How the National Transportation Safety Board “Most Wanted List” Can Make Our Roads Safer

By Nicholas Worrell, Chief, Safety Advocacy, National Transportation Safety Board

Last year, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issued its Most Wanted List (MWL) of Transportation Safety Improvements. The list sets the board’s advocacy priorities for a two-year period and is designed to increase awareness of, and support for, the most critical changes needed to reduce transportation accidents and to save lives. It features 10 safety-critical focus areas. For this advocacy cycle, half of the priorities focus on critical improvements needed for highway safety.

Why does our list focus so much on highway improvements? Although the NTSB investigates accidents in all modes of transportation, without a doubt highway safety is our biggest concern – and advocacy challenge.

In 2020, as our nation struggled with the challenges of a worldwide pandemic, we also faced an ongoing and increasing public health crisis on our roads. While vehicle miles traveled were historically low, the country still saw a dramatic increase in traffic crashes, fatalities and injuries. Nearly 40,000 people died on our nation’s roads and millions more were injured that year. Unfortunately, early data indicates that another dramatic increase in roadway fatalities occurred in 2021. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that 20,160 people died in motor vehicle crashes during the first half of 2021 – an 18% increase over the same period in 2020.

Both NHTSA and the Federal Motor Carrier Administration (FMCSA) pointed to speeding as a significant issue in crashes involving trucks and passenger vehicles – a focus area for CVSA in 2021 during Operation Safe Driver Week. Other crash factors of concern included:

• Distraction

• Occupant ejection (up 20%) • Unrestrained occupants of passenger vehicles (up 15%) • Speeding (up 11%) • Police-reported alcohol involvement (up 9%)

The NTSB’s 2021-2022 Most Wanted List focuses on addressing many of these crash causes – in particular, speeding, impairment, distraction, vulnerable road users, and collision-avoidance and connected-vehicle technologies. Crashes” is on the list. In deciding to include it, we noticed that between 2009 and 2018, speeding-related crashes resulted in nearly 100,000 fatalities – that’s close to one-third of all traffic fatalities in the United States. The true extent of the problem is likely underestimated because the reporting of speeding-related crashes is inconsistent. To address this pressing safety concern, we must make full use of all the tools and strategies at our disposal. Speed limiters on large trucks, automated enforcement, expert speed analysis tools and education campaigns remain underused.

The NTSB has called for a paradigm shift in how we address road safety. We believe in and strongly advocate for the adoption of the Safe System Approach, a key part of our advocacy in 2020 and an item on our current MWL. In September 2020, NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy urged government and law enforcement officers – the entire highway community – to embrace this approach when tackling road safety.

The principles underpinning the Safe System Approach acknowledge that humans make mistakes that lead to traffic crashes, but no one should lose their life or be seriously injured because of a crash. The Safe System Approach also recognizes that: • The human body has a limited physical ability to tolerate crash forces

• Road safety is a shared responsibility • All parts of the system must be strengthened so that if one part fails, road users are still protected

NTSB has held several roundtables with experts on the Safe System Approach, which may be viewed on our YouTube page.

The NTSB cannot improve highway safety alone. We need every voice and authority on the ground. Highway safety advocates, government organizations and law enforcement officers have a big task ahead. After all, effective road safety advocacy requires three parts: legislation, education and enforcement.

Addressing the causes of fatal accidents and reversing the emerging crash trends will be a challenge, but we know that we are not alone in this fight; together we can and will make a difference. n

2021-2022 NTSB

MOST WANTED LIST

NTSB’s 2021-2022 Most Wanted List highlights transportation safety improvements needed to prevent accidents, reduce injuries and save lives. NTSB urges lawmakers, industry, advocacy and community organizations, and every American to learn more about what they can do to implement and champion the 2021-2022 Most Wanted List recommendations.

The list has four categories: aviation, highway, marine and rail, pipeline and hazardous materials. The highway recommendations are:

• Implement a comprehensive strategy to eliminate speedingrelated crashes.

• Protect vulnerable road users through a Safe System approach.

• Prevent alcohol- and other drugimpaired driving.

• Require collision-avoidance and connected-vehicle technologies on all vehicles.

• Eliminate distracted driving.

View NTSB’s Most Wanted List at www.ntsb.gov/mwl.