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Safety Recommendation Details

Safety Recommendation H-19-013
Details
Synopsis: The NTSB is investigating a fatal collision between a sport utility vehicle (SUV) and a previously damaged and nonoperational crash attenuator in Mountain View, California, on March 23, 2018. In the course of the investigation, we identified systemic problems within the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) that negatively affect the timely repair of traffic safety hardware. Consequently, the NTSB is issuing a safety recommendation to the California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA). The NTSB is providing the following information in support of the recommendation.
Recommendation: TO THE CALIFORNIA STATE TRANSPORTATION AGENCY: Develop and implement a corrective action plan that guarantees timely repair of traffic safety hardware and includes performance measures to track state agency compliance with repair timelines.
Original recommendation transmittal letter: PDF
Overall Status: Open - Await Response
Mode: Highway
Location: Mountain View, CA, USA
Is Reiterated: No
Is Hazmat: No
Is NPRM: No
Accident #: HWY18FH011
Accident Reports: Preliminary Report: Crash and Post-crash Fire of Electric-powered Passenger Vehicle​Safety Recommendation Report: Addressing Systemic Problems Related to the Timely Repair of Traffic Safety Hardware in California
Report #: HSR-19-01
Accident Date: 3/23/2018
Issue Date: 9/9/2019
Date Closed:
Addressee(s) and Addressee Status: State of California, California State Transportation Agency (Open - Await Response)
Keyword(s):

Safety Recommendation History
From: NTSB
To: State of California, California State Transportation Agency
Date: 9/9/2019
Response: The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is an independent federal agency charged by Congress with investigating every civil aviation accident in the United States and significant accidents in other modes of transportation—railroad, highway, marine, and pipeline. We determine the probable cause of the accidents and issue safety recommendations aimed at preventing future accidents. In addition, we carry out special studies concerning transportation safety and coordinate the resources of the federal government and other organizations to provide assistance to victims and their family members affected by major transportation disasters. The attached letter from the NTSB Chairman provides information about the NTSB’s August 12, 2019, report Addressing Systemic Problems Related to the Timely Repair of Traffic Safety Hardware in California, Mountain View, California, March 23, 2018, HWY18FH011. The details of this accident investigation and the resulting safety recommendation may be found in the attached report, which can also be accessed at http://www.ntsb.gov. For more information about NTSB and our recommendation process, please see the attached one-page summary. The NTSB is vitally interested in these recommendations because they are designed to prevent accidents and save lives. We would appreciate a response within 90 days of the date of this letter, detailing the actions you have taken or intend to take to implement these recommendations. When replying, please refer to the safety recommendations by number (for example, H-19-013). We encourage you to submit your response to ExecutiveSecretariat@ntsb.gov. If your reply exceeds 20 megabytes, including attachments, please e-mail us at the same address for instructions on how to send larger documents. Please do not submit both an electronic copy and a hard copy of the same response. All communications regarding safety recommendations will be stored by the NTSB and viewable by the public. Please do not send privileged or confidential communications in response to this/these recommendation(s). Responses marked as confidential or privileged (or similar designations) will be considered nonresponsive. If you have concerns about this protocol, please contact us at ExecutiveSecretariat@ntsb.gov or call (202) 314-6290 and ask to be directed to the Safety Recommendations Division. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is an independent federal agency charged by Congress with investigating every civil aviation accident in the United States and significant accidents in other modes of transportation—railroad, highway, marine, and pipeline. We determine the probable cause of the accidents and issue safety recommendations aimed at preventing future accidents. In addition, we carry out special studies concerning transportation safety and coordinate the resources of the federal government and other organizations to assist victims and their family members affected by major transportation disasters. We are providing the following information to urge the California State Transportation Agency to act on the safety recommendation in this letter because we believe your organization can help reduce the risk of future accidents. For more information about the NTSB and our recommendation process, please see the attached one-page summary. This letter provides information about our Highway Safety Recommendation Report, Addressing Systemic Problems Related to the Timely Repair of Traffic Safety Hardware in California. The details of this accident investigation and the resulting safety recommendation may be found in the attached report, which can also be accessed at http://www.ntsb.gov. As a result of this investigation, we identified the following safety issue: • Problems with the timely repair of traffic safety hardware in California. Accordingly, the NTSB makes the following safety recommendation to the California State Transportation Agency. • Develop and implement a corrective action plan that guarantees timely repair of traffic safety hardware and includes performance measures to track state agency compliance with repair timelines. (H-19-13) The NTSB is vitally interested in this recommendation because it is designed to prevent accidents and save lives. We would appreciate a response within 90 days of the date of this letter, detailing the actions you have taken or intend to take to implement this recommendation. When replying, please refer to the safety recommendation by number (H-19-13). We encourage you to submit your response to ExecutiveSecretariat@ntsb.gov. If your reply, including attachments, exceeds 20 megabytes, please e-mail us at the same address for instructions on how to send larger documents. Please do not submit both an electronic copy and a hard copy of the same response.