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While in St. Louis on Friday to address the Regional Business Council and talk with editors at the Post-Dispatch, I greeted attendees at an aviation safety forum convened by Federal Aviation Administrator Randy Babbitt.

This was the tenth session conducted since Randy and I issued a call to action in June, the tenth time we have brought the FAA, the carriers, and the unions together to have candid, meaningful discussions about the safety challenges we're facing. I’m very pleased with the quality of these discussions so far. We’ve listened-–and we’ve learned. We’ve heard a lot of good ideas about improving professional standards and flight discipline.

And I’m confident that these meetings will produce constructive, results-oriented policies and practices that the industry can implement in a timely manner.

Here are three items on our agenda:

1. Pilot fatigue: A committee of FAA, industry, and labor folks working on this issue have until the end of August to come up with a proposed rule describing new flight time and rest rules reflecting the best available science;
2. Pilot training: We want to see a greater use of cockpit simulation technology and closer supervision, among other changes; and
3. Pilot performance: We’re asking airlines to track pilots with performance problems and offer them additional training.

Companies that fail to comply with the voluntary measures we implement can count on greater FAA scrutiny.

In addition, Congress has proposed three key legislative provisions in the FAA reauthorization bill that will affect safety culture and operations:

1. A requirement that air carriers more thoroughly examine FAA pilot records before hiring.
2. Major carriers would be required to analyze the safety information contained in flight data recorders on individual aircraft.
3. Pilots would be required to disclose safety problems as part of their Aviation Safety Action Program.

Now, these are all programs we've already asked companies to comply with voluntarily, so companies on board with FAA have had an opportunity to make the investments and changes necessary to meet these potential mandates.

I have said before that DOT has no greater obligation than to ensure safety.

But participants in these call-to-action sessions understand that this important obligation clearly extends to the entire aviation community. As Administrator Babbitt told the Senate in June, "This is a business where one mistake is one too many."

The flying public is counting on us to keep them safe. We must not let them down.

Missouri has done a terrific job: Recovery Act funds good transportation projects, good jobs across the state

In St. Louis today, I told the Regional Business Council that Missouri has done a terrific job of using recovery funds to invest in good transportation projects across its cities, suburbs, and rural communities. And I congratulated Governor Jay Nixon, state Transportation Director Pete Rahn, and St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay for recognizing the economic opportunities offered by this landmark legislation.

Many may not know this, but the first American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) project in Missouri apparently broke ground as soon as President Obama signed the Act into law.

Since that historic day, we at DOT have made available over $570 million in transportation-related ARRA money for hundreds and hundreds of projects in Missouri. And the Show-Me State has already committed more than 70% of its total recovery highway funds. In fact, Missouri ranks 5th in the nation in terms of highway stimulus funds spent so far.

And these efforts are really making a difference to the folks who live and work in Missouri. For example, there’s a highway project in St. Louis funded by the Recovery Act, to fix up Memorial Drive down by the Arch. This $5 million project is going to make this stretch of road safer for pedestrians and much smoother for drivers. It's not the biggest stimulus project on the books, but this one project is responsible for preventing layoffs and for rehiring workers who were laid off.

Preliminary investigation: ExpressJet crew not at fault in extended tarmac delay

The DOT has concluded the preliminary phase of our investigation into the August 8 tarmac delay by Continental Airlines on a flight operated by ExpressJet Airlines. As you may recall, passengers were stuck in a plane on the ground in Rochester, Minnesota for almost six hours. We have determined that the ExpressJet crew was not at fault.

In fact, the flight crew repeatedly tried to get permission to deplane the passengers at the airport or on a bus.

Now, like many of you, I was outraged when I heard about this incident. And, like many of you, I've read a lot of conflicting stories about what happened that night--and I can appreciate any confusion readers may have. So, here is what our investigation found.

• The local representative of Mesaba Airlines--the only carrier in a position to help the stranded plane--improperly refused the requests of the ExpressJet captain to let her passengers off the plane, telling the captain that the airport was closed to passengers for security reasons.

