The National Transportation Safety Board (“NTSB”) has released its 2015 Most Wanted List, where the federal agency targets those issues it considers the biggest dangers facing America on the roads in transportation safety.
The NTSB has compiled its Most Wanted List for over ten years now, to bring public awareness and to drive change in areas where there are unacceptable risks being faced by Americans on U.S. roads.
From the Most Wanted List are these accident dangers which we see causing serious injury and wrongful death all too often in Indiana and Illinois:
1. Commercial Trucking Safety
Commercial trucking is integral to our economy, but crashes, injuries and deaths involving commercial trucks have been increasing over the past several years. The NTSB has a long history of calling on the regulators to improve their oversight of operators, drivers, and vehicles. To manage their safety risks, trucking companies must go beyond securing regulatory compliance from all their employees, and proactively identify operational hazards and potential solutions.
2. Distracted Driving
Since 2003, the NTSB has found distraction from portable electronic devices (PEDs) as a cause or contributing factor in 11 accident investigations. Those crashes resulted in 259 people injured and 50 people killed. The first step toward removing deadly distractions will be to disconnect from non-mission-critical information. All modes of transportation need to rise to today’s distraction challenges.
3. Safety of Mass Transit (Buses, Subways, Etc.)
Every day, millions of people take some form of mass transit to or from shopping, work, classes, or other destinations. Mass transit comprises light rail, commuter rail, subways, ferries, streetcars, buses and trolley buses. Although each system has unique equipment, operating environments, and challenges, all can benefit from strengthening their organizational safety cultures. Deploying advanced technologies will also make mass transit safer.
From the president of the National Safety Council:
“The NTSB’s Most Wanted List appropriately highlights two critical safety issues: distracted driving and prescription painkiller use,” said Deborah A.P. Hersman, president and CEO of NSC. “Our desire to be constantly connected, even while behind the wheel, results in far too many deadly crashes, while the proliferation and misuse of prescription painkillers results in 46 overdose deaths per day. The Council thanks NTSB for keeping these important issues on its Most Wanted List, because continued attention and education are key ingredients of culture change.”
