SAFETY SPOTLIGHT

May Safety Spotlight: MoDOT's Highway Safety Office Grant Applications

The U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) awards funding each year to MoDOT’s Highway Safety Office (HSO) for behavioral and enforcement programs statewide. Highway Safety initiatives are related to Aggressive Driving, Child Passenger Safety, Distracted Driving, Impaired Driving, Occupant Protection, Older Drivers, Speeding, and Teen Driving. 

This year, the HSO received 577 applications, totaling $37.6 million in requests.  Prior to the meeting, the HSO staff review all the grant applications to determine if the applications were eligible for NHTSA funding and to make recommendations regarding funding the application.  Recommendations are based on prior spending, prior contract interactions with the HSO, the needs in particular areas of the state, project scope, and funding availability.  During the week-long meeting, the HSO discusses each application and makes a final determination based on recommendations and discussions.

For FFY26, the HSO awarded 462 contracts to external partners, totaling $26 million.  This funding will be used for the following:

• 329 Law Enforcement Projects relating to overtime, equipment, and training at $12 million
• 110 General Projects for external partners like MADD, numerous fire departments, some state agencies and universities at $9 million
• 23 internal HSO Projects for media and program support at $4 million. 

By comparison, the HSO was able to award $28.3 million in FFY25, which is $2.3 million more than the funding they were able to award for FFY26.  The grant funding is primarily used for staffing, training, for highway safety professionals, and needed equipment. 

The HSO is also awarded funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) for the Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program (MCSAP).  The purpose of MCSAP is to reduce the number and severity of crashes involving commercial motor vehicles (CMV) and to promote the safe transportation of passengers and hazardous materials.  The grant seeks to implement consistent, uniform, and effective CMV safety programs, which include driver/vehicle inspections, traffic enforcement, carrier audits/investigations, education/outreach, safety data improvements, and Performance and Registration Information Systems Management (PRISM).

The HSO is anticipating an award of approximately $10.8 million to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Kansas City, Springfield, St. Louis County, and St. Louis Metropolitan Police Departments, as well as to MoDOT’s Motor Carrier Services Division and the Highway Safety & Traffic Division.