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Opening Statement |
Before concluding, I have some final housekeeping reminders.
As I mentioned at the opening, because of time constraints, we simply were not able to accommodate everyone who wished to participate in the forum. Therefore, any individuals or organizations that wish to submit written comments may do so until November 30, 2010. Please check the NTSB's website under the forum's webpage for the particulars.
Within the next several days, we will post a written transcript of the proceedings on the NTSB website. A video of the forum will also be available on our website for the next several months.
On behalf of my fellow Board members, I thank the panelists and parties for their participation in the forum. Our discussions these past two days have been excellent. My appreciation as well to Shaleece Hass for sharing her documentary, Old People Driving. The stories of Martin and Herbert certainly personalize the issue. Also, thank you again to the hard-working NTSB staff for making this forum possible.
The discussions we've had over the past two days remind me of the aphorism, "A rising tide lifts all boats." First coined by Sean Lemass, an Irish politician, and later quoted by President Kennedy, this phrase aptly describes so much of what we've discussed. The older driver is certainly a "rising tide" as people live longer and continue to drive well into their older years. Whether it's introducing inflatable seatbelts to make an accident more survivable, providing the driver with a heads up display of the exact information they need, making roadway signs easier to read, or creating new tools to assess a driver's fitness, the safety improvements we make for some, improve highway safety for us all.
We've made great strides in safety since the first driver's license was issued in the United States a century ago. Hopefully, through the sharing of best practices and experiences, and with the active participation of the licensing agencies, physicians and our communities, we can reach responsible and informed decisions on how to make our roadways safe for us all - and to do so in a way that balances individual independence, mobility needs, and safety. These goals are not mutually exclusive in our society. Collectively, we have the opportunity, as well as the obligation, to address them concurrently and with some urgency - 2025 will be here soon enough.
This concludes our forum. We stand adjourned.
