From Advocacy to Action: the NTSB’s Longstanding Advocacy Spurs FAA’s New SMS Mandate

Anthony Lam, NTSB Transportation Safety Specialist, Office of Safety Recommendations and Communications

In a significant move toward enhancing aviation safety, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recently mandated safety management systems (SMSs) for Part 135 operators, Part 91.147 air tour operators, and certain aircraft manufacturers. This ruling comes in response to the pressing need for proactive safety measures in revenue passenger-carrying operations. The NTSB swiftly responded to this development in a recent press release, commending the FAA for its decisive action while also stressing the need for further measures to ensure comprehensive protection for all passengers.

The journey toward this milestone ruling has been marked by the NTSB’s longstanding advocacy for SMS implementation in revenue passenger-carrying operations. The NTSB made its first aviation safety recommendation on SMS in 2007. This recommendation led the FAA to require commercial air carriers (Part 121) to implement an SMS. The agency’s ongoing advocacy for these systems in other revenue passenger-carrying operations is evidenced by six open safety recommendations to the FAA regarding SMS between 2016 and 2022, namely:

• A-16-36: Require all Part 135 operators to establish safety management system programs.
• A-19-28: Require all commercial air tour operators, regardless of their operating rule, to implement a safety management system.
• A-21-13: Require SMSs for the revenue passenger-carrying operations addressed in Safety Recommendations A-21-9 and -10.
• A-21-14: For the revenue passenger-carrying operations addressed in Safety Recommendations A-21-9 and -10, provide ongoing oversight of each operator’s SMS once established.
• A-21-48: Require organizations that design, manufacture, and maintain aircraft to establish a safety management system.
• A-22-15: Develop guidance for small operators for scaling a safety management system that includes methods and techniques for implementation and specific examples applicable to several operational sectors, including air tours.

The NTSB hosted a panel discussion, “Improving the Safety of Part 135 Operations,” in 2020

Additionally, NTSB advocacy events and initiatives on SMS, such as our 2020 Part 135 safety panel discussion, 2021 NTSB blog post, and 2023 SMS virtual roundtable on the importance of implementing SMS in small to midsized aviation operations further underscore our dedication to promoting SMS in other aviation sectors. These advocacy events and initiatives, among others, highlight the critical role of proactive safety measures in aviation operations and underscore the NTSB’s dedication to promoting SMS in the aviation sector.

The NTSB hosted a virtual roundtable in 2023 to discuss the importance of implementing SMS in small to midsized aviation operations

The NTSB’s advocacy efforts, including the aforementioned events and initiatives, have played a crucial role in raising awareness and driving action toward SMS implementation in revenue passenger-carrying operations. These initiatives have paved the way for the FAA’s recent mandate, demonstrating the power of collaborative efforts in advancing aviation safety standards.

As we celebrate this milestone, it is imperative to acknowledge the collective efforts of all stakeholders involved. Moving forward, continued collaboration and proactive measures will be essential to addressing evolving risks and ensuring the comprehensive protection of passengers and crews alike. Together, we will continue to build a safer sky for all.

Driving Change: Insights from the 2024 Lifesavers Conference

Anthony Lam, NTSB Transportation Safety Specialist, Office of Safety Recommendations and Communications

Attendees stepped into the world of road safety innovation and collaboration at last week’s Lifesavers Conference 2024 in Denver, Colorado. Each year, experts, advocates, and policymakers convene at Lifesavers to tackle pressing issues shaping the future of safer roadways. From combating impaired driving to ensuring equitable access to cutting-edge vehicle technology, NTSB staff presented and moderated a variety of workshops that offered invaluable insights and strategies for creating a safer tomorrow.

NTSB staff at 2024 Lifesavers Conference exhibit booth

NTSB Transportation Research Analyst Dr. Ryan Smith’s presentation, “The Oral Fluids Factor: Roadside & Evidential Testing to Reduce Drug-impaired Driving,” shed light on the rising interest in using oral fluid testing in roadside and evidential testing for drug impairment. With the landscape of cannabis legalization evolving and concerns about drugged driving escalating, the timing couldn’t be more crucial. Attendees gained insights into the nuances between preliminary and evidential testing, the mechanics of roadside testing, and the outcomes from states already implementing oral fluid testing. Discussions encompassed emerging challenges such as detecting novel drugs, ongoing research, and legal hurdles faced by states.

In 2022, we released a safety research report titled, Alcohol, Other Drug, and Multiple Drug Use Among Drivers, which found oral fluid is a valuable—but underused—biological specimen for detecting drug use by drivers. The report also recommended states modify their impaired-driving laws, if they have not already, to allow for oral fluid drug testing. Smith pointed this out in his presentation, adding, “It [oral fluid testing] can play a key role in supporting the enforcement of impaired-driving laws.”

Dr. Ryan Smith, Transportation Research Analyst, Office of Research and Engineering

Smith also organized and moderated the session, “Brave New World in Cannabis Detection,” which brought together leading-edge researchers in the field of cannabis detection. Cannabis impairment is a critical issue, and researchers discussed novel ways that cannabis use can be detected in drivers. In his opening remarks, Smith stated: “More than half of the US population now lives in a state where cannabis has been legalized. Recent NTSB research demonstrates the high prevalence of cannabis use among drivers, second in prevalence only to alcohol. Effective methods for detecting signs of cannabis impairment are critical for getting impaired drivers off our nation’s roadways.”

NTSB Office of Highway Safety Program Manager Ellen Lee gave a presentation on the dangers of speeding titled, “Not so Fast & Furious – Channeling Our Energy to Prevent Speed-related Fatalities,” which highlighted the urgent need to address speed-related fatalities through a comprehensive approach. Lee talked about the NTSB’s recent recommendations from our investigation of a crash in North Las Vegas, Nevada, where speeding and speeding recidivism were key.

Ellen Lee, Program Manager, Office of Highway Safety

Lee emphasized our findings that the driver in the crash was impaired and had received seven recent speeding offenses in the 5 years before the crash. “Despite repeated law enforcement actions, the driver’s record was inaccurate (showing only one speeding violation) and local courts treated this driver as a new offender for each violation,” Lee said.

Drawing from NTSB crash investigations and