WASHINGTON, D.C. - The National Transportation Safety Board has overhauled its Most Wanted Transportation Safety Improvements program, including dropping onboard recording systems for buses from its "most-wanted" list of safety recommendations.
That doesn't mean, however, that the federal government's interest in requiring "black boxes" for motorcoaches and schools buses is going away. It simply means the NTSB is satisfied the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is making progress in addressing the issue.
The NHTSA has been studying the issue for four years and has "an event data recorder working group" composed of government officials and industry executives pushing the idea.
Following a meeting last month, the NTSB announced it had completed changes to its Most Wanted Safety Improvements program that the board had requested earlier this year.
As a result of the overhaul, the board has closed 111 recommendations and developed a classification system to indicate action and timeliness of progress on remaining safety issues.
"The Most Wanted List includes safety issues that we believe will make the greatest impact on transportation safety," said NTSB Chairman Ellen G. Engleman, "The Board will use this revised safety tool to aggressively pursue safety and achieve safety results."
Still on the NTSB most-wanted list are:
* Development of a comprehensive medical oversight program for drivers of commercial vehicles, and
* Upgraded vehicle standards that will improvement bus occupant safety.
Perhaps more significantly, the NTSB has decided to take a more hands-on approach to pushing the safety recommendations that result from its investigations of air, highway, rail and sea incidents and issues.
"Issuing recommendations is not enough," said Ms. Engleman. "Implementation is the key and the board will work with its partners in safety to clear languishing recommendations."
NTSB staff members have joined with federal agencies to create teams, called SWAT (Safety With A Team), to address open safety recommendations. Under the SWAT approach, groups from the safety board and federal agencies will work together to implement improvements.