Innovative Approaches to Advancing Traffic Safety and Enforcement | 693JJ922R000050

Opportunity Information: Apply for 693JJ922R000050

The U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released a discretionary funding opportunity called Innovative Approaches to Advancing Traffic Safety and Enforcement (Funding Opportunity Number 693JJ922R000050; CFDA 20.614). Structured as a Cooperative Agreement, the award is designed to help reverse the sharp rise in roadway deaths by developing, piloting, and rigorously evaluating new traffic safety countermeasures and new, measurable strategies for improving law enforcement engagement. NHTSA frames the need for this work around national fatality trends: after reaching a 65-year low in 2014, traffic deaths rose nearly 10 percent in 2015 and climbed to 38,680 fatalities by 2020, signaling that existing programs and enforcement approaches are not producing the needed safety outcomes in today's environment.

At its core, the grant supports a single recipient (Expected Awards: 1) to build and test innovative approaches that can be replicated or scaled, especially where traditional enforcement has been ineffective or not prioritized. The Cooperative Agreement structure matters because it implies substantial involvement by NHTSA during the project, typically including collaboration on planning, implementation, and evaluation so that the final products are actionable and evidence-driven. The program is not simply about running enforcement waves; it is about demonstrating what works, how it works, and under what conditions it works, with an emphasis on producing measurable results and usable lessons for state and local partners.

A defining feature of the opportunity is its explicit equity focus. NHTSA states that the work must be consistent with Executive Order 13985 on advancing racial equity and support for underserved communities. Applicants are expected to design strategies that support fair and equitable application of countermeasures in communities of color, socioeconomically disadvantaged communities, and in locations where enforcement has historically been lacking, ineffective, or treated as a lower local priority. The intent is twofold: reduce fatalities and serious injuries while also reducing disproportionate harms and improving legitimacy and trust where traffic safety enforcement has been contentious or unevenly experienced.

The project concentrates on four programmatic areas that NHTSA identifies as major contributors to serious injury and fatal crashes. First is speed management and speeding enforcement, recognizing speeding's strong link to crash severity and the recent surge in deaths. Second is occupant protection, specifically enforcement and strategies related to seat belt use and child restraints. Third is impaired driving enforcement, addressing alcohol- and drug-impaired driving as a persistent cause of fatalities. Fourth is improving the working relationship and coordination between State Highway Safety Offices (HSOs) and law enforcement agencies, with the goal of strengthening operational alignment, increasing effective participation, and improving how safety priorities are executed on the ground.

Beyond enforcement mechanics, NHTSA emphasizes engagement: the recipient must demonstrate and evaluate approaches that enhance law enforcement engagement and also strengthen public engagement between law enforcement and the communities being served, ensuring underserved communities are represented. This signals an expectation that projects will include community-facing components (not just internal law enforcement training or deployment), and that evaluation will look at both safety outcomes and engagement-related outcomes such as participation, communication effectiveness, and community responsiveness. NHTSA also notes that societal expectations and changes have challenged law enforcement operationally and philosophically, so the opportunity is aimed at solutions that fit modern realities while staying consistent with existing legislation.

Key administrative details include an award ceiling of $5,572,961, an original application closing date of April 25, 2022, and an opportunity category listed as Discretionary with an activity category of Community Development. Eligibility is described broadly as "Others" with clarification expected in the full eligibility text, but the overall description indicates NHTSA commonly funds state and local governments, nonprofit organizations, and other entities involved in motor vehicle and road traffic safety initiatives. Taken together, the opportunity seeks one strong, evidence-oriented project that can generate demonstrable improvements in speeding, occupant protection, and impaired driving outcomes, while also offering a practical model for fair, effective enforcement and stronger community and interagency engagement.

• The Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in the community development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Innovative Approaches to Advancing Traffic Safety and Enforcement" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 20.614.
• This funding opportunity was created on Feb 23, 2022.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Apr 25, 2022. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $5,572,961.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

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