Good morning and welcome.

I am Jim Hall, Chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board and of this Public Hearing. On the Board of Inquiry with me are: Mr. Barry Sweedler, Director, Office of Safety Recommendations, Dr. Vern Ellingstad, Director, Office of Research and Engineering, Mr. Joseph Osterman, Director, Office of Highway Safety, and Mrs. Jean Poole, Hearing Officer with the Office of Highway Safety.

The Board of Inquiry will be assisted by a Technical Panel from the Safety Board's Offices of Highway Safety and Research and Engineering. They are: Mr. Claude Harris Mr. Vernon Roberts Ms. Michele McMurtry Mr. Gary Van Etten Ms. Barbara Czech Dr. Meg Sweeney

Also here to assist me are my Special Assistant, Ms. Deborah Smith, and Messrs. Phil Frame, Roger King, and Ms. Lauren Peduzzi, of the Safety Board's Office of Government, Public, and Family Affairs. Mrs. Mary Jones and Mrs. Carolyn Dargan are here to assist with administrative matters.

Today, we begin a three-day hearing on truck and bus safety. In particular, we want to focus on how our highways, our vehicles, our driving habits, and the nature of the transportation business have all changed over time. We will also examine how well regulators and the industry are adjusting to these changes so that they can continue to ensure the safe transport of passengers and goods by trucks and buses over our nation's highways. And, we will explore whether the stewardship we have entrusted to various government agencies and the industry is adequate to meet the changing needs of this vital transportation system.

Our highways are reaching critical mass. Many of our interstate roads - which now serve as major truck corridors - are over capacity and often are not designed for heavy vehicular traffic. The number of trucks and the amount of freight they transport continue to increase. In the 1980s, about 130,000 heavy trucks were manufactured annually. In 1999, that number will exceed 220,000. In addition, these trucks are becoming bigger and more powerful. Thirty years ago, semi-trailers were about 35 feet long. Now, they average 45 to 53 feet and they are about a foot wider. In fact, not only are more heavy trucks being produced; more light trucks, vans, and sport utility vehicles are being built each year. And, while the number of vehicles on the highways increased by 16% between 1986 and 1996, the mass of those vehicles increased by 20%.

Motorcoach traffic only compounds the problem. In an average year, more than 360 million bus passengers travel 28 billion passenger miles in North America. About 945 million of those miles were by motorcoach. The American Bus Association estimates that there are about 4,000 companies operating 26,000 to 28,000 commercial buses being used for charters, tours, regular route service, and special operations. Of special significance, children and our senior citizens are often the greatest users of these motorcoaches. As these segments of our population increase, as they are projected to do, so will their reliance on this mode of transportation. It is imperative that we ensure that they are afforded the highest level of safety.

In 1997, there were 5,355 fatal - and countless more serious injury - crashes involving heavy trucks. That was 218 more deaths than the year before. In addition, although large trucks account for only three percent of all registered vehicles, collisions involving large trucks accounted for nine percent of all 1997 traffic fatalities. And while many may tout that accident rates, accidents per million vehicle miles, have fallen since 1991, in actuality, the number of fatalities has increased. It is small wonder that concern about the safety of trucks and buses on our road by the public, Congress, and the industry continues to grow.

As many of you are aware, the Safety Board is currently investigating two accidents involving large trucks and motorcoaches: the March 15th Amtrak passenger train collision with a tractor semi-trailer at a grade crossing in Bourbonnais, Illinois, that resulted in 11 deaths; and the Christmas Eve motorcoach accident on the Garden State Parkway in New Jersey, in which 8 people were killed. These crashes, in conjunction with the other factors I mentioned, raise serious questions about the adequacy of the programs intended to oversee heavy vehicle transportation. Unless we make substantial improvements now, we will undoubtedly - and tragically - continue to see even more people killed in collisions involving heavy vehicles.

It is for this reason that I have focused Safety Board resources on this issue this year. Throughout the year, we are addressing the complex safety issues related to heavy vehicle transportation through several venues -- this hearing being just one of them. In March, the Board issued a Highway Special Investigation Report on Selective Motorcoach Issues, and early this summer, we will issue a Special Investigation Report on Bus Crashworthiness. In addition to this hearing on oversight issues, the Board will convene a second public hearing this summer to explore advanced technology applications for heavy vehicles. In the fall, we will have a third hearing on issues related to NAFTA.

However, this is by no means a new issue for the Board. We have been investigating accidents and developing issues related to heavy vehicle transportation for much of our 32-year history. These efforts have resulted in Board recommendations that have ranged from commercial driver licenses, to drug and alcohol testing, to airbrake systems, to the adequacy of roadway design for heavy vehicles.

Everyone participating in this hearing - the NTSB; the parties representing other government agencies, industry, and advocacy groups; the witnesses; and the audience - are all stakeholders in this process. We all share in the responsibility of ensuring that our roads are safe for everyone who travels on them. Over the next three days, we will explore several issues that are critical to improving the safety of heavy vehicle transportation in the United States. Specifically, we will

· Determine the safety concerns and perspectives of all those who share our nation's highways. What are their expectations regarding road conditions, signage, enforcement, other drivers, etc.? How can we alleviate motorists' fear of driving near heavy vehicles? How can we better prepare for the future? · Define the exact nature of truck and bus operations today. What can be done to improve those operations? Are rules and policies, many of which were set years ago, adequate for today? How do they need to be changed for the future?

· Examine the research and statistical data available regarding the causes of heavy vehicle collisions. Who collects the data? What's done with it? How reliable is it? How can we improve it?

· And, review the Federal, State and local efforts to oversee heavy vehicle transportation. What is working? What isn't? Why? What still needs to be done?

In essence, we want to establish a knowledge base that will allow us to determine what needs to be done - and by whom - to improve heavy vehicle transportation for the next millenium. I appreciate everyone's willingness to participate in this important endeavor. A Safety Board public hearing is a fact-gathering exercise. It is not an adversarial proceeding. We will not debate or analyze the facts or conclusions presented at the close of the hearing. Rather, we will spend our time examining current safety problems and studying possible solutions. The information from this public hearing will be used in the Safety Board's initiative on truck and bus safety to develop possible recommendations and other materials.

As a result, the Safety Board has designated as "parties to the public hearing" those government agencies, companies, associations, and individuals whose special knowledge will contribute to helping us develop the pertinent facts for this initiative.

The procedures for the hearing are as follows:

The witnesses will be on panels based on specific topic areas. The technical panel will question witnesses on these panels first. I will then call upon each party spokesperson to question the witnesses. We will conclude with questions from each member of the Board of Inquiry.

I would like to introduce the parties for the record. The parties are: the Department of Transportation, the American Automobile Association, Parents Against Tired Truckers, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, Public Citizen, American Bus Association, United Motorcoach Association, the Commercial Vehicles Safety Alliance, the National Association of Governor's Highway Safety Representatives, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, the American Trucking Associations, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, the National Private Truck Council, and the Truck Manufacturers Association.

As Chairman of the Board of Inquiry, I will be responsible for the conduct of the public hearing. I will make all rulings on the admissibility of questions, documents, or information as factual evidence, and all such rulings will be final. The transcript of the public hearing and all exhibits entered into the record will become part of the public record in the Safety Board's Washington, D.C. office. Anyone desiring to purchase the transcript should contact the court reporter, because the Safety Board does not provide copies of the transcript. In addition, the Safety Board's highway reports are published on the following web site: http://www.ntsb.gov/.

Thank you.

Mrs. Poole, will you please introduce the first panel of witnesses.