TEA-21 State Highway Safety Programs

Section 410 Alcohol-Impaired Driving Countermeasure Incentive Grant


History and Administration

The Alcohol-Impaired Driving Countermeasure Incentive Grant Program was initially authorized by the Omnibus Drug Initiative of 1989 and amended by the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991, the Department of Transportation and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for FY 1993, the National Highway System Act of 1995 and the Transportation Efficiency Act of the 21st Century (TEA-21). The program is administered by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) at the federal level and the State Highway Safety Office (SHSO) at the state level.

Purpose

The purpose of this program is to provide incentive grants to states that implement effective programs to reduce traffic safety problems resulting from impaired driving.

Requirements

States may compete for two types of basic grants, each equal to 25% of a state's FY 1997 Section 402 apportionment.

A state can receive a grant if it demonstrates that it has implemented at least five out of seven of the following:

  1. An administrative license suspension program for drunk drivers
  2. An underage drinking program
  3. Sobriety checkpoints or other similar intensive enforcement program
  4. A graduated licensing law with nighttime driving curfews and other restrictions
  5. A program to target drivers with high BAC's
  6. A program for young adult drinking drivers between 21-34 years old
  7. A program for increasing testing of drivers in fatal crashes

A state can receive a grant if it demonstrates:

  1. A reduction in the percentage of fatally injured drivers with .10 BAC or greater in each of the last years, and
  2. The percentage of drivers with .10 BAC or greater is lower than the national average for each of the last three years

A state qualifying for a basic grant can also receive one or more supplemental grants. Supplemental grants may not exceed 10% of total Section 410 funding in each year. The six supplemental grant criteria are:

  1. Videotaping of drunk drivers by police
  2. A self-sustaining drunk driving program
  3. Laws to reduce driving with a suspended license
  4. Use of passive alcohol sensors by police
  5. Effective system for tracking DWI's
  6. Other innovative programs

States may qualify for Section 410 grants for a maximum of six years. Funds must be used to support a state's impaired driving prevention plan. The federal matching share is 75%, declining to 25% by the fifth and sixth years. Unobligated Section 410 funding may be transferred into the Section 405 or Section 411 programs to ensure that states receive the maximum funding to which they are eligible under the program.

Funding

Current and Previous Fiscal Year Funding Levels >>