§ 1300.3 Definitions.
As used in this part—
Annual grant application means the document that the State submits each fiscal year as its application for highway safety grants (and amends as necessary), which provides any necessary updates to the State's most recent triennial HSP, identifies all projects the State will implement during the fiscal year to achieve its highway safety performance targets, describes how the State has adjusted its countermeasure strategy for programming funds based on the annual report, and includes the application for grants under Sections 405 and 1906.
Annual Report File (ARF) means FARS data that are published annually, but prior to final FARS data.
Automated traffic enforcement system (ATES) means any camera that captures an image of a vehicle for the purposes only of red light and speed enforcement, and does not include hand held radar and other devices operated by law enforcement officers to make an on-the-scene traffic stop, issue a traffic citation, or other enforcement action at the time of the violation.
Carry-forward funds means those funds that a State has not expended on projects in the fiscal year in which they were apportioned or allocated, that are within the period of availability, and that are being brought forward and made available for expenditure in a subsequent fiscal year.
Community means populations sharing a particular characteristic or geographic location.
Contract authority means the statutory language that authorizes an agency to incur an obligation without the need for a prior appropriation or further action from Congress and which, when exercised, creates a binding obligation on the United States for which Congress must make subsequent liquidating appropriations.
Countermeasure strategy for programming funds (or countermeasure strategy) means a proven effective or innovative countermeasure or group of countermeasures along with information on how the State plans to implement those countermeasures (i.e., funding amounts, subrecipient types, location or community information) that the State proposes to be implemented with grant funds under 23 U.S.C. Chapter 4 or Section 1906 to address identified problems and meet performance targets.
Data-driven means informed by a systematic review and analysis of quality data sources when making decisions related to planning, target establishment, resource allocation and implementation.
Evidence-based means based on approaches that are proven effective with consistent results when making decisions related to countermeasure strategies and projects.
Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) means the nationwide census providing yearly public data regarding fatal injuries suffered in motor vehicle traffic crashes, as published by NHTSA.
Final FARS means the FARS data that replace the annual report file and contain additional cases or updates that became available after the annual report file was released.
Fiscal year means the Federal fiscal year, consisting of the 12 months beginning each October 1 and ending the following September 30.
Governor means the Governor of any of the fifty States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Mayor of the District of Columbia, or, for the application of this part to Indian Country as provided in 23 U.S.C. 402(h), the Secretary of the Interior.
Governor's Representative for Highway Safety (GR) means the official appointed by the Governor to implement the State's highway safety program or, for the application of this part to Indian Country as provided in 23 U.S.C. 402(h), an official of the Bureau of Indian Affairs or other Department of Interior official who is duly designated by the Secretary of the Interior to implement the Indian highway safety program.
Highway safety program means the planning, strategies and performance measures, and the general oversight and management of highway safety strategies and projects by the State either directly or through subrecipients to address highway safety problems in the State, as defined in the triennial Highway Safety Plan and the annual grant application, including any amendments.
Indian country means all land within the limits of any Indian reservation under the jurisdiction of the United States, notwithstanding the issuance of any patent and including rights-of-way running through the reservation; all dependent Indian communities within the borders of the United States, whether within the original or subsequently acquired territory thereof and whether within or without the limits of a State; and all Indian allotments, the Indian titles to which have not been extinguished, including rights-of-way running through such allotments.
NHTSA means the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Performance measure means a metric that is used to establish targets and to assess progress toward meeting the established targets.
Performance target means a quantifiable level of performance or a goal, expressed as a value, to be achieved through implementation of countermeasure strategies within a specified time period.
Political subdivision of a State means a separate legal entity of a State that usually has specific governmental functions, and includes Indian tribal governments. Political subdivision includes, but is not limited to, local governments and any agencies or instrumentalities thereof, school districts, intrastate districts, associations comprised of representatives from political subdivisions acting in their official capacities (including State or regional conferences of mayors or associations of chiefs of police), local court systems, and any other regional or interstate government entity.
Problem identification means the data collection and analysis process for identifying areas of the State, types of crashes, types of populations (e.g., high-risk populations), related data systems or other conditions that present specific highway safety challenges within a specific program area.
Program area means any of the national priority safety program areas identified in 23 U.S.C. 405 or a program area identified by a State in the triennial Highway Safety Plan as encompassing a major highway safety or related data problem in the State and for which documented effective countermeasure strategies have been identified or projected by analysis to be effective.
Project (or funded project) means a discrete effort involving identified subrecipients or contractors to be funded, in whole or in part, with grant funds under 23 U.S.C. Chapter 4 or Section 1906 and that addresses countermeasure strategies identified in the triennial Highway Safety Plan.
Project agreement means a written agreement at the State level or between the State and a subrecipient or contractor under which the State agrees to perform a project or to provide Federal funds in exchange for the subrecipient's or contractor's performance of a project that supports the highway safety program.
Project agreement number means a unique State-generated identifier assigned to each project agreement.
Public road means any road under the jurisdiction of and maintained by a public authority and open to public travel.
Section 402 means section 402 of title 23 of the United States Code.
Section 405 means section 405 of title 23 of the United States Code.
Section 1906 means section 1906, Public Law 109-59, as amended by section 25024, Public Law 117-58.
Serious injuries means “suspected serious injury (A)” as defined in the Model Minimum Uniform Crash Criteria (MMUCC) Guideline, 5th Edition, as updated.
State means, except as provided in § 1300.25(b) for the program under 23 U.S.C. 405(f), any of the fifty States of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or, for the application of this part to Indian Country as provided in 23 U.S.C. 402(h), the Secretary of the Interior.
State highway safety improvement program (HSIP) means the program defined in 23 U.S.C. 148(a)(12).
State strategic highway safety plan (SHSP) means the plan defined in 23 U.S.C. 148(a)(13).
Triennial Highway Safety Plan (triennial HSP) means the document that the State submits once every three fiscal years documenting its highway safety program, including the State's highway safety planning process and problem identification, public participation and engagement, performance plan, countermeasure strategy for programming funds, and performance report.
[88 FR 7804, Feb. 6, 2023, as amended at 90 FR 31593, July 15, 2025]