NTSB seal/Home.Recommendations & Accomplishments.
   MOST WANTED Transportation Safety Improvements
   Highway Issue Areas

 

Legend:

Red button. = Unacceptable response
Yellow button. = Acceptable response, progressing slowly
Green button. = Acceptable response, progressing in a timely manner
White button. = Being assessed, classification code to be assigned soon

  Federal Issues
Motor Occupant Protection - Yellow Button.
Acceptable response,
progressing slowly
Improve the Safety of Motor Carrier Operations
Action Needed by
the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
Prevent motor carriers from operating if they put vehicles with mechanical problems on the road or unqualified drivers behind the wheels.

Medical Certification of Commercial Drivers - Red Button.
Unacceptable response


Prevent Medically Unqualified Drivers from Operating Commercial Vehicles
Action Needed by
the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
Establish a comprehensive medical oversight program for interstate commercial drivers.

Ensure that examiners are qualified and know what to look for.

Track all medical certificate applications.
Enhance oversight and enforcement of invalid certificates.Provide mechanisms for reporting medical conditions.
Motor Occupant Protection - Yellow Button.
Acceptable response,
progressing slowly
Enhance Protection for Motorcoach Passengers
Action Needed by
the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Redesign motor coach window emergency exits so passengers can easily open them.

Issue standards for stronger bus roofs and require them in new motor coaches.

Devise new standards to protect motor coach passengers from being thrown out of their seats or ejected when a bus sustains a front, side, or rear impact or rolls over.
Bus Occupant Protection - Yellow Button.
Acceptable response,
progressing slowly
Enhance Protection for School Bus Passengers
Action Needed by
the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Devise new standards to protect school bus passengers from being thrown out of their seats or ejected when a bus sustains a front, side or rear impact or rolls over.
Bus Occupant Protection - Yellow Button.
Acceptable response,
progressing slowly
Prevent Collisions by Using Enhanced Vehicle Safety Technology
Action Needed by
the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Reduce rear-end collisions through use of adaptive cruise control and collision avoidance system technologies.
State/Industry Issues
  Enact Primary Seat Belt Enforcement Laws
Action Needed by the States.
Increase the number of people who wear seat belts through stronger enforcement laws.
  Improve Child Occupant Protection
Action Needed by the States.
Enact State laws requiring booster seats for young children.
  Promote Youth Highway Safety
Action Needed by
the States.
Enact graduated driver licensing legislation.

Restrict the number of teen passengers traveling with young novice drivers.

Prohibit use of wireless communications devices by young novice drivers.
  Eliminate Hard Core Drinking Driving
Action Needed by
the States.
Enact State legislation and take other actions that are proven to reduce crashes involving those who repeatedly drink large amounts of alcohol and drive including:
  • frequent, statewide sobriety checkpoints.
  • legislation to create stricter sanctions for those arrested the first time with a high blood alcohol concentration (>or = 0.15 BAC).
  • zero blood alcohol requirement for convicted DWI offenders when they get their license back.
  • administrative rather than court-based license revocation for refusing to take or failing the sobriety test.
  • vehicle sanctions for DWI offenders.
  • eliminate plea-bargaining DWI offenses and programs that divert offenders and purge the offense record.
  • retain DWI offense records (to identify and prosecute repeat offenders) for at least 10 years.
  • develop and operate special sanction (court-based) programs for hard core DWI offenders.

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