FMCSA Offers $7 Million to Support Truck Crash Study

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced November 3 that it is accepting applications for up to $7 million to support a study of fatal crashes involving heavy-duty trucks. The funding will help eligible state and local agencies collect detailed crash information for the Crash Causal Factors Program’s Heavy-Duty Truck Study.

For commercial drivers, the significance goes beyond the grant announcement. The research will examine how working conditions, vehicle maintenance, carrier operations, road design and other factors contribute to fatal crashes. Its findings could inform future safety programs and crash-prevention measures.

What Is New in the Truck Crash Study

The latest development is a one-time competitive funding opportunity for agencies supporting the study’s data collection. FMCSA says no individual award will exceed $500,000. Applications are due December 28, 2026.

Eligible expenses include:

• Post-crash commercial vehicle inspections.
• Crash reconstructions.
• Post-crash investigations.
• Crash data reporting.
• Equipment needed to collect study information.

The funding applies to qualifying fatal crashes involving Class 7 or Class 8 trucks within designated sampling locations. FMCSA says this will be the only funding opportunity offered to support the study, with awards intended to cover the data collection period.

Research Will Look Beyond the Truck Driver

FMCSA plans to collect and analyze information on at least 2,000 fatal crashes involving heavy-duty trucks over a two-year period. The study will consider several categories of contributing factors. Driver-related information includes qualifications, fatigue, distraction, health, behavior and working conditions.

Vehicle factors include maintenance, defects, inspection history, design and load characteristics. Researchers will also examine carrier operations and performance. Roadway design, weather, road conditions and work zones are part of the study’s scope. So are the roles of passenger vehicles, pedestrians and other road users.

That broader approach is important when describing the research. A fatal crash involving a truck does not, by itself, establish that the truck driver caused it. The study is intended to examine the circumstances and contributing factors rather than assume responsibility based on vehicle involvement.

Scheduling, Pay and Parking Are Part of Data Collection

The study will combine crash information collected by state and local agencies with confidential interviews conducted by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Interview subjects may include commercial drivers, motor carriers, dispatchers, passenger-vehicle drivers, pedestrians and witnesses involved in the sampled crashes.

FMCSA identifies several topics that interviews could help explain:

• Driver scheduling.
• Vehicle inspection and maintenance.
• Hiring practices.
• Compensation and benefits.
• Distracted driving.
• Truck stop and rest area availability.

These subjects connect the research to daily trucking operations. They may provide context that is not fully captured in a police crash report or vehicle inspection. For example, information about scheduling or available rest locations could help researchers examine the circumstances surrounding a crash. Including those topics does not establish that they caused any particular collision.

Confidential Interviews Have Separate Protections

FMCSA says the interview process will operate under federal confidentiality protections. BTS will compile interview information and provide aggregated, anonymized data for the study. According to FMCSA, the agency will not receive the original, complete interview records or information that would allow it to connect responses to a specific person, company or crash.

Those protections apply to the confidential interview component. They should not be confused with the separate police reports, inspections and investigations used to collect crash-scene information.

Funding Is for Agencies, Not Individual Drivers

The cooperative agreements are available to qualifying government agencies in participating or designated alternate states, along with eligible local agencies. Individuals and for-profit companies are not eligible recipients. The opportunity is therefore not a grant program for owner-operators to purchase equipment or pay operating expenses.

The funding notice lists 30 participating states and three alternates. Alabama, Texas, Florida, Ohio, Washington and other states are included in the participating sample.

FMCSA does not require a matching contribution for this funding opportunity. Applicants must demonstrate that their proposed work supports the study’s data collection and reporting needs.

Updated Research Could Inform Future Safety Decisions

The program builds on the earlier Large Truck Crash Causation Study, which examined nearly 1,000 injury and fatal crashes from 2001 through 2003. FMCSA’s funding notice points to changes since that research, including vehicle technology, safety features, driver behavior and roadway design. The new effort aims to provide updated information for evaluating crash risks and potential safety responses.

The agency’s current timeline places study execution and analysis within 2026–2029. A final report and public database of anonymized crash information are planned for 2030. FMCSA cautions that the schedule is approximate and subject to change.

For drivers and carriers, the immediate development is support for more detailed crash research. Any resulting safety recommendations, policy proposals or operating changes would be separate future actions.