To
provide a coordinated national highway safety program to reduce
traffic accidents, deaths, injuries, and property damage.
TYPES
OF ASSISTANCE:
Formula Grants. Place Cursor Here for Definition
USES
AND USE RESTRICTIONS:
Formula
grant funds may be used for problems identified within the nine
national priority program areas of Alcohol and other Drug Countermeasures,
Police Traffic Services, Occupant Protection, Traffic Records, Emergency
Medical Services, Motorcycle Safety, Pedestrian/Bicycle Safety,
Speed Control and Roadway Safety. Other program areas identified
by a State as constituting a highway safety problem in that State,
e.g., pupil transportation safety programs, may be eligible for
Federal funding, as encompassing a major highway safety problem
in the State and for which effective countermeasures have been identified.
The law provides that at least 40 percent of these Federal funds
apportioned to a State for any fiscal year will be expended by the
political subdivisions of such State.
ELIGIBILITY
REQUIREMENTS:
Applicant
Eligibility: States, federally recognized Indian
tribes, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam,
Northern Marianas, and the Virgin Islands.
Beneficiary
Eligibility: Political subdivisions, through
the State Highway Safety Agencies.
Credentials/Documentation:
Performance plan approved by the agency is required and Highway
Safety plan, certification statement, and Program Cost Summary.
Costs will be determined in accordance with OMB Circular No. A-87
for State and local governments. State Plan due date is September
1 for the formula grant program.
Pre-application
Coordination: NHTSA Regional Administrators
and FHWA Division Administrators review each State's Performance
Plan and Highway Safety Plan. This program is eligible for coverage
under E.O. 12372, "Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs."
An applicant should consult the office or official designated as
the single point of contact in his or her State for more information
on the process the State requires to be followed in applying for
assistance, if the State has selected the program for review. This
program is exempt from the standard application forms required by
the Governmentwide Common Grant Rule for State, Local, and Indian
Tribal Governments. Assistance from NHTSA and FHWA is continuously
available to participants in this program.
Application
Procedure: Submission of Highway Safety Plan
covering State and community highway safety activities for the
year to NHTSA regional offices and FHWA division offices.
Award
Procedure: Awards are made by NHTSA Regional
Administrators.
Deadlines:
Highway Safety Plans must be submitted by September 1 each year.
Range
of Approval/Disapproval Time: Two months.
Appeals:
Appeals of decisions by NHTSA Regional Administrators are to the
NHTSA Associate Administrator for State and Community Services.
Renewals:
Each year, States submit Performance Plans and Highway Safety
Plans as part of continuing formula grant program.
ASSISTANCE
CONSIDERATIONS:
Formula
and Matching Requirements: 75 percent apportioned
on total resident population; 25 percent apportioned against public
road mileage in States. Federal share shall not exceed 80 percent
or applicable sliding scale.
Length
and Time Phasing of Assistance: Federal share
is reimbursed on claims submitted in vouchers covering costs incurred.
All participants have converted to the Electronic Transfer of
funds method. Funds placed under obligation are available until
expended.
POST
ASSISTANCE REQUIREMENTS:
Reports:
States are required to submit annual program reports to the Federal
Highway Administration and to the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration.
Audits:
In accordance with the provisions of OMB Circular No. A-133, "Audits
of State and Local Governments and Nonprofit Organizations," nonfederal
entities that expend financial assistance of $300,000 or more
within the State's fiscal year shall have an audit made for that
year. Nonfederal entities that expend less than $300,000 within
the State's fiscal year shall have an audit made in accordance
with Circular No. A-133, or in accordance with Federal laws and
regulations governing the programs in which they participate.
Records:
Records relating to the program shall be retained for a period
not less than 3 years from the date of submission of final financial
report.
The federally assisted State and Community Highway Safety programs
have contributed to reducing and, subsequently, leveling out the
sharp rise in traffic deaths in the period from 1966 to 1998. The
fatality rate per hundred million passenger miles has been reduced
from 5.5 in 1966 to 1.7 in 1998. This has been achieved in spite
of more cars, more drivers, and more miles traveled on our Nation's
highways.
REGULATIONS,
GUIDELINES, AND LITERATURE:
23 CFR, Chapter II, State and Community Highway Safety Grant Program;
Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices; Handbook of Highway Safety
Design and Operating Practice, available from Government Printing
Office, Washington, DC 20402.
INFORMATION
CONTACTS:
Regional
or Local Office: See Appendix IV of the Catalog
for a listing of National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
regional office addresses.
Headquarters
Office: Adele Derby, Associate Administrator
for State and Community Services, National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration, Washington, DC 20590. Telephone: (202) 366-2121.
Mila Plosky, Transportation Specialist, Safety Technology Division,
Office of Highway Safety, Federal Highway Administration, Washington,
DC 20590. Telephone: (202) 366-6902 (use the same number for FTS).
Web
Site Address: http://www.nhtsa.whatsup/fedassist/index.html
EXAMPLES
OF FUNDED PROJECTS:
Selective traffic enforcement programs, both at the State and local
level - Funds were used for equipment (police vehicles, communications,
speed detection devices, breath testing devices, etc.), training
of police personnel, and overtime salaries. Upgrading of Emergency
Medical Services (EMS) at the local level: Funds were used for training
of emergency medical personnel improved ambulance medical equipment,
survey of EMS needs, and salaries for statewide EMS coordinators.
Programs to reduce alcohol-related accidents: Funds were used for
studies to identify the magnitude of the problem, personnel services
(police, investigators, and court personnel), equipment (breath
testing devices, radar equipment), and training of involved personnel
to detect the drinking driver and to use testing equipment. Traffic
records system improvement projects: Funds were used for survey
of needs and requirements, system designs, system implementation,
ADP equipment and supplies, traffic records, personnel, and training.
Occupant Protection programs: Funds were used to develop and distribute
public information and education materials relating to the use of
safety belts and infant/child safety seats, and the implementation
of infant/child safety seat loaner programs. Networks of public
and private agencies and groups were developed and assisted regarding
programs to increase awareness of the benefits of occupant protection,
and to increase overall use. Activities that directly support the
identification of highway hazards and the scheduling and implementation
of roadway improvements (construction, operational or otherwise)
to improve their safety: Funds were used for personal services,
training and equipment to establish accident data systems; conduct
engineering studies and analyses of high accident locations; conduct
workshops in street design and capacity and work zone safety; inventory
skid resistance of payment surfaces; and provide traffic engineering
assistance to local jurisdictions.
CRITERIA
FOR SELECTING PROPOSALS:
The Federal/State relationship for the highway safety grant program
is a partnership. Each State is given flexibility in the administration
of its own highway safety program. Federal funds are obligated in
support of a highway safety program based on problems identified
by the State. States have latitude in determining projects upon
which they spend their Federal monies.
