Anthony Lam, NTSB Transportation Safety Specialist, Office of Safety Recommendations and Communications Attendees stepped into the world of road safety innovation and collaboration at last week’s Lifesavers Conference 2024 in Denver, Colorado. Each year, experts, advocates, and policymakers convene at Lifesavers to tackle pressing issues shaping the future of safer roadways. From combating impaired driving to ensuring equitable access to cutting-edge vehicle technology, NTSB staff presented and moderated a variety of workshops that offered invaluable insights and strategies for creating a safe ..read more

By Sophia Peerzada, Safety Advocate On March 28th, I moderated a webinar titled “Traffic Safety Through a Public Health Lens.” This joint effort between the NTSB and the American Public Health Association (APHA) ahead of National Public Health Week highlighted traffic safety as a public health issue. This topic is very important to me as a transportation safety advocate with a degree in public health. When I was studying for my Master of Public Health degree at the University of South Florida, I was the only student in my program (that I knew of) who was interested in traffic safety. I was mo ..read more

In this episode of Behind-the-Scene @NTSB we talk with NTSB Office of Railroad, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Investigations’ HazMat Branch about their work to improve transportation safety. To read some of the investigative reports discussed in this episode, visit our webpage. Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast platform. And find more ways to listen here: https://www.blubrry.com/behind_the_scene_ntsb ..read more

By Charles Koval One night, a couple feet underground outside an American home, the gas flowing in a service line began to escape through a puncture adjacent to a newly installed mailbox. A man and woman inside the home were watching the news. Their children were playing. Then, suddenly, without warning . . . nothing happened. A simple and inexpensive device called an excess flow valve (EFV) kicked in, stopping the gas flow. There was no explosion, no fire, no injury or loss of life. As a petroleum engineer and pipeline specialist for the NTSB, I know that the most important pipeline safety ad ..read more

  By Don Karol Rumor has it that, just before the December 15, 1967, collapse of the US Highway 35 Bridge in Point Pleasant, West Virginia, a 7-foot-tall monster with large, piercing red eyes and huge, mothlike wings was seen lurking nearby, warning of the impending catastrophe. This “Mothman” was soon blamed for the tragedy in which 46 people died and 9 were injured. Of the 37 vehicles on the bridge at the time of the collapse, 31 fell with it, many plunging into the Ohio River. Fifty years after the collapse of what was then known as the Silver Bridge, paranormal speculation still swirl ..read more

By: Chairman Robert L. Sumwalt  The NTSB is releasing a series of blogs highlighting the progress the transportation community is making in each mode to advance issues on our 2017–2018 Most Wanted List. This series sheds light on the progress made and what needs to be done going forward to improve transportation safety. This is the fourth and final blog of the series. Chairman Sumwalt and Robert Hall, Director, NTSB Office of Railroad, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Investigations talk with attendees at the Most Wanted List midpoint meeting On November 14, 2017, the day before our Most ..read more

By Debbie Hersman Our transportation infrastructure—roads, railways, waterways, and airports— is what makes the movement of people and goods possible; it drives our economy. In a way, our infrastructure is like a house – America’s house. It needs to be maintained for ourselves and generations to come. In his State of the Union address, President Obama proposed a “fix-it-first” approach to investing in our nation’s deteriorating infrastructure. And the NTSB believes that as these investment decisions are made, safety needs to have a seat at the table. The “Fix it First” plan makes repairing and ..read more

In this episode of Behind-the-Scene @NTSB, we talk with staff from the Office of Marine Safety, the Office of Railroad, Pipeline, and Hazardous Materials Investigations, and the Office of Research and Engineering, about the investigation of the 2021 Anchor Strike of Underwater Pipeline and Eventual Crude Oil Release in San Pedro Bay off the coast of Huntington Beach, CA. For full details on this investigation, including a recording of the Board Meeting, visit our webpage. Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast platform ..read more

By Nicholas Worrell, Chief of NTSB Safety Advocacy Division On November 28, I moderated a discussion at the Pearl-Cohn School in Nashville, Tennessee, during the National Black Caucus of State Legislators (NBCSL’s) 47th Annual Conference Corporate Roundtable (CRT) School Visit. The CRT represents small and large companies, associations, and nonprofit organizations. The NBCSL is a group of black representatives in state legislatures who are united by their roots in the black community. They work to pass laws that will make life better for all and meet occasionally to ensure that the voices of t ..read more

By Stephanie Shaw, Acting Chief, NTSB Safety Advocacy Division This week, families and friends will gather to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday. According to estimates from AAA, nearly 55 million people will travel away from home this year, with about 49 million of them taking to the roads. As we mark the beginning of the holiday travel season, we want to ensure that everyone arrives safely at their destinations. Unfortunately, travel on our roads can be the riskiest mode of travel during the holiday season. NTSB investigations continue to highlight actions needed by regulators, legislators ..read more