WASHINGTON (April 20, 2020) — The NTSB announced Monday the recategorization of three more safety recommendations from the agency’s 2019 – 2020 Most Wanted List of Transportation Safety Improvements, bringing to 38 the total number of implemented recommendations from the list.
NTSB safety recommendations A-07-043, H-15-022 and R-17-022 were recategorized to “closed – acceptable action,” helping improve safety in the skies, on the road and on the rails.
For more than 12 years the NTSB pressed the Federal Aviation Administration to enhance medical monitoring of pilots diagnosed with alcohol or drug dependency (A-07-043). In January, the FAA indicated it had modified its processes to satisfy this recommendation.
“Recommendations to change inadequate systems can and will save lives, which is why we push so long for some particularly impactful safety improvements, like this one,” said NTSB Chairman Robert L. Sumwalt.
Safety recommendation H-15-022 was issued following the June 2014 fatal crash of a tractor-trailer into vehicles slowed for construction work on Interstate 95 near Cranbury, New Jersey. The NTSB’s investigation determined the tractor-trailer driver was fatigued. In response to this NTSB recommendation, the truck operator, Walmart Stores, developed and implemented a fatigue management program.
After completing its investigation of an accident in which an Amtrak train struck a backhoe, killing two workers in April 2016 near Chester, Pennsylvania, the NTSB recommended that train dispatchers not be allowed to participate in potentially distracting activities, such as making phone calls, while responsible for safe train operations (R-17-022). Amtrak modified its rules to satisfy this recommendation.
“Today, transportation is safer than it was before these recommendations were implemented,” said Sumwalt. “But there is so much more to do. There are still 230 recommendations from our 2019 – 2020 Most Wanted List of Transportation Safety Improvements that have not been addressed.”
Of the 268 safety recommendations covering 10 issue areas on the Most Wanted List, none of the “focused 46” – recommendations that the NTSB believes can and should be implemented by the end of this year – have been implemented.
The NTSB’s Most Wanted List of Transportation Safety Improvements is the agency’s primary advocacy tool, identifying the top safety improvements that can prevent accidents, minimize injuries an save lives. These safety improvements are ripe for action now, and if addressed, would make a significant impact on transportation safety.is the agency’s primary advocacy tool, identifying the top safety improvements that can prevent accidents, minimize injuries an save lives. These safety improvements are ripe for action now, and if addressed, would make a significant impact on transportation safety.
To report an incident/accident or if you are a public safety agency, please call 1-844-373-9922 or 202-314-6290 to speak to a Watch Officer at the NTSB Response Operations Center (ROC) in Washington, DC (24/7).
