National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

The Department of Transportation National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a civilian sub-agency within DOT, funds contracts and grants to develop and enforce vehicle safety standards, conduct crash-worthiness and injury research, and support state and local traffic safety programs aimed at reducing motor vehicle crashes, fatalities, and injuries.

NHTSA has awarded 8,813 federal contracts totaling $4.11 billion in combined potential value since 1980, with $4.08 billion obligated (99% of potential value). Contract activity over the last five years shows 224 awards in 2023, 170 in 2024, 89 in 2025, 86 in 2026, and 1 year-to-date in 2027. The most recently recorded award date is January 4, 2027. Among 1,231 distinct prime contractors, competitive concentration by award count is fragmented; Transportation Research Center Inc. leads with 86 awards worth $136.1 million combined potential value, followed by Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University with 36 awards ($34.8 million) and Alpha Technology Associate Inc. with 36 awards ($33.1 million). By combined potential value, the top five primes account for only 6 percent of recent contract value, indicating a highly dispersed value landscape. The set-aside mix is dominated by unrestricted awards (88 percent of contracts), with Total Small Business set-asides comprising 10 percent and 8(a) sole-source awards comprising 2 percent; other set-aside categories (HUBZone, SDVOSB, WOSB) account for fewer than 1 percent of awards combined.

NHTSA has also awarded 9,495 federal grants totaling $14.55 billion in combined federal dollars obligated since 2000. Grant activity over the last five years shows 726 awards in 2022, 834 in 2023, 869 in 2024, 878 in 2025, and 16 year-to-date in 2026, with the most recent award closed on July 13, 2026. Among 331 distinct recipients, grant concentration by award count is highly fragmented; the Department of Public Safety State Utah, Oregon Department of Transportation, Traffic Safety Commission, California Office of Traffic Safety, and State of Florida Department of Transportation each hold between 75 and 82 awards over the last five years but account for only 12 percent of recent awards. By federal dollars, concentration remains fragmented; California Office of Traffic Safety leads with 78 awards and $442.9 million obligated, followed by State of Florida Department of Transportation with 75 awards and $170 million. The assistance-type mix is heavily weighted toward Formula Grants (85 percent of awards), with Project Grants at 10 percent and Cooperative Agreements at 5 percent.

Recent contract opportunities include a Pre-Solicitation for Full Scale Vehicle Crashworthiness Testing and Side Air Bag Out-of-Position Testing for the New Car Assessment Program (NCAP, due November 2, 2026), targeting small businesses across multiple set-aside categories; an Advanced Safety Research Multiple Award IDIQ (due December 30, 2026) supporting research on ADAS, ADS, and vehicle cybersecurity; an Experimental and Mathematical Biomechanics Injury Research IDIQ (due November 30, 2026) covering crash biomechanics, anthropomorphic test device support, and computational modeling; and a New Car Assessment Program Pedestrian Impact Testing IDIQ contract (due September 29, 2026) on a full and open basis with multiple-award intent. A recent Grant opportunity, the Innovative Traffic Safety Enforcement (ITSE) Grant Program (due September 1, 2027), invites applications from state and local governments, higher education institutions, nonprofits, and tribal entities to develop and demonstrate innovative, scalable traffic safety enforcement programs targeting risky driving behaviors.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is responsible for reducing deaths, injuries and economic losses resulting from motor vehicle crashes. The agency investigates safety defects in motor vehicles, sets and enforces fuel economy standards, helps states and local communities reduce the threat of drunk drivers, promotes the use of safety belts, child safety seats and air bags, investigates odometer fraud, establishes and enforces vehicle anti-theft regulations, conducts research on driver behavior and traffic safety, and provides consumer information on motor vehicle safety topics.