Truck drivers see it all day, every day: motorists driving dangerously, putting everyone at risk. Now, the federal government is putting up some money to target those drivers.
Whether it is cars flying through traffic well over the speed limit or drivers distracted by their phones, dangerous driving behavior has become a deadly problem across the country. Several studies have found that passenger vehicles were responsible for more than half of serious or fatal crashes involving large trucks, with estimates ranging from 56% to about 70%.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, more than 3,000 people lost their lives because of distracted driving in 2024. That number balloons to more than 11,000 in speeding-related crashes.
Dangerous driving behavior ramped up in 2020 and 2021, with many believing that open roads caused by the pandemic-induced increase in remote work invited riskier driving. Since then, traffic fatalities have dropped, but still remain well above pre-pandemic levels.
NHTSA’s new Innovative Traffic Safety Enforcement grant program aims to address that problem. The agency recently announced $20 million available for traffic safety enforcement projects.
Funding will go towards programs that tackle the dangerous driving behaviors that contribute to the most crashes. That includes speeding/aggressive driving, drug/alcohol-impaired driving, occupant protection and distracted driving.
Specifically, NHTSA is looking for “new, innovative approaches” to address dangerous driving behavior. What that looks like is unclear, but some examples include:
- Using crash data to decide where and when police should conduct traffic enforcement
- Law enforcement training and education
- Working with communities and private companies to encourage safer driving
- Using data and technology, including in-vehicle tech, to identify and reduce dangerous driving
“We know that to reduce traffic fatalities significantly, we must equip agencies with modern, scalable tools,” NHTSA Administrator Jonathan Morrison said in a statement. “This new funding allows us to test and validate next-generation enforcement models that will become the proven safety countermeasures of tomorrow – using data-driven technology to stop risky driving behaviors before they lead to tragedy on our roadways.” LL
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