GLEN BURNIE, MD - The Maryland Department of Transportation’s Highway Safety Office (MHSO) will begin accepting grant applications for millions in federal highway safety funds beginning Friday, January 6, 2017, through February 28, 2017, for projects occurring in Federal Fiscal Year 2018. The federal funds will be competitively awarded to law enforcement, government agencies, non-profits, highway safety advocacy groups, individuals, and others who support programs designed to reduce vehicle crashes and save lives on Maryland roads.
“Protecting Maryland citizens and saving lives on our roads is one of our administration’s highest priorities,” said Governor Larry Hogan. “This funding will target some of the most dangerous driving behaviors and help save lives statewide.”
Federal grants are available to help fund the following initiatives:
- Preventing impaired, aggressive, and distracted driving;
- Increasing the use of seat belts;
- Increasing motorcyclist, pedestrian, and bicyclist safety;
- Funding child passenger safety fitting stations;
- Improving Maryland’s traffic data systems; and
- Funding traffic safety-related law enforcement operations.
“We will not stop our highway safety efforts until we have eliminated all traffic fatalities,” said Maryland Department of Transportation Secretary Pete K. Rahn.
Projects must be statewide in nature and correlate to a priority highway safety program area or another identified area, such as enhancing traffic records. The federal funds will be reimbursed to awardees.
“We lose too many people to traffic crashes on Maryland roads, and every single death is preventable,” said MVA Administrator and Governor Hogan’s Highway Safety Representative Christine E. Nizer. “We strongly encourage organizations to apply for these life-saving funds.”
Last September, Governor Hogan announced more than $12.5 million in federal safety funds to more than 80 agencies across Maryland to help strengthen and expand the state’s efforts to save lives on Maryland roads. Federal safety funds also paid for the state’s latest tool in the fight to end drunk driving: the Mobile Breath Alcohol Testing Truck. The truck is a joint initiative between the Maryland Department of Transportation and the Maryland State Police, and will help law enforcement officers test, verify and arrest drunk drivers at DUI checkpoints across the State.
These grants are a continuation of the Hogan administration’s comprehensive efforts to save lives on Maryland roadways. Last May, Governor Hogan signed into law the Drunk Driving Reduction Act of 2016, also known as Noah’s Law. This law will help save lives by removing more drunk drivers from our roads by requiring them to install an ignition interlock device in their vehicle. The administration also launched a five-year plan known as the Maryland Strategic Highway Safety Plan. The plan provides a blueprint for coordination between local, state, and federal partners and organizations in their efforts to save lives. The plan outlines 30 strategies to reduce traffic fatalities by at least 50 percent in the next two decades. The plan emphasizes solutions from the “Four Es” of highway safety – Engineering, Enforcement, Education, and Emergency Medical Services.
The grant funding year begins on October 1, 2017, and runs through September 30, 2018. For more information, please go to our Maryland Highway Safety Office Grants page or contact the MHSO at 410-787-4050. The closing date for applications is February 28, 2017.
|
