National Transportation Safety Board
From Summer 1995Volume II, Number 2
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is often associated with
the investigation of major crashes involving airplanes or trains. However,
the NTSB also plays an important role in traffic safety and is an excellent
resource for state and local traffic safety and injury prevention professionals.
NTSB staff investigate traffic incidents or problems that it believes have
national implications; issue reports and recommendations based on these
investigations; and work with states, community groups, and others to promote
passage of safety legislation consistent with their recommendations.
Some NTSB investigations are of a single critical incident (such as the
investigations of a collision involving a charter bus in New Jersey, a train
that hit a gasoline truck in Florida, and the collapse of a bridge in Alabama
after one of its supports had been hit by a tractor-trailer truck). Others
are broader. A 1985 NTSB study of child safety seats and the subsequent
recommendations have contributed to the progress made in child safety seat
legislation over the past 10 years. NTSB has conducted similar epidemiological
studies (and issued recommendations) in other areas, including truck collisions,
school bus safety, safety restraints, roadway work zones, repeat DUI offenders,
and, most recently, young drivers. NTSB's current list of Most Wanted
Transportation Safety Improvements includes recommendations for the
immediate suspension of the driver's license of anyone failing or refusing
a chemical test for alcohol; strengthening laws concerning the sale of alcohol
to those under age 21, zero blood-alcohol content, and licensing; as well
as improving enforcement, licensing, and education programs for those under
age 21, and heavy commercial truck and school bus safety.
The NTSB maintains a database of its reports and recommendations and provides
these materials to agencies and other groups who advocate for traffic safety
legislation. NTSB experts also testify before state and federal legislative
hearings, inform governors of the policy implications of their research,
and work with state and federal agencies and private organizations to promote
the passage of traffic safety legislation.
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Revised: October 25, 1996
