Groups Call on Congress to Fund Highway Safety Grants

Two prominent groups called on Congress to support the nation’s priority highway safety grant program when it considers federal funding legislation, saying that failure to do so would result in increased highway deaths and injuries.

The Governors Highway Safety Association and Mothers Against Drunk Driving said Tuesday that they support consolidating multiple safety grant programs into one new program, known as Section 405, as part of the new transportation law enacted earlier this year.

The goal of Section 405 is to streamline the federal grant process to save time and money, the groups said, adding that it would provide resources for drunk and distracted driving prevention, increased occupant protection, motorcycle safety, teen driving safety and data collection.

GHSA is a nonprofit association representing the highway safety offices of states and U.S. territories.