Transportation Safety


Smokeless Cigarettes Cause Plane Fire; Firm Fined $168,000

The smokeless cigarettes in the shipment contained alcohol, a flammable liquid, and a lithium battery, a hazardous material.

Taken May 27, 2010, this NASA photo by Tony Landis shows the unmanned Global Hawk aircraft in flight.

Light Jets, UAVs Need Collision Avoidance Systems: Eurocontrol

Two studies commissioned by the Brussels coordinator of air traffic control in Europe predict growth and potential conflict from unmanned aerial vehicles and say they need to be equipped with technology comparable to that of manned aircraft.

FAA Proposes $2.5 Million Penalty Against Trans States, GoJet Airlines

FAA alleges Trans States and GoJet operated aircraft when maintenance had been carried out incorrectly, and that the company failed to complete required maintenance record-keeping.

Britain Cutting Road Safety Spending

The road safety charity organization Brake, which is calling for the British government to adopt graduated driver licensing, disputes whether new statistics are accurate in showing a drop in deaths and serious injuries.

Peter Rogoff is administrator of the Federal Transit Administration, part of DOT.

Transit Safety Finally in Motion

A U.S. Senate committee sent the administration's bill to the full Senate on June 29, and a 20-member Transit Rail Advisory Committee for Safety with representatives of the nation's biggest urban systems was announced June 23.

Road Rage and You

Are you a safe driver? A courteous driver? A knowledgeable, experienced driver? Do you have a propensity for anxiety and road rage?

A Triumph's Lessons

Fortunately, NTSB spent 15 months investigating the January 2009 ditching of US Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson River after the plane hit a flock of Canada geese and lost power in both engines.

FAA Proposes Major Changes to Icing Certification Rules

These systems would need to be able to perform in freezing rain, freezing drizzle, ice crystals, and combinations of these icing phenomena.



Heading in the Right Direction

Put an end to costly accidents with technology.

If the petitioners get their way, indicators such as this would alert the driver that rear seat occupants are not wearing their seat belts.

NHTSA Weighing Rear Seat Belt Reminder Mandate

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration wants comments by Aug. 30 on the petition for rulemaking submitted by Public Citizen and Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, which claim this would not be expensive for automakers.

Officer Philip Ortiz, 48, died June 22 after a vehicle struck him from behind while he was engaged in a traffic stop on I-405.

CA Highway Patrol Mourns Five Officers

Four separate highway accidents in June followed a May 7 plane crash in which one officer died. The funeral for Officer Philip Ortiz is taking place today.

Congress ordered FRA to identify the 10 states that have had the most highway-rail grade crossing collisions, on average, over the past three years and direct them to prepare these plans.

10 States Get Deadline for Grade Crossing Plans

The five-year action plans to reduce accidents and incidents at highway-rail grade crossings must be completed by Aug. 27, 2011.

Combustible dust fires are frequently precursor events to dust-related explosions, John Astad says. (NIST photo)

NIST Helps Create Two Transportation Safety Blast Standards

Specialists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology have helped create two new standards designed to increase safety in crowded mass transit centers by fortifying them against potential bomb threats.

Operation Dry Water

Coast Guard Launches Operation Dry Water Targeting Drunk Boaters

Law enforcement officers from the Coast Guard, FWCC and local agencies, as part of Operation Dry Water, will be out in force this weekend looking for boat operators whose blood alcohol content exceeds the limit of 0.08 percent.

Ford Fined for Failing to Fix Overhead Cranes

"It should not take an OSHA inspection and enforcement action to prompt an employer to complete necessary repairs that should have been made months, even years, ago," said Arthur Dube, OSHA's area director for western New York.

Keith Klein testifies on behalf of ATA. Photo courtesy of Brad Stotler/ATA.

CSA 2010 is Flawed, ATA Tells Congress

"A system that is based on inconsistent data and a flawed scoring methodology will not achieve its objectives," said Transportation Corporation of America CEO Keith Klein, in his testimony Wednesday before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Highways and Transit.

Houstonian Becomes EPA's Latest Fugitive

Yousef Ishaq Abuteir allegedly purchased kerosene and jet fuel, illegally blended it with other materials, and later sold it as diesel fuel in the Houston area.

FMCSA Fines Bus Company Following Fatal Crash in Phoenix

The fines are the result of an investigation of a fatal crash in Phoenix on March 5, 2010, involving a bus operated by Tierra Santa Inc. Six passengers were killed and 16 others were injured in the crash.

NTSB has clarified that only fixed-wing aircraft are covered. Normal helicopter operations, wherever they take place, are not.

Helicopter Flights Exempt from Runway Incursion Reporting

The National Transportation Safety Board published corrections Tuesday to its rule to clarify that only fixed-wing aircraft operating at public-use airports on land must file reports of certain incursions.

FMCSA Chief Safety Officer Rose A. McMurray

Upcoming FMCSA Rule Will Address In-Vehicle Distractions

Once the agency's proposed rule to ban text messaging while driving is finished, a second rule will cover dispatch systems, using CB radios, and more to reduce risk while allowing legitimate communication, Chief Safety Officer Rose A. McMurray told the National Association of Small Trucking Companies.

Featured

Artificial Intelligence

Webinars