Distracted Driving and Walking Among Hispanic Youth | 693JJ922R000058

Opportunity Information: Apply for 693JJ922R000058

The "Distracted Driving and Walking Among Hispanic Youth" opportunity is a discretionary grant offered by the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). NHTSA's broader mission is to save lives, prevent injuries, and reduce the economic costs tied to traffic crashes by supporting education, research, safety standards, and enforcement-related efforts. Through this grant, NHTSA is looking to fund a focused demonstration project that can test practical, real-world strategies and then share what works so other states and communities can replicate it.

The core purpose of the grant is to demonstrate countermeasures that reduce distracted driving and distracted walking specifically among Hispanic youth. The approach emphasized in the announcement is student-led and community-based, meaning the project is expected to engage teens directly as leaders and messengers, rather than treating them only as the audience. The intent is to build awareness within teen communities about the harms of risky behaviors like texting, social media use, phone calls, and other smartphone-related distractions while driving or crossing streets. Because it is framed as a demonstration project, the deliverable is not just a one-time campaign; it is meant to generate evidence and lessons learned about which interventions actually change behavior and could be adopted more widely.

The background section explains why NHTSA is prioritizing this issue. Distracted driving remains a major safety problem nationwide, with 3,142 deaths and an estimated 424,000 injuries in 2019 in crashes involving distracted drivers. The problem also affects people outside of vehicles; in 2021, 566 pedestrians and other non-occupants (including bicyclists and others) were killed by distracted drivers. NHTSA highlights that young people are disproportionately impacted: drivers ages 15 to 20 represented 8.5 percent of drivers involved in fatal crashes in 2020, despite being only 5.1 percent of all licensed drivers. In parallel, pedestrian risk is rising as well, with national reporting pointing to increasing pedestrian fatalities, and studies showing notable levels of youth distraction while crossing streets due to technology use. Research cited includes findings that roughly 17 percent of middle school students and 27 percent of high school students report crossing streets while distracted by a device, with common behaviors including headphone use, texting, and phone calls. NHTSA also notes that in 2020, 16 percent of children age 14 and under killed in traffic crashes were pedestrians, underscoring how serious pedestrian exposure can be for younger age groups.

A key rationale for focusing on Hispanic communities comes from survey research suggesting higher reported levels of smartphone-related distracted driving among Hispanics compared to the overall driving population. The cited AT&T "It Can Wait" survey reports that 83 percent of Hispanics admit to using smartphones while driving compared with 71 percent of all American drivers, and that sizable shares report behaviors like texting, using social media, and even taking photos while driving. While the announcement notes that specific data on Hispanic youth distracted driving and walking is not currently available, NHTSA argues that the higher prevalence of these unsafe behaviors among Hispanics overall supports developing and testing programs tailored to Hispanic youth.

Administratively, the opportunity is listed as Funding Opportunity Number 693JJ922R000058 under CFDA 20.614, categorized as a discretionary grant in the community development activity area. The award ceiling is $320,983, and NHTSA anticipated making one award under this notice. The posting indicates it was created on July 13, 2022, with an original closing date of August 9, 2022. Eligibility is broadly described as "Others" with additional clarification referenced in the full eligibility section of the notice, and NHTSA indicates that grants may go to state and local governments, nonprofit organizations, and other entities that support road traffic safety initiatives.

• The Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in the community development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Distracted Driving and Walking Among Hispanic Youth" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 20.614.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jul 13, 2022.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Aug 09, 2022. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $320,983.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

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