This is what led to the nightmare for those stuck on the plane.

The Mesaba rep said this apparently because there was no one from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) available to screen passengers. But, in fact, TSA procedures allow passengers to get off the plane, enter the terminal and re-board without being screened again as long as they remain in a secure area.

• While the crew of the Continental Express flight did what they could to assist passengers, more senior personnel within Continental or ExpressJet should have become involved in an effort to obtain permission to take the passengers off the plane.

You know, learning more about the facts of this incident hasn't done a whole lot to temper my anger at the way those passengers were treated. I mean, there was really a complete lack of common sense here. It’s no wonder the flying public is so frustrated.

CARS: This program has worked, but it's winding down

CARS, the Car Allowance Rebate System, is the economy's best story in six months, and we at DOT are thrilled to be a part of it. It has been a lifeline for the automobile industry and wildly popular with consumers--it has been good news. In fact, it has been such good news that we will soon use up the money available for this. That's why we will wind down the CARS program this Monday at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.

              

In the first 4 days of the program, CARS racked up over 250,000 new car sales.  Altogether, dealers have submitted reimbursement requests for more than $1.9 billion, representing over 457,000 transactions. By any measure, those figures indicate success.

Both Ford and GM have announced they are stepping up production to meet the new demand this Administration has stimulated. Ford is adding shifts to what was supposed to be a shutdown week; GM is calling back over 1300 employees. Can you imagine? In this economy, an automobile manufacturer is calling back its workers. And a recent forecast for the economy's 3rd quarter by IHS Global Insight anticipates growth of 2.5%, almost all of it due to our CARS program. We have helped jump-start the economy.

Now, thanks to this success, it's time to bring the program to a close. Because we expect to use up the remainder of the $3 billion Congress set aside by the end of this weekend, the CARS program will end this Monday at 8:00 p.m.

As I said, we are thrilled to be a part of this economic good news story. And I want to thank the dealers for participating, the auto companies for taking steps to meet demand, and consumers for responding so heartily. Finally, I want to thank the CARS team at NHTSA for helping make this such a success. Thanks to them, this program has worked.

NHTSA, MADD unveil 6th annual pre-Labor Day "Over the Limit. Under Arrest." enforcement campaign

Safety is always DOT's first priority. This morning, joined by Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) President Laura Dean-Mooney and Fairfax County Police Captain Susan Culin, I was proud to help kick-off the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and MADD 6th annual end-of-summer enforcement campaign against impaired driving, "Drunk Driving: Over the Limit, Under Arrest."

The message has to get out: Impaired driving is a crime, and it will not be tolerated.

These drivers are really "a common threat," as Captain Culin said today--to drivers, to passengers, to bystanders, and to the loving survivors left behind by the nearly 12,000 fatalities each year caused by impaired drivers.

Now, impaired driving is an issue that cuts across all segments of society but, sadly, as Laura Dean-Mooney and I noted today, the number of arrests of women driving under the influence is on the rise.

As we head into the last weeks of summer and Labor Day weekend, millions of American families will hop in their cars and head off to the beach, the lake, the mountains, the park, and elsewhere for some
late-summer fun. Wherever your vacation plans take you, we want you to arrive safely.

But, to hear that impaired driving caused 40% of all fatal crashes last Labor Day weekend--it's very, very disturbing. So, we’re putting all drivers on notice that between August 21st and September 7th, our annual late-summer enforcement crackdown on impaired drivers will be in full force.

All around the country, 11,000 police departments and other law enforcement agencies will redouble their efforts to ensure that impaired drivers are detected and arrested during this high-risk travel season.

This is the sixth year in a row that the National Highway Safety Traffic Administration has worked with state and local law enforcement agencies and MADD to spread the message around Labor Day that if you’re “over the limit, you’re under arrest.”

This is a matter of life and death. We take it very seriously. And we’re very grateful to the law enforcement community and MADD for their support and hard work over the years.

So, please: Drive safely. Stay sober behind the wheel. And enjoy the last weeks of summer with your loved ones.