If your organization’s passion is making a difference in your community and you want to save lives, consider applying for a highway safety grant from the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). Grants allow law enforcement agencies, non-profit organizations, state and local government agencies, and colleges and universities to implement innovative programs and campaigns aimed at preventing and reducing traffic fatalities, injuries, and crashes in Virginia.
Interested applicants may apply from February 1 through 28, 2021, and are required to complete a grant application training course. To receive information about the course, view guidelines for grant applications, and gain access to the application, contact the DMV program manager assigned to the area of Virginia where the applicant is located. Visit https://www.dmv.virginia.gov/safety/#resources/safety_contacts.asp for a list of program managers by area.
Highway Safety Grant-funded programs strive to increase seat belt use; decrease speeding; prevent drunk, drugged, drowsy, or distracted driving; or promote motorcycle, pedestrian, bicycle, teen, or senior driver safety. Additionally, objectives to measure the initiative’s effectiveness are required, and funding is determined by the potential benefits of meeting these established performance objectives. Applications for programs that include Virginians of different cultures and ethnicities are encouraged. For more information, visit https://www.dmv.virginia.gov/safety/#grants/index.asp.
The funding period for approved applications is October 1, 2021, through September 30, 2022. Applicants participate on a cost-reimbursement basis.
The following are examples of previously funded projects:
A local law enforcement agency provides High Visibility Enforcement (HVE) of alcohol-related traffic laws, including checkpoints and saturation patrols, to reduce drunk driving crashes, injuries, and fatalities. The agency evaluates the crash data in its locality, including where and at what times of day the most incidents occur, and forms an HVE plan based on the data.
Virginia GrandDriver provides safe driving resources and services to mature drivers, their caregivers, and the medical, law enforcement, and legal communities. GrandDriver holds CarFit events across Virginia, a 12-point assessment that addresses issues such as foot positioning and mirror placement. Professionals conduct approximately 200 assessments annually to evaluate an older person’s driving ability at Comprehensive Driver Assessment locations.
Street Smart is a pedestrian and bicycle safety public awareness campaign in northern Virginia that occurs during Daylight Saving Time. Paid advertising includes displays on buses, at bus stops and bus shelters, on gas pump toppers, and through social media. Simultaneously, law enforcement agencies spend overtime hours enforcing pedestrian and bicycle traffic laws.
