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NTSB — Safety Report on Eliminating Impaired Driving

May 15, 2013 Comments off

Safety Report on Eliminating Impaired Driving
Source: National Transportation Safety Board

On May 14, 2013, the 25th anniversary of our nation’s deadliest drunk-driving crash, which killed 24 children and three adults in Carrollton, Ky., the NTSB’s five-member board voted unanimously to issue bold recommendations to help the United States reach zero and eliminate alcohol-impaired driving.

Bold steps are needed: On average, every hour, one person dies in a crash involving a drunk driver and 20 more people are injured, including three with debilitating injuries. That adds up quickly to yearly totals of nearly 10,000 deaths, 27,000 lives forever altered and another 146,000 injured.

The safety report and recommendations culminate a year-long effort by the NTSB to thoroughly examine this problem and develop a set of targeted interventions. The recommendations include:

  • Reduce state BAC limits from 0.08 to 0.05 or lower
  • Increase use of high-visibility enforcement
  • Develop and deploy in-vehicle detection technology
  • Require ignition interlocks for all offenders
  • Improve use of administrative license actions
  • Target and address repeat offenders
  • Reinforce use and effectiveness of DWI courts
Categories: alcohol abuse, documents in the news, legal and law enforcement, motor vehicles, National Transportation Safety Board, public safety

No call, no text, no update behind the wheel: NTSB calls for nationwide ban on PEDs while driving

December 14, 2011 Comments off

No call, no text, no update behind the wheel: NTSB calls for nationwide ban on PEDs while drivingSource: National Transportation Safety Board

Following today’s Board meeting on the 2010 multi-vehicle highway accident in Gray Summit, Missouri, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) called for the first-ever nationwide ban on driver use of personal electronic devices (PEDs) while operating a motor vehicle.

The safety recommendation specifically calls for the 50 states and the District of Columbia to ban the nonemergency use of portable electronic devices (other than those designed to support the driving task) for all drivers. The safety recommendation also urges use of the NHTSA model of high-visibility enforcement to support these bans and implementation of targeted communication campaigns to inform motorists of the new law and heightened enforcement.

+ Fact Sheet: Put the Brakes on Distracted Driving (PDF)

Categories: motor vehicles, National Transportation Safety Board, safety, telecommunications

NTSB study shows rapid growth of curbside carriers poses challenges for effective safety oversight

November 1, 2011 Comments off

NTSB study shows rapid growth of curbside carriers poses challenges for effective safety oversight
Source: National Transportation Safety Board

National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman was joined today by U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer and U.S. Congresswoman Nydia M. Velázquez to release the results of a six-month study on curbside motorcoach safety initiated following a series of accidents in this rapidly growing industry.

The study – requested by Senator Schumer and Representative Velázquez following the March 12, 2011, bus crash in the Bronx that killed 15 and injured 18 more – highlights key safety issues related to this fast-growing segment of the transportation industry.
…
This report is the first comprehensive evaluation of the motorcoach industry, with an emphasis on what are commonly known as curbside carriers. Curbside motorcoach operations consist of scheduled trips that begin or end at locations other than traditional bus terminals; most of these operations pick up or discharge passengers at one or more curbside locations. The study analyzed the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) data and conducted field work, which included interviews, focus groups, and observations of compliance reviews and inspections.

Key study findings include:

  • In general, motorcoach travel is safe. However, curbside carriers with ten or fewer buses AND carriers who have been in business for ten years or less, have higher accident rates and higher roadside inspection violation rates.
  • The fatal accident rate for curbside carriers from January 2005 to March 2011 was 7 times that of conventional bus operations: 1.4 fatal accidents per 100 vehicles for curbside carriers compared with 0.2 fatal accidents per 100 vehicles for conventional scheduled carriers.
  • The exclusion of buses from routine enroute inspections – especially of curbside carriers that don’t operate from terminals – reduces opportunities to discover safety violations.
  • The FMCSA is overburdened. For example, 878 FMCSA and state personnel are responsible for compliance reviews for more than 765,000 U.S. motor carriers, a ratio of 1.15 investigators per 1,000 motor carriers.
  • Bus driver fatigue, a contributing factor in many accidents, is a continuing safety concern.
  • There is a lack of transparency in ticket sales. More than conventional carriers, curbside operators use online bus brokers. FMCSA has no authority to regulate these brokers.

+ Executive Summary
+ Full Report (PDF)

Categories: documents in the news, motor vehicles, National Transportation Safety Board, safety, transportation and travel
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