The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) State Safety Office awards subgrants to traffic safety partners that undertake priority area programs and activities to improve traffic safety and eliminate crashes, serious injuries, and fatalities. Subgrants may be awarded for assisting in addressing traffic safety deficiencies, expansion of an ongoing activity, or development of a new program. 

Subgrants are awarded to state and local safety-related agencies as "seed" money to assist in the development and implementation of programs in traffic safety priority areas. Funding for these subgrants are apportioned to states annually from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) according to a formula based on population and road miles. Occasionally, additional funding may be available for projects in other program areas if there is documented evidence of an identified problem.

Grants are awarded for the following traffic safety emphasis areas:

Aging Road Users — Programs receiving funding for this traffic safety area programs designed to improve aging road user safety awareness, access to alternative transportation, and education. More information can be found by clicking the blue hyperlink topic. 

Community Traffic Safety Outreach — Includes traffic safety programs identified by local communities that address crash problems, establish priorities, and develop appropriate intervention techniques. 

Distracted Driving — Includes high visibility enforcement (HVE) and traffic safety programs to increase safety awareness, prevention, and education. 

Drowsy Driving — Includes information regarding the risk of drowsy-driving crashes. 

Impaired Driving — Includes high visibility enforcement (HVE), youth alcohol education programs, community prevention/intervention programs, and driving under the influence (DUI) courts. 

Motorcycle Safety — Includes programs to increase safety awareness and skills among motorcyclists. 

Occupant Protection and Child Passenger Safety — Includes safety belt use awareness, safety belt, and child restraint enforcement, expanding child passenger safety fitting stations, and other occupant protection educational programs. 

Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety — Includes programs to increase safety awareness and skills among pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorists sharing the road. 

Public Traffic Safety Professionals Training — Includes training for public safety traffic enforcement officers and applicable support staff in areas such as traffic homicide investigation, traffic crash reconstruction, DUI enforcement detection, drug court training, Florida License court training, police motorcycle instructor, and traffic enforcement equipment training. Training classes should be designed to improve the skills and abilities of Traffic Enforcement Professionals as well as Crash Investigation personnel and acquaint them with the new technology, theories, and techniques in their areas of practice. 

Speed/Aggressive Driving — Includes speeding and/or actions that constitute aggressive driving, red light running, and other traffic enforcement activities. 

Teen Driver Safety — Includes traffic safety programs to increase teen driver safety awareness, prevention, education, and enforcement operations. 

Traffic Records — Includes the addition of crash, citation, roadway, and Emergency Medical Service (EMS) data into an electronic record management system, the development of a comprehensive highway safety information systems and the automation of analytical processes. 

Work Zone Safety — Includes traffic safety programs to increase work zone awareness, enforcement, and education. 

Applicants can submit concept papers between January 1st and the last day of February to receive funds the following October. 

To learn more about these grant opportunities, click here to view the FDOT State Safety Office website. 

To assist applicants in preparing a concept paper, the following resources provide comprehensive data on traffic crashes and citations in Florida: