U.S. Senator Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) today announced two federal grants worth $1.08 million to help lower the rate of commercial truck-related accidents and fatalities in Mississippi.
This is a press release
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) approved the grants for the Mississippi Department of Public Safety to ensure drivers are licensed and qualified to operate commercial motor vehicles (CMV) in Mississippi.
“Ensuring that truckers are licensed and qualified to operate large vehicles on our highways is an important public safety issue. These grants will allow the Mississippi Department of Public Safety to improve road safety by seeing that standards are met,” Cochran said.
FMCSA is providing $588,748 to support state compliance with commercial driver’s license standards, including uploading conviction data, ensuring system compatibility, and monitoring commercial driver’s license (CDL) examiners.
Another $499,844 has been awarded to help decrease CMV crashes in Mississippi by enforcing CDL standards, requirements and penalties—including a no-tolerance policy for speeding, cellphone use, texting, aggressive driving, and other acts that contribute to traffic accidents. The Department will also collaborate with the Mississippi Trucking Association and trucking companies statewide.
The Mississippi Department of Public Safety has set a goal to decrease CMV crashes in the high-crash corridor areas by 5 percent, statewide CMV large truck fatalities by 5 percent, CMV heavy truck rollover fatalities statewide by 25 percent, and maintain Hazardous Materials CMV fatalities at zero.
