FMCSA responds to uptick in large truck crash fatalities with 52% increase in funding for inspections and investigations

This week, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announced hundreds of millions of dollars worth of grant funding would be awarded to states for efforts to reduce commercial motor vehicle crashes.

On June 2, the FMCSA announced that it would award more than $463 million in grants as part of the Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program (MCSAP).

The program will provide local, state, and government agencies with funding for safety inspections of trucks and buses, investigations of motor carriers in response to safety concerns, and audits of new trucking and bus companies.

The $436 million in grant funding is a 52% increase over the MCSAP funding awarded last year.

The FMCSA points to an increase in fatal crashes involving large trucks as a reason for the increased funding. “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,” the agency said.

“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.”  

“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.”