U.S. Department of Transportation
Office of Public Affairs
1200 New Jersey Ave., S.E.
Washington, DC 20590
www.dot.gov/briefing-room.html
FMCSA 29-11
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Contact: Candice Tolliver
Tel: 202-366-9999 or 202-306-4580
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administrator Ferro and North Dakota Highway Safety Leaders Announce Over $2 Million in Grants to Boost Commercial Truck and Bus Safety
Grants support roadside and border crossing safety inspections, safety audits for new truck and bus companies, and modernizing the state’s commercial driver’s license testing system
WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) today announced over $2 million in federal grants to improve commercial truck and bus safety across the state of North Dakota. FMCSA Administrator Anne Ferro and North Dakota highway safety leaders unveiled the grant award at the North Dakota Department of Transportation Building in Bismarck this morning.
FMCSA awarded $349,131 to the North Dakota Department of Transportation to implement an electronic commercial driver’s license testing system across the state. FMCSA additionally awarded the North Dakota Highway Patrol $1,963,108 to conduct compliance reviews, safety audits, and thousands of inspections throughout North Dakota, to include ports of entry and remote border locations.
“We owe it the traveling public to protect the safety of our roadways,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary LaHood. “These grants will help our North Dakota law enforcement partners save lives and ensure commercial carriers and drivers are operating in full compliance with federal safety regulations.”
As FMCSA announced its grant award in Bismarck, law enforcement officials throughout North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming conducted full bus driver and vehicle safety inspections. The three-state inspection sweep is part of FMCSA’s year-round partnership with the States to bolster commercial bus and driver safety.
“We are committed to working side-by-side with our state partners to create a tight net of safety enforcement,” said FMCSA Administrator Ferro. “These grants will enable North Dakota to achieve this goal by providing the resources needed to boost police presence along critical traffic corridors and border crossings across the state.”
Among those that joined FMCSA Administrator Ferro at today’s grant announcement were North Dakota Highway Patrol Superintendent Col. James Prochniak, North Dakota Transportation Director Francis Ziegler and North Dakota Highway Patrol Trooper John Sova, who recently was named “Grand Champion” of the 2011 North American Inspectors Championship sponsored by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance and FMCSA.
In addition to FMCSA’s grant and enforcement efforts, the agency also offers a “Think Safety: Every Trip, Every Time” pre-trip safety checklist to help consumers review a bus company’s safety record, safety rating and USDOT operating authority before buying a ticket or hiring a bus company for group travel. The checklist is available online at FMCSA’s Passenger Bus Safety Web site: http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/safety-security/pcs/Index.aspx. FMCSA also encourages consumers to report any unsafe bus company, vehicle or driver to the agency through a toll free hotline 1-888-DOT-SAFT (1-888-368-7238) or FMCSA’s consumer complaint Web site: http://nccdb.fmcsa.dot.gov/HomePage.asp.
To learn more about FMCSA’s commercial truck and bus safety grant programs and other safety initiatives, visit the FMCSA website at www.fmcsa.dot.gov.
# # #
