FMCSA Opens $7 Million Heavy-Truck Crash Study Funding Round

FMCSA is accepting applications for up to $7 million in one-time competitive funding to support data collection for its Crash Causal Factors Program Heavy-Duty Truck Study. The agency announced the opportunity November 3. The study will examine fatal crashes involving Class 7 and Class 8 trucks to improve understanding of the circumstances and factors that contribute to those events.

No individual award may exceed $500,000. Eligible expenses must directly support qualifying crashes within designated study sampling locations. FMCSA lists post-crash commercial vehicle inspections, crash reconstruction, investigation, data reporting and necessary collection equipment among the allowable activities. Participating states, designated alternate states and qualifying local law-enforcement agencies may apply through the cooperative-agreement program.

Applications are due December 28, 2026. FMCSA also scheduled virtual office hours for November 12 and made a prerecorded educational webinar available. The funding announcement does not create a new driver rule, inspection standard or carrier reporting requirement. It finances the collection of consistent evidence that researchers can use in peer-reviewed studies, a national crash-data repository and future safety analysis.

For carriers and CDL students, the immediate compliance baseline remains unchanged: maintain qualified drivers, accurate hours-of-service records, roadworthy equipment and complete post-crash procedures. Fleets should preserve ELD, telematics, camera, inspection and dispatch information after a serious incident and cooperate with lawful investigations. Better crash-cause data may eventually influence safety programs or countermeasures, but any regulatory change would require its own formal process. The current opportunity is a research investment, not a finding that one factor or group caused heavy-truck crashes.