But in the interest of complete fairness, the FMCSA puts its money where its regulations are.
In a press release Wednesday issued by the U.S. Department of Transportation, FMCSA announced it has awarded $77.3 million in grants to states and educational institutions to enhance commercial motor vehicle (CMV) safety.
“Safety is the Department’s top priority and these grants will further assist state and local officials in their efforts to prevent commercial motor vehicle crashes,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao said in the press release.
The grants will be distributed through three FMCSA programs. A total of $43.3 million will be distributed in High Priority Grants (HP). There are two categories of HP grants. HP-Commercial Motor Vehicle Grants provide financial assistance to state commercial vehicle safety efforts, while HP-ITD grants provide financial assistance to advance the technological capability and promote the deployment of intelligent transportation system applications for CMV operations.
A list of this year’s HP grant awardees can be seen here.
Another $32 million will go toward Commercial Driver’s License Program Implementation (CDLPI) grants to assist states to achieve compliance with FMCSA regulations concerning driver’s license standards and programs. The CDLPI grant program also provides financial assistance to other entities capable of executing national projects that aid states in their compliance efforts, which will improve the national CDL program. Recipients of this year’s CDLPI grant awardees can be seen here.
Finally, $2 million will be distributed in Commercial Motor Vehicle Operator Safety Training (CMV-OST) grants to 16 education institutions to help train veterans for jobs as commercial bus and truck drivers. These include accredited public or private colleges, universities, vocational-technical schools, post-secondary educational institutions, truck driver training schools, associations, and state and local governments, including federally recognized Native American tribal governments. A full list of this year’s grant awardees is available here.
“FMCSA is committed to working with all of its state and local partners to reduce crashes and improve safety on America’s roadways. These important grants demonstrate the agency’s commitment to providing local areas with the resources they need to make a difference for commercial motor vehicle safety,” said FMCSA Administrator Raymond Martinez.
To learn more about FMCSA grants, visit fmcsa.dot.gov/mission/grants.
The Trucker News Staff produces engaging content for not only TheTrucker.com, but also The Trucker Newspaper, which has been serving the trucking industry for more than 30 years. With a focus on drivers, the Trucker News Staff aims to provide relevant, objective content pertaining to the trucking segment of the transportation industry. The Trucker News Staff is based in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Great job FMCSA, nice to know the positive side of your doings… wish you would also focus more on creating places to park over night as many of us find ourselves driving from place to place just find no parking available or allowed… and in turn end up driving beyond the 11 allowed and sleeping parked on the side of the road… waking up every hour to check for a ticket , thieves or reckless drivers… it takes a lot out of a driver.