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THETRUCKER.COM
Nation February 15-28, 2019 • 3
©2019 FOTOSEARCH
Today, distracted driving is most closely associated with using a cellphone while the vehicle
is in motion. But just as dangerous is trying to drive and drink a beverage because when you
take a sip, the cup usually will block your vision.
Distraction, drug impairment top NTSB’s
annual ‘most wanted’ safety improvements
THE TRUCKER NEWS SERVICES
WASHINGTON — The National Transportation
Safety Board revealed its 2019-
2020 Most Wanted List of Transportation
Safety Improvements February 4.
First issued in 1990, the NTSB Most
Wanted List of Transportation Safety Improvements
serves as the agency’s primary
advocacy tool to help save lives, prevent injuries,
and reduce property damage resulting
from transportation accidents.
The 10 items on the list are:
• Eliminate distractions
• End alcohol and other drug impairments
• Ensure the safe shipment of hazardous
materials
• Fully implement positive train control
• Implement a comprehensive strategy to
reduce speed-related crashes
• Improve the safety of Part 135 of aircraft
flight operations
• Increase implementation of collision
avoidance systems in all new highway vehicles
• Reduce fatigue-related accidents
• Require medical fitness and screening for
and treatment of, obstructive sleep apnea, and
• Strengthen occupant protection.
“The 2019-2020 Most Wanted List advocates
for 46 specific safety recommendations
that can and should be implemented during
these next two years,” said NTSB Chairman
Robert Sumwalt. “It also features broad,
longstanding safety issues that still threaten
the traveling public.”
Sumwalt issued a call to action when the
list was released.
“We at the NTSB can speak on these issues,”
he said. “We board members can testify
by invitation to legislatures and to Congress,
but we have no power of our own to
act. We are counting on industry, advocates
and government to act on our recommendations.
We are counting on the help of the
broader safety community to implement
these recommendations.”
There are 267 open NTSB safety recommendations
associated with the 10 Most
Wanted List items and the NTSB is focused
on seeing 46 of those implemented within the
next two years. The majority of these recommendations,
roughly two-thirds of the 267,
seek critical safety improvements by means
other than regulation. Of the 46 safety recommendations
the NTSB wants implemented
in the next two years, 20 seek regulatory
action to improve transportation safety.
At any given time, the NTSB is managing
around 1,200 open safety recommendations
and while all have the potential to save lives
and reduce injuries by preventing accidents,
the NTSB cannot effectively communicate
about each of them. The NTSB’s Most Wanted
List provides the NTSB’s advocacy team and
other agency communicators a roadmap to focus
on a select number of recommendations.
In 2017 the NTSB went from an annual
list to a biennial process, to give its advocacy
team, their partners, and safety recommendation
recipients more time to move toward
implementation of the recommendations associated
with the list, according to a NTSB
news release. 8
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