When we discuss the role of the government in driver safety advocacy, we’re usually referring to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, or NHTSA for short. However, they’re not the only major entity who is fighting the good fight for safer roads and drivers.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is also an important group in this aspect. Although they focus on a wider scale of transportation, which includes planes and trains on top of automobiles, they have their share of priorities when it comes to driver safety.
Case in point: every year they hold a press conference in which they detail their “Most Wanted List.” This consists of the NTSB’s foremost safety priorities. As they put it, this list is “designed to increase awareness of, and support for, the most critical changes needed to reduce transportation accidents and save lives.”
While it does cater to the transportation sector as a whole, there are some notable initiatives that are incredibly relevant to driver safety.
Reducing Accidents Related to Drowsiness/Fatigue
We’ve covered the debilitating effects of driving while tired numerous times before, but it’s worth mentioning over and over again: driving while drowsy and/or tired is a form of impaired driving. It can arguably be just as bad as driving while drunk, as it leads to poor judgement and decision making on the road, and hampers the split-second awareness and control we require on the road.
To combat this, the NTSB is recommending more education and awareness about the severity of not only driving while tired, but also the circumstances that lead to such a situation. Drivers should be well-educated on what causes them to be tired – including any circumstances which may lead to a poor quality of rest.
Ultimately, while the government can try their hardest to combat fatigue on the road, it’s ultimately up to our personal responsibility to ensure we’re not putting ourselves in such a potentially dangerous position.
Taking Care of Deadly Distractions
Although distracted driving has always been an issue, the advent of portable electronic devices (PEDs) has exacerbated those dangers considerably, especially on the road. According to the NHTSA, in 2014, 3,179 people died in accidents where the driver was distracted. Additionally, in 2015 State Farm reported that nearly 30 percent of surveyed drivers admitted to surfing the Web while driving.
To combat this, the NTSB recommends stricter regulations and policies against PED use while driving. In 2014, the National Safety Council reported that 73 percent of drivers think texting laws across the country should be enforced more seriously. However, currently only 14 states (and Washington, DC) have an outright ban on the use of phones while driving – and none ban the use of hands-free devices, which can be just as distracting as using a smartphone. Regulation and further education would go a long way in battling this major issue.
Enforcing Stricter Laws Around Impaired Driving
Though the public is well aware of its dangers, drinking and driving still remains a major issue for driver safety. However, we tend to focus on drunk driving as the major contributor. Buzzed driving has only recently become a concern, where a driver isn’t necessarily drunk, but still has had enough alcohol to impair their driving abilities.
In order to take this threat more seriously, the NTSB is proposing that states lower their legal BAC limit from the generally-accepted 0.08 to 0.05. If drivers’ safety and awareness are being affected well below the legally accepted BAC limit, it only makes sense to prevent those from getting behind the wheel.
Indeed, all of these issues are high priorities in regards to driver safety – and if anything, it’s reassuring that there are national entities out there lobbying to make the roads a safer place for everyone.