The National Transportation Safety Board has released its list of critical transportation issues affecting safety for 2011. The list highlights ten key areas to focus on to reduce accidents, save lives and lessen the hazards of driving, flying, riding trains or taking other public transportation. While the list is intended to place an emphasis on areas of top concern, the NTSB remains committed to discovering the cause of all transportation accidents, improving transportation safety, and serving as a resource to help accident victims and their families.
Since the NTSB’s first “Most Wanted List” was released in 1990, many transportation safety topics have received increased scrutiny. In response, state and federal laws have been passed to reduce risk and national campaigns have been created to raise the awareness of drivers, pilots and passengers. This year’s list shows where the advocacy efforts of the NTSB will go for the following year.
This year’s top 10 includes a range of transportation safety issues covering airplanes, buses, motorcycles, trucks and cars. The issues raised are as follows:
- Address alcohol-impaired driving
- Address human fatigue
- Improve bus occupant safety
- Improve general aviation safety
- Improve motorcycle safety
- Improve runway safety
- Promote pilot and air traffic controller professionalism
- Promote teen driving safety
- Require image and onboard data recorders
- Require safety management systems
These broad categories of safety range from specific recommendations to general advice on how to promote safety for individuals and the transportation industry as a whole. Everyone who is interested in seeing fewer accidents, from plane crashes to car wrecks, should take note to see what efforts are being made to make transportation safer in 2011.
Source: National Transportation Safety Board Press Release, “NTSB unveils new “Most Wanted List,” 23 June, 2011
