EASTON, MARYLAND — Annapolis just posted the federal highway safety award list for the year that starts Oct. 1. For Talbot County, the money lands with Easton Police, the Talbot County Sheriff’s Office, and Talbot Thrive — not a County Council vote.

Gov. Wes Moore announced Sept. 14, 2026, more than $14.5 million in federal highway safety grants to local agencies, nonprofits, and other organizations statewide. The Maryland Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Administration’s Highway Safety Office will distribute the federal funds on Oct. 1 to 99 agencies. The governor’s release says the federal awards sit on top of nearly $675,000 in state-funded grants awarded in July.

ZeroDeathsMD’s awardees page breaks Federal Fiscal Year 2027 amounts as of Sept. 14, 2026. Talbot’s federal lines are Easton Police $4,680.00, the Talbot County Sheriff’s Office $8,000.00, and Talbot Thrive $17,706.25 — a $30,386.25 federal subtotal.

The same awardees page lists a separate State Fiscal Year 2027 table as of July 1, 2026. Talbot Thrive appears there for $3,412.50 in state highway safety grant funding — a July state award, not part of the Oct. 1 federal disbursement.

Grant funding is awarded based on traffic safety needs and crash data. The release says the money supports work to prevent impaired, aggressive, and distracted driving; raise seat-belt use; improve safety for pedestrians, motorcyclists, and bicyclists; promote correct child passenger seats; train law enforcement; fund overtime traffic enforcement; and strengthen traffic data systems. Funds may be used only for approved traffic safety initiatives during Federal Fiscal Year 2027, from Oct. 1, 2026, through Sept. 30, 2027.

Statewide fatality figures in the release set the backdrop. In 2025, 486 people were killed on Maryland roadways, including 111 pedestrians and 10 bicyclists, down from 582 roadway fatalities in 2024 and the lowest roadway fatality count in a decade, according to the governor’s office. As of Sept. 8, 2026, 298 people had died in crashes on Maryland roads in 2026.

“Marylanders deserve to feel safe on our roads and we have a responsibility to ensure we’re keeping people safe,” Moore said. “This funding will help our local partners turn proven strategies into action, preventing crashes and saving lives. By working together and investing in solutions that meet communities where they are, we will make Maryland a safer and better community, ensuring no is left behind.”

Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller tied the awards to a new highway safety coalition she convened. Maryland Transportation Secretary Katie Thomson and Motor Vehicle Administrator Chrissy Nizer, who also serves as the governor’s highway safety representative, framed the grants as tools for education, enforcement, and Safe System Approach work under Maryland’s 2026–2030 Strategic Highway Safety Plan. The full awardee list is posted at zerodeathsmd.gov/grants/awardees.

For Mid-Shore readers, the local map is the awardee table: Easton Police, the Talbot County Sheriff’s Office, and Talbot Thrive are the Talbot names on the federal list that MDOT MVA’s Highway Safety Office will fund starting Oct. 1. Program details and the statewide list remain at ZeroDeathsMD.gov.