National Top Safety Investigator calls for DOT for misleading incident statistics – Safety
The National Transportation Safety Board advocates the Safe Systems Approach, which looks at how all aspects of the transportation environment contribute to crashes.
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Jennifer Homendy, chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, has documented that a frequently cited government statistic that 94% of fatal crashes are caused by driver error is misleading. and the Department of Transportation (DOT) should stop using it, report walkie talkie.
In a section on the safety potential of autonomous vehicles, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) website states that “94% of fatal crashes are caused by human error.”
However, Homendy and safety advocates argue that the use of the 94% figure is an excuse for the increase in road crashes and that the continued use of this number, particularly by NHTSA, has distracts from a holistic approach currently needed, according to the report.
In a letter to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in December 2021, groups include Advocates for Highways and Auto Safety, the American Federation of Consumers, and the Center for Safety. Automotive has emphasized the need for a multifaceted plan to reduce collisions, including the promulgation of long overdue safety standards as mandated by Congress and closer monitoring of the implementation of these safety measures. autonomous vehicles on the road.
Homendy strongly agrees and implies that it is necessary to change the culture so that people don’t just accept the doctrine of “94% human error”.
Instead, all parties involved must accept the complexity of crashes and share responsibility for improving road safety by implementing a Safe Systems Approach, the report notes. whole. A “safety systems” approach promoted by the NTSB aims to reduce the impact of human mistakes and protect pedestrians and cyclists as well as drivers.
The Biden administration is allocating $5 billion for the New Safe Roads and Roads for All program, which provides grants to cities, metro areas, and towns to improve safety, especially for cyclists and pedestrians. It also includes new federal mandates for automakers to install drunk-driving technology in cars.
While Homendy is “cautiously optimistic” that the DOT is taking the necessary steps to increase safety, including improving data collection to determine when and why accidents happen, she worries Concerns about the government’s ability to make the best use of safety are rapidly changing technology, the report notes.
Traffic deaths in the US for the first six months of 2021 reached 20,160, up 18 percent from the first half of 2020 and the highest total first-half deaths since 2006.
