NHTSA has established a Rural Traffic Safety Working Group to identify and affect ways the agency can increase its focus on activities appropriate to the rural environment. The working group meets monthly and includes representation from across the agency, including most regional offices. Taking a holistic approach to reducing fatal and serious injury crashes, the working group incorporates the five elements of a Safe System:

1. Safer People – From research to program development and delivery, we address the safety of all road users including those who walk, bike, and drive.
2. Safer Vehicles – The working group has broadened its membership to include expertise on technologies that can minimize the occurrence and severity of crashes.
3. Safer Speeds – Research-based education and enforcement remain critical countermeasures for speed management.
4. Safer Roads – The working group added representation from FHWA to increase our knowledge of human-centered design.
5. Post-Crash Care – A system of coordinated response and emergency medical care is integral to reducing injury and mortality. 

Additionally, due to the unique characteristics and challenges of Native American communities, NHTSA’s Office of Regional Operations and Program Delivery developed a Tribal Safety Work Group to facilitate information sharing across regional and program offices.
 

With financial support from NHTSA, these networks provide technical support to their rural counterparts:

• Law Enforcement Liaisons
• Traffic Safety Resource Prosecutors
• Judicial Outreach Liaisons
• A Tribal Judicial Fellow, the Honorable J. Matthew Martin

The Behavioral Traffic Safety Cooperative Research Program develops practical solutions to save lives, prevent injuries, and reduce costs of road traffic crashes associated with unsafe behaviors.

• Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) and State Highway Safety Offices (SHSOs) Coordination on Behavioral Traffic Safety 
• Highway Safety Behavioral Strategies for Rural Areas

Annual Events

• The Lifesavers National Conference on Highway Safety Priorities
• Rural Road Safety Awareness Week

Quarterly Events

• Regional Meetings with States and Federal Partners

Event Resources

• National Center for Rural Road Safety

• National Tribal Judicial Center at the National Judicial College

Each year, NHTSA distributes over $500 million in formula grant funds to 57 entities including states, the District of Columbia, territories, Puerto Rico, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs to implement data-driven highway safety programs to address the individual needs of each jurisdiction, including rural regions of the country. Following careful analysis of their highway safety and other data, highway safety offices in these jurisdictions identify communities who can benefit from the funding available under this program which can be used to address occupant protection, impaired driving, speeding and other issues relevant to rural communities.

Funding is awarded only to state offices of highway safety, which are responsible for planning and implementing the program based on formulas provided in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. These offices are responsible for making awards to sub-recipients, the amounts of which vary from state to state.

NHTSA maintains a webpage that orients visitors to the breadth of programs and resources to support grant applicants. This includes a Resources Guide, Management Review Information and Safety Program Assessment tools. The Resources Guide provides information to assist state and federal professionals to manage grant programs, including certification and assurances, equipment, planning, public participation and engagement, monitoring, and administration costs.
 

The United States Department of Transportation has developed this Applicant Toolkit to provide guidance as part of the ROUTES initiative to support potential applicants in identifying and navigating USDOT discretionary grant funding opportunities for rural transportation projects. In support of the initiative's goals, the toolkit provides user-friendly information and resources to support rural applicants’ understanding of USDOT discretionary grant programs and the funding process.  

The Applicant Toolkit is designed for all levels of grant applicant experience, aiming to enhance access to USDOT resources for rural transportation projects. Specifically, this toolkit illustrates key applicant activities when participating in the USDOT discretionary grants process, catalogues USDOT discretionary grant programs by applicant type and eligible project activities in a USDOT Discretionary Grant Funding Matrix, and provides resources for applicants to maximize the potential for award success.