SAFETEA-LU State Highway Safety Programs
Section 406 Safety Belt Performance Grants
History and Administration
This is a newly authorized highway safety grant program. It is administered by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) at the federal level and the State Highway Safety Offices (SHSO) at the state level.
Purpose
The purpose of this program is to encourage states with secondary enforcement of safety belt law to enact and enforce laws requiring the use of safety belts.
Requirements
States that have enacted (after Dec. 31, 2002) and are enforcing a primary belt law receive receive a one-time grant equal to 4.75 times the state's FY 2003 Section 402 apportionment. States that have achieved an 85% or higher safety belt usage rate for two consecutive years beginning in FY 2006 receive a similar one-time apportionment in the last two years of the authorization. States with older primary belt laws receive a one-time grant equal to two times their FY 2003 Section 402 apportionment. New primary belt law states receive their apportionments first, followed by high belt use states, followed by older primary belt law states. Unallocated funding in FY 2009 may be reallocated to all eligible primary belt law states. The federal share is 100%.
All but $1 million of a state's apportionment may be used for any safety infrastructure purpose or for any project that corrects or improves a hazardous roadway location or proactively addresses a safety problem. The remaining $1 million must be used for behavioral highway safety purposes.
Funding
SAFETEA-LU authorizes the Section 406 program at $124.5 million each year for FY 2006 - FY 2009.
Current and Previous Fiscal Year Funding Levels >>
