Rep. Rice Annouces $11 Million in DOT Highway Safety Grants Awarded to New York
Washington - March 13, 2015 - U.S. Representative Kathleen Rice today announced that the U.S. Department of Transportation has awarded more than $11 million in Highway Safety Grants to the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles and the Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee. The grants include more than $3.5 million to implement effective programs to reduce traffic safety problems caused by drunk- and drugged driving, more than $5.3 million to support projects and strategies to address major highway safety issues, and more than $1.1 million to implement programs to reduce traffic deaths and injuries caused by lack of seatbelt use. Rice, the former District Attorney of Nassau County, NY, helped lead a statewide overhaul of New York’s DWI laws and was nationally recognized for her efforts to combat drunk driving and improve traffic safety.
“We’ve made tremendous progress combatting drunk- and drugged-driving on Long Island and across New York, but we have to keep that fight going on all fronts with smart prevention and enforcement strategies and ongoing collaboration between government agencies, lawmakers and law enforcement officials,” said Congresswoman Kathleen Rice. “These funds will support those efforts and ensure that New York keeps striving to have the safest roads and highways of any state in the country.”
The U.S. Department of Transportation today awarded the following Highway Safety Grants to the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles and the Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee:
- Impaired Driving Countermeasure Grant – $3,547,784.68 to support effective programs to reduce traffic safety problems caused by individuals driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs.
- State and Community Highway Safety Grant – $5,324,479.00 to support countermeasure strategies and projects identified in the state’s Highway Safety Plan, including projects to address major safety issues with well-planned strategies, and to leverage state and local highway safety investments.
- Occupant Protection Grant – $1,135,916.93 to adopt and implement effective programs to reduce highway deaths and injuries resulting from individuals riding unrestrained or improperly restrained in motor vehicles.
- State Traffic Safety Information System Improvement Grant – $988,759.60 to support the state’s efforts to improve the data systems needed to help identify priorities for federal, state and local highway safety programs, to link intrastate data systems, and to improve the compatibility and interoperability between state and national data systems.
- Motorcyclist Safety Grant – $111,791.15 to adopt and implement effective programs to reduce the number of crashes involving motorcyclists.