Will This Holiday Weekend be the Deadliest Ever?

By Dr. Rob Molloy

The American Automobile Association projects that more than 42 million Americans will travel this Independence Day weekend, five million more than on Memorial Day weekend. More travelers on the road mean an increased risk for a crash. Unfortunately, 25 years of National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data show that impaired driving leads to nearly half of all deadly crashes on July 4^th.

Every year, we celebrate Independence Day with family and friends, watching fireworks and eating at barbeques. And, every year during this time of celebration, more than a hundred lives are lost on our roads and highways. Just this week, an Insurance Institute for Highway Safety analysis of crash data shows that more people die in motor vehicle crashes on Independence Day than any other day of the year.

In all 50 states and D.C., it’s illegal to drive with a blood alcohol content (BAC) of .08 or higher. Yet, over the July 4^th period in 2014, 164 people were killed in crashes involving at least one driver or motorcycle operator with a BAC of .08 or higher. And every one of these crashes was preventable.

This year, the July 4^th weekend extends from Friday, July 1, through Tuesday, July 5. We all have a responsibility to ensure that this Independence Day weekend isn’t the deadliest on record.

A variety of factors can influence the relationship between the consumption of alcohol and the resulting BAC level, such as a person’s gender and weight, the concentration of alcohol in the drink, and the rate at which one drinks. We know that alcohol slows down the central nervous system and affects a person’s cognitive performance, mood, and behavior. In general, however, alcohol’s effects are dose-dependent, meaning that alcohol’s impact changes or becomes more severe as more alcohol is consumed.

Impairment begins long before a person’s BAC reaches .08. In fact, it begins with the first drink. By the time a person reaches a BAC of .08, their risk of being in a crash is double that of a sober driver’s.

At that BAC level, the drinker is likely drowsy and their vision, perception, and ability to react are all impaired. In the U.S., more than 10,000 people lose their lives every year because a driver experiencing such impairment decided to get behind the wheel.

There is no excuse for making the decision to drive impaired by alcohol. This July 4^th weekend, if your celebration includes alcohol, designate an unimpaired driver before you even take the first sip. If no unimpaired drivers are available, call a taxi or another for-hire vehicle. If you see someone about to drive or ride impaired, speak up, step in and take their keys. There are safe alternatives to driving while impaired, and we should all work to prevent impaired drivers from putting their life or the life of someone else at risk.

The NTSB supports the efforts of NHTSA, law enforcement, and community leaders across the country to spread the message that Buzzed Driving is Drunk Driving this Independence Day weekend.

Dr. Molloy is Director of the NTSB Office of Highway Safety.

The ‘100 Deadliest Days’: a tragic reality

By Robert L. Sumwalt

The “100 Deadliest Days.” In the transportation safety world, this how we refer to the summer days for teens ages 16-19 in the U.S. As the father of a daughter who just moved out of that age group, we have to do more to change that reality.

What makes driving during this time of year so deadly for teens?

The time teens spend driving increases significantly during the summer months. A recent AAA study found that over the past five years, during the “100 Deadliest Days,” an average of 1,022 people died each year in crashes involving teen drivers.

Teen drivers lack driving experience. Help them gain experience by taking them out for a drive in the rain, snow and on sunny days. Allow them to experience driving in heavy traffic conditions, merging and making left turns.

Passengers significantly increase a teen driver’s risk of being in a crash. And, many states don’t restrict the passengers teen drivers are allowed to have in their car. Teen drivers should not carry passengers under age 21 – not their friends, and not their siblings or other young family members.

An average of 10 people die every day from a crash involving a teen driver during these 100 Deadliest Days. Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for our teens — not drugs, not suicide, but motor vehicle crashes. We have to do more to change this reality.

As parents, we have the responsibility to teach our children safe driving behaviors. We need to talk to them about engaging in activities while they are driving that can distract them from the driving task – talking on a cell phone, texting, changing the radio, or trying to use GPS. We need to protect them from injuring themselves and others by not allowing them to carry any passengers. And most importantly, we need to demonstrate safe driving habits ourselves. Parents–your children are watching you! Don’t give good advice but set bad examples.

Robert L. Sumwalt is an NTSB Board Member.

Law Enforcement: Partners in Traffic Safety

By Christopher A. Hart

They are most often the first ones on the scene. They see first-hand the tragic consequences of impaired, distracted, or drowsy driving—and the unfortunate results of crashes to unbelted occupants. And, they often deliver the news to families that their loved one was killed in a crash—all while knowing that the crash was probably preventable!

Last month, NTSB Safety Advocacy Chief Nicholas Worrell had the honor of meeting with some of the outstanding men and women of the Palm Beach (Florida) Police Department. The NTSB and law enforcement share the common goal of preventing fatalities and injuries on our roadways. Law enforcement is on the front lines of America’s traffic safety efforts.

In the US, car crashes take the lives of more than 32,000 people each year. Operating a vehicle requires attention and skill. Without a doubt, bad behaviors—impaired, distracted, and fatigued-driving—should be avoided. If bad behaviors lead to a crash, the appropriate punishments should be levied. But, ideally, we must all work together to prevent this from occurring in the first place. Every day, the law enforcement community does just that.

NTSB Senior Highway Investigator Robert Accetta met recently with law enforcement officers in New Mexico. His discussions centered on impaired driving, including the increasing use of impairing synthetic drugs, and what we have seen from our crash investigations. He advised the group that the NTSB recommended stiffer penalties for those caught driving impaired by alcohol, including mandatory use of interlocks for all convicted offenders, and lowering the legal BAC limit from 0.08 to 0.05. He also added that the NTSB is still learning about the effects of other drugs, particularly over-the-counter and prescription drugs, on the driving task. The increasing use of a variety of potentially impairing drugs makes combatting this problem particularly challenging.

Our common goal to prevent crashes became especially evident when Montgomery County (Maryland) police officer Noah Leotta was killed by a drunk driver while conducting a sobriety checkpoint. The death of Officer Leotta spurred the Maryland legislature to pass Noah’s Law, which requires the installation of ignition interlock devices on cars for drivers convicted of driving under the influence.

Annually, since 1990, the NTSB has issued its Most Wanted List of transportation safety improvements. Our 2016 Most Wanted List includes issues that are aimed at preventing crashes on our nation’s roadways caused by alcohol and drug impairment, distraction, fatigue, and lack of adequate occupant protection.

Both drivers and passengers play a role in preventing crashes—and both the NTSB and law enforcement will never cease to spread that message. Drivers should practice distraction-free driving and be solely focused on the driving task. And passengers should support safe driving by not distracting drivers from the driving task. Both drivers and passengers should always wear their seat belts—no matter where they are seated. This simple safety measure saves more than 12,000 lives per year. Finally, to repeat an old but important mantra, drivers should not drink and drive, and passengers should not drive with those who have been drinking. In fact, the NTSB recommends penalties for drinking and driving, beginning at a .05 BAC, which we know can result in meaningful reductions in crashes, injuries, and fatalities.

Every day, in communities across the country, law enforcement officers are working to end substance impairment, to make sure that drivers disconnect from deadly distractions, and to ensure that everyone is buckled up. Working together to improve traffic safety, the NTSB and law enforcement will continue to make a difference. But we need your help.

Be aware of your responsibility as a driver and passenger—and stay alive.

Weather…or not

By Robert L. Sumwalt

There’s an old saying, “everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it.” Well, this week, the NTSB intends to do something about it.

Tomorrow and Wednesday, June 21 and 22, NTSB will have a forum on pilot weather reports (PIREPs). Why is this topic important? We became interested in PIREPs by accident – several of them, in fact. As our accident investigators will discuss in the forum, after several years of weather encounter-related accident and incident investigations, we found that there were too many instances where weather information had been observed but had not made it into the cockpits of those who needed it most.

One such event occurred in March 2012, in Anchorage, Alaska. A Learjet 35A encountered severe in-flight icing conditions that exceeded the capabilities of the airplane’s windscreen anti-ice systems, and the airplane’s windscreen abruptly iced over. As a result, the flight crew lost all forward visibility, and the airplane veered off the runway during landing and came to rest in a snow bank.

The NTSB found that the severe icing conditions had been conveyed about 15 minutes before the Learjet encountered them.

A pilot in an F-16 conducting an approach to an Air Force Base about 7 miles northeast reported “severe icing on final” and initiated a go-around to “wait until his windshield…cleared.” The controller handling the F-16 shared this information with the controller who later handled the Learjet; however, the controller handling the Learjet did not relay the urgent PIREP to the Learjet flight crew.

In this case, the NTSB determined that the approach controller’s failure to relay the PIREP was a contributing factor to the incident.

The problem doesn’t lie solely with ATC not disseminating weather information. As a former airline pilot and line check airman, I know that sometimes pilots do not relay weather information to ATC. And, when they do, the information is prone to inaccuracies, especially regarding time, location, and weather intensity.

To their credit, many people have been trying for years to get the PIREP system to work better, and many of them will be participating in the forum. That’s precisely why we wanted to have this event – to bring together key players with knowledge of the PIREP system to begin a conversation about improving it. And we hope that this conversation continues, planting the seed for collaborative action.

The forum will be open to the public and will also be webcast. We hope you can join us, either in person or online.

Robert L. Sumwalt is an NTSB Board Member.

Part 23 NPRM – A New Horizon

By John DeLisi

In 1977, I took my first flying lesson in a Cessna 150 parked on the flight line at Long Island MacArthur Airport. If you head out to a flight line today, you’ll see that many of the general aviation airplanes have changed little since then.

The FAA’s recent Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for Part 23, Revision of Airworthiness Standards for Normal, Utility, Acrobatic, and Commuter Category Airplanes, proposes significant changes in the design of new general aviation aircraft and the introduction of new technologies to modernize the general aviation fleet.

Through our accident investigations, the NTSB has learned many safety lessons over the years. The comments we submitted on the proposed rulemaking highlight areas in which safety improvements recommended by the NTSB can help further enhance the streamlining of Part 23. We are optimistic that the proposed process will address many of our outstanding safety recommendations.

I have seen technology advancements that are far beyond what can be found in the cockpit of many general aviation aircraft, and the NPRM proposes to make the introduction and certification of new safety technologies quicker and less burdensome for manufacturers. For example, with Inflight Loss of Control in General Aviation on the NTSB’s Most Wanted List, we understand the advantages that angle of attack indicators can bring to preventing loss of control accidents, and we support their incorporation into general aviation cockpits. The FAA indicates that the proposed rule will dramatically reduce loss of control accidents, and we look forward to learning more about the ways the proposed rule can help meet this goal.

We see great potential for the proposed rule to allow manufacturers to more rapidly introduce safety improvements into the fleet, as compared against the current pace associated with the FAA approval processes. By streamlining these processes, the proposed rule will help change the introduction of innovative new safety technologies from something that is nearly impossible to something that is encouraged and sought after.

The potential safety advancements made available through the adoption of the NPRM are exciting to consider. We look forward to the next steps that the FAA will take; steps that we believe will help save lives.

John DeLisi is Director of the NTSB Office of Aviation Safety.