MARYLAND - The Maryland Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Administration’s Highway Safety Office announced it will distribute $12.9 million in federal highway safety grants to 96 organizations across the state. The initiative is part of Maryland’s continued efforts to prevent car crashes and eliminate roadway deaths.
The MVA says the grants will be awarded on Wednesday, Oct. 1, and apply to the Federal Fiscal Year 2026, which runs from Oct. 1, 2025, through Sept. 30, 2026.
Some of the organizations included are the Ocean City Police Department which received $72,999.45, the Cambridge Police Department received $2,999.22 and the Berlin Police Department received $8,000 according to the Zero Deaths Maryland.
"Saving lives and preventing fatal crashes is our top priority," said Samantha J. Biddle, Maryland Department of Transportation Acting Secretary. "While Maryland is seeing a reduction in crash fatalities compared to previous years, even one death is too many. These grant funds will support proactive, community-driven initiatives focused on education, enforcement and engineering to help people arrive alive."
According to the MVA, this year’s funding allocations are based on crash data for each county or organization. The federal grants follow nearly $1.4 million in state-funded highway safety grants awarded in July.
The funds announced will support initiatives that:
- Prevent impaired, aggressive and distracted driving
- Increase the use of seat belts in all seats
- Increase safety for pedestrians, motorcyclists and bicyclists
- Promote the correct use of child passenger safety seats
- Support police training for highway safety and traffic enforcement
- Fund overtime enforcement of Maryland’s traffic laws
- Increase the efficiency and capability of Maryland’s traffic data systems
MVA shared that in 2024, Maryland recorded 582 roadway fatalities, including 163 pedestrians and 10 bicyclists. That figure marked a decrease from 2023, when the state recorded 621 fatalities.
"Every number in our crash data represents a person, a parent, a child, a neighbor and that’s why our work is so critical," said Chrissy Nizer, MVA Administrator and Governor Moore’s Highway Safety Representative. "These grant investments allow us to reach communities across Maryland with targeted, data-driven programs that educate, enforce, and ultimately save lives. We are making progress, but we won’t stop until we reach our Vision Zero goal of eliminating traffic fatalities and serious injuries by 2030, to ensure other families do not have to experience the pain of losing a loved one on our roadway."
According to the MVA, Maryland adopted the Vision Zero traffic safety strategy in 2019. The initiative sets a goal of zero traffic fatalities and serious injuries by 2030. Vision Zero is a comprehensive strategy based on four pillars: education, engineering, enforcement and emergency medical services.
The MVA says these efforts, alongside the MVA’s Highway Safety Office’s Strategic Highway Safety Plan, are part of the Serious About Safety program, a department-wide focus to drive the Maryland Department of Transportation's safety goals and save lives.