Closing Statement Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman National Transportation Safety Board Highway Accident Report –Truck-Tractor Semitrailer Rear-End Collision Into Passenger Vehicle on Interstate 44, Near Miami, Oklahoma, June 26, 2009

In closing, I want to thank my fellow Board members for their participation in today's discussion. I believe that the recommendations adopted today, if implemented, will make our roadways safer – whether you're the driver of the 80,000 pound commercial truck or the passenger of the 2,600 pound sedan.

I would also like to recognize the NTSB staff who investigated this accident or helped produce this report, particularly those staff in the Office of Highway Safety and the Office of Research and Engineering. As I often say, while the Board members sit on the dais today, it is the staff who, over the course of many weeks and months, uncover and analyze the facts, develop the findings, and prepare the safety recommendations. On behalf of my fellow Board members, thank you staff for your work these past 15 months to uncover the circumstances of this accident and for producing this excellent, comprehensive report.

As we discussed today, if we are serious about improving safety, we have to be proactive. This means doing what we can to prevent the accident. We know that when we educate drivers on fatigue and implementing comprehensive fatigue management systems, we enable drivers to get behind the wheel more alert and better rested. We also know that if we take advantage of collision warning systems and other technologies, we help drivers stay out of harm's way. These are critical steps in accident prevention.

And when the accident does happen, we can improve safety by providing investigators with the data they need to reconstruct the accident and better understand why it happened. Event data recorders and video recorders make this data gathering possible.

Lastly, we can improve safety when we make accidents more survivable. This includes making vehicles more crashworthy. It also means making heavy commercial trucks less aggressive in design so that, when they interact with lighter, passenger vehicles, it isn't just about size, it's about good design.

Safety isn't an amorphous concept. It's something that we've come to understand through years of accident investigation, research, science, and experience.  There are practical steps we can take to prevent and mitigate accidents. Unfortunately, many recommendations are not new. It's time to stop discussing them and make them a reality.

Thank you. We stand adjourned.