The Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee (GTSC) recently announced that more than $35.9 million in federal highway safety grants have been awarded to 519 programs throughout New York State with the Finger Lakes region receiving $707,149. The purpose of this grant program is to provide funds to local, state, and not-for-profit agencies for projects that improve highway safety and reduce deaths and serious injuries due to crashes.
The types of efforts funded include occupant protection, traffic enforcement, motorcycle safety, traffic records, community programs, programs that impact our younger drivers or older drivers, pedestrian safety, roadway safety, and impaired driving.
“New York works tirelessly to improve the safety of motorists, passengers, and pedestrians, and we proudly support these critical programs,” said Department of Motor Vehicles Commissioner and GTSC Chair Mark J.F. Schroeder. “The funding supports innovative educational and enforcement initiatives that help improve the safety of all those using our roadways.”
This year, $35.9 million was awarded to 519 projects that focused on three types of driver safety initiatives:
•$31.2 million for Highway Safety Grants – Provided to state, local, and not-for-profit programs that cover a variety of traffic safety efforts including education initiatives, traffic records improvements, training, crash reconstruction, and railroad crossing safety. In addition, the programs cover distracted driving, slow-moving vehicles, and drowsy and impaired driving. These initiatives focus on protecting child passengers, pedestrians, bicyclists, wheel-sport athletes, motorcyclists, teens, and older drivers.
•$2.5 million for Police Traffic Services – Supports initiatives by law enforcement agencies to conduct traffic enforcement campaigns based on crash data. This includes participation in the national Click It or Ticket seat belt mobilization and other enforcement initiatives to target unsafe speed, aggressive and distracted driving, and to enforce seat belt and child safety restraint laws.
•$2.2 million for Child Passenger Safety – Supports child passenger safety education, training for child passenger safety technicians, conducting car seat checks statewide, operating a car seat distribution program for low-income families, and establishing permanent child safety seat fitting stations.
These grants fund successful programs such as the Click It or Ticket enforcement campaigns. According to the Institute for Traffic Safety Management and Research at the University at Albany’s Rockefeller College, New York’s seat belt compliance rate has consistently remained at or above 90 percent since 2010. In a 2021 survey, drivers and front-seat passengers were observed wearing seatbelts 93 percent of the time, the second-highest level in state history. The latest national average for seatbelt compliance is 90.3 percent, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
The funding, which is provided by the NHTSA, is administered by the GTSC. Learn more about the GTSC grant program at https://trafficsafety.ny.gov/gtsc-faqs.
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