The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced over $2 million in federal grants to improve commercial truck and bus safety in North Dakota.


FMCSA Administrator Anne Ferro and North Dakota highway safety leaders unveiled the grant award at the North Dakota Department of Transportation Building in Bismarck on Tuesday.

FMCSA awarded $349,131 to the North Dakota Department of Transportation to implement an electronic commercial driver's license testing system across the state. FMCSA also awarded the North Dakota Highway Patrol $1.96 million to conduct compliance reviews, safety audits, and thousands of inspections throughout North Dakota, to include ports of entry and remote border locations.

As FMCSA announced its grant award in Bismarck, law enforcement officials throughout North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming conducted full bus driver and vehicle safety inspections.

Among those that joined Ferro at the announcement were North Dakota Highway Patrol Superintendent Col. James Prochniak, North Dakota Transportation Director Francis Ziegler and North Dakota Highway Patrol Trooper John Sova, who recently was named "Grand Champion" of the 2011 North American Inspectors Championship sponsored by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance and FMCSA.

For more information: www.fmcsa.dot.gov