Accident fatality prevention: NTSB’s annual most wanted – Part II

In our previous post, we began a discussion about the National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB) annual most-wanted list regarding transportation safety reform and fatal accident prevention. From repairing dangerous roads and highways to enacting safety restrictions on the driving habits of truckers, the NTSB’s most-wanted list serves as a critical safety agenda reference point for the coming year. Legislators and safety advocates alike will almost certainly be focusing on addressing the identified safety hazards in 2013.

The list is not prioritized from most urgent to least. All hazards noted by the NTSB are worthy of intense scrutiny and reform. However, a single hazard on the list will affect nearly every American who travels by car. The NTSB has recommended that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration mandate that all passenger vehicle manufacturers install various collision-prevention technology in all new passenger vehicle models. Features such as electronic stability control, lane departure warnings and automatic braking will help to prevent a significant number of fatal vehicle accidents in the future.

In addition, the NTSB recommends that all state and federal regulators outlaw any non-essential cell phone and electronic device use by commercial truck operators, as well as motorists of all kinds, train operators and pilots. The dangers of distracted driving are now well understood. The NTSB insists that now is the time to take action in order to avoid fatal distracted operation accidents in the future.

The final two critical recommendations regarding road travel are creating comprehensive solutions to substance-impaired driving and comprehensive solutions to aging road-related infrastructure. By addressing accident prevention through vehicle technology, distraction elimination, drunk-driving prevention and dangerous-road repair, far fewer Americans will die preventable deaths on the nation’s roads.

Source: Yahoo, “NTSB lists most-wanted safety improvements,” Nov. 14, 2012