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 31-11
Friday, September 30, 2011
Contact: Candice Tolliver
Tel: 202-366-9999 or 202-306-4580
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Announces Over $5 Million in Grants to Kansas to Improve Truck and Bus Safety
Grants support safety inspections of new truck and bus companies, prevention of commercial driver’s license fraud, education for teens on sharing the road with trucks and buses
WITCHITA, KS – At an event today highlighting how teenagers can share the road safely with large trucks and buses, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administrator Anne S. Ferro (FMCSA), announced more than $5 million in federal grants for Kansas to improve truck and bus safety across the state.
Administrator Ferro was joined by Kansas highway safety leaders at the grant announcement at Eisenhower High School in Goddard. Students were shown how to avoid crashes with commercial vehicles by giving them plenty of room and avoiding their blind spots, called “No Zones.”
“Safety is our highest priority,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “These grants support our Kansas partners as they ramp up truck and bus safety enforcement and educational efforts to encourage teens and all drivers to share the road safely – every trip, every time.”
FMCSA awarded $3,947,543 to the Kansas Highway Patrol (KHP) to improve highway safety enforcement through activities such as safety audits of new truck and bus companies, and inspections of commercial vehicles transporting hazardous materials. Additionally, the KHP grant will strengthen outreach at high schools to teach teens safe driving practices.
FMCSA also awarded $1,114,680 to the Kansas Department of Revenue (KDOR) to implement an electronic commercial driver’s license testing system designed to prevent commercial driver’s licensing fraud.
“Our safety-first mission is about building strong partnerships that work to protect our roads and save lives in Kansas and every state,” said FMCSA Administrator Ferro. “These grants provide education, enforcement and technology tools that prevent needless tragedies from ever happening.”
Among those that joined Administrator Ferro at today’s grant announcement were KPH Captain Christopher Turner, the Kansas Department of Revenue’s Deann Williams, Kansas Motor Carriers Association Executive Director Tom Whitaker, Eisenhower High School Principal Dr. Bill Kelley and Eisenhower student Bret Tucker, who is a member of the school’s OUTLOUD safety organization.
To learn more about FMCSA’s commercial truck and bus safety grant programs and other safety initiatives, visit the FMCSA Web site at www.fmcsa.dot.gov.
And for information about the “Teens and Trucks” education program, please visit: www.cvsa.org/programs/teens_and_trucks_toolkit.aspx.
FMCSA 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.
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