LaHood: More Already Completed This Year Than In Any Of The Last Five

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood (pictured, right) announced Monday that the U.S. DOT has already completed more NTSB safety recommendations in 2010 than in any of the last five years. Over the last eighteen months, the Department has set an aggressive safety agenda, proactively taking on a number of critical safety issues, including distracted driving, pilot fatigue, and transit safety, as well as holding automakers accountable for vehicle defects.

When investigating transportation incidents, the NTSB often issues safety recommendations to the Department of Transportation. In the first nine months of 2010, the Department of Transportation completed 92 recommendations, compared with 60 in 2009, 60 in 2008, 40 in 2007, 50 in 2006, and 70 in 2005. Of the recommendations that remain open, more than 80 percent are either currently being considered by the NTSB or have been deemed acceptable pending final action.

"It's no accident that our roads, rails, and skies are safer than ever for travelers," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. "From the outset, safety has been my number one priority at the Department of Transportation. And every day, tens of thousands of dedicated safety professionals at DOT are working to make transportation even safer."

Since President Obama appointed Secretary LaHood to lead the Transportation Department last year, Secretary LaHood says he has made safety the agency's top priority across all modes of transportation. The Department was reorganized, LaHood said, so that safety issues would be more effectively addressed across the Department's 10 operating administrations by forming the U.S. Department of Transportation Safety Council, chaired by Transportation Deputy Secretary John Porcari.

Specifically in terms of aviation safety, LaHood says air travel is safer today than it has ever been, but that he and FAA administrator Randy Babbitt are working to make it more safe.

They cite as an example that, after two decades of inaction on pilot fatigue, LaHood and Babbitt recently announced a landmark proposal to fight fatigue among commercial pilots by setting new flight time, duty and rest requirements based on fatigue science. Last year, Secretary LaHood and Administrator Babbitt cited pilot fatigue as a top priority during the Airline Safety Call to Action following the crash of Colgan Air 3407 in February 2009. Administrator Babbitt launched an aggressive effort to take advantage of the latest research on fatigue to create a new pilot flight, duty and rest proposal.

FMI: www.dot.gov, www.faa.gov