U.S. Transportation Secretary Rodney E. Slater today marked an historic moment in American transportation safety by formally inaugurating the new Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). Secretary Slater called on the newest agency of the U.S. Department of Transportation to provide the leadership, direction and action necessary to continue to improve motor carrier safety, save lives and guide the nation to reduce by 50 percent truck- and bus-related fatalities by 2010.

"Safety is President Clinton's and Vice President Gore's highest transportation priority, and America is depending on this new agency to bring about a renewed will to reduce deaths in truck and bus crashes," Secretary Slater said. "This is a fresh start, and we will take bold and aggressive action to create change. We enthusiastically embrace this challenge."

On May 25, 1999, Secretary Slater announced a long-range goal of reducing fatalities associated with truck and bus crashes by 50 percent by 2010. There were 5,374 such fatalities in 1998, the latest year for which data is available.

Secretary Slater emphasized that the bipartisan leadership of President Clinton and Vice President Gore, and key authorizers -- U.S. Senators John McCain and Ernest F. Hollings, and U.S. Representatives Bud Shuster and James L. Oberstar -- was instrumental in achieving passage of the Motor Carrier Safety Improvement Act of 1999, which created the FMCSA. He added that U.S. Representative Frank Wolf also helped focus attention on enhancing motor carrier safety. The Secretary extended his appreciation to the safety community, organized labor, law enforcement representatives, and the truck and bus industries for their vision in helping to shape the new oversight agency.

"This new agency, like the Federal Aviation Administration, will hold the assignment and maintenance of safety as its highest priority," said Representative Oberstar, Ranking Member on the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and an original co-sponsor of the bill. "Every year, crashes involving large trucks kill more than 5,300 people and injure about 130,000. These numbers are unacceptable. Today we are taking a major step toward reducing them."

"The size and stature of the trucking industry justifies the creation of an agency with a clear, preeminent mission to focus on truck and bus safety and economic issues," said U.S. Representative Thomas E. Petri, Chairman of the House Ground Transportation Subcommittee.

Secretary Slater was joined at the inauguration event by members of Congress and senior officials representing many organizations.

"We are in the business of saving lives," said Acting Deputy FMCSA Administrator Julie Anna Cirillo. "All our efforts, our activities and our projects have been, and continue to be directed toward this end."

In addition to recognizing the new administration, the Secretary provided a copy of the new agency's organizational chart, an update on progress made toward achieving the stretch goals established in May 1999, and information on additional steps and actions that will be taken to improve motor carrier safety.

These steps include making improvements to the commercial driver's license program to more effectively identify problem drivers, taking remedial action and getting high-risk drivers off the road, ensuring the safety fitness of newly-formed motor carrier companies, levying strong sanctions on foreign carriers who operate illegally in the United States, denying entry to carriers who are not properly registered and imposing stiff penalties on violators including fines and, where warranted, shutdowns.

In addition, new FMCSA funding under the Motor Carrier Safety Improvement Act will provide resources to help states conduct more inspections of vehicles, drivers and carriers. Also funded will be a major study of causes of crashes as well as a new system for collecting crash data.

The department's newest agency is at the forefront of the move toward E-government. It operates a web site that allows commercial truck and bus operators to use the Internet to apply for registration and to pay fines for violations of federal motor carrier safety regulations. The FMCSA's website is http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/ .

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