The Biden administration recently announced a record $463.5 million in awards for Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program (MCSAP) funds sponsored by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to assist avoid truck accidents in 2022.
The funding level represents a 52% increase over 2021, and it comes at a time when truck accidents are on the rise.
“FMCSA’s core mission is safety, and our work supports the U.S. Department of Transportation’s comprehensive National Roadway Safety Strategy, which is working towards zero fatalities on our roadways,” said FMCSA Deputy Administrator Robin Hutcheson when the latest funding was announced in early June.
“MCSAP grant funding is a key instrument for reducing large truck crashes in every state by supporting critical safety measures.”
Texas, California, and Florida received the most funds (see chart), accounting for more than 20% of the total allocated in the program.
MCSAP funding, the largest of FMCSA’s grant programs, is distributed by formula rather than competitively to each state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the United States Virgin Islands.
The funds must be utilized to reduce the number and severity of commercial truck and bus crashes and hazardous material events. MCSAP grants are applied for by the state’s lead agency, as selected by the governor.
The table below breaks down 2022 allocations for each state by budget level:
