While commercial aviation has made extraordinary strides in improving its safety record, an area where significant risk remains is on the airport surface. The NTSB continues to investigate runway overruns, wrong runway departures and collisions between aircraft and between aircraft and ground equipment. Read more

Each year, buses carry millions of passengers, more than the U.S. airlines. And, like the airlines, when something bad happens, it can harm dozens of people. In numerous bus crash investigations the NTSB has seen three recurring safety issues: fatigued drivers, poor occupant protection and marginal operators. Read more

NTSB investigations have highlighted the danger and deadliness of distraction across all transportation modes. Distraction's death toll is highest on the highways and is only going to grow as new handheld devices are released each year and the automotive industry develops even more sophisticated in-vehicle infotainment systems. Read more

Fires can be dangerous, but especially when they start in unmonitored areas of aircraft, vehicles, or vessels. NTSB investigations have revealed shortcomings in how transportation modes address fire safety. When fires are detected and addressed early, the chances of surviving, reducing injury, and minimizing damage greatly increase. Read more

Even with the strong safety record in commercial aviation, the general aviation accident rate has plateaued and been stubbornly resistant to safety initiatives. In 2011, there were 1,466 general aviation accidents that killed 444 people. Tragically, in its GA investigations, the NTSB continually sees similar circumstances and the same causes. Read more

The nation's transportation infrastructure includes 600,000 bridges, nearly 4 million miles of public roads, 2.6 million miles of oil and gas pipelines, 120,000 miles of major railroads, and more than 25,000 miles of commercially navigable waterways. Infrastructure requires regular maintenance and when necessary, repair or replacement. Read more

Pipelines are pervasive and run throughout the nation to provide energy to homes and businesses. Most people don't know pipelines exist, much less where they are located. NTSB investigations have revealed aging pipe, poor safety practices, lax maintenance, inadequate emergency response plans as well as thinly stretched federal and state oversight resources. Read more

For decades, the NTSB has investigated rail collisions that could have been prevented by positive train control technology. The 2008 Metrolink collision with a Union Pacific train in Chatsworth, CA, that killed 25 and injured dozens ignited a national debate about mandating PTC. Metrolink's leadership to implement PTC should be followed across the rail industry. Read more

A generation ago, the NTSB investigated the nation's deadliest impaired driving crash, which killed 27 and injured dozens. Since then, more than 300,000 people have perished at the hands of impaired drivers. Much more must be done to address the senseless deaths of more than 10,000 people every year. Read more

Each year, motor vehicle crashes claim more than 30,000 lives each year, injure tens of thousands more, and cost billions of dollars in damages. Enhanced safety technologies, such as lane departure warning, forward collision warning, adaptive cruise control, automatic braking, and electronic stability control, all have proven safety benefits. Read more