The Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) was signed into law on August 10, 2005. With guaranteed funding for highways, highway safety, and public transportation totaling $244.1 billion, SAFETEA-LU represented the largest surface transportation investment in our Nation's history. Congress directed that NHTSA make publicly available, on its web site, State highway safety plans, State annual accomplishment reports and NHTSA's management review and special management review guidelines.

On July 6, 2012, the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) was signed into law. MAP-21 restructured and made various changes to the highway safety grant programs administered by NHTSA, providing $1.3 billion for highway safety grants programs. MAP-21 specifies a single application deadline for all highway safety grants and emphasizes the requirement that all States have a performance-based highway safety program designed to reduce traffic crashes and the resulting deaths, injuries, and property damage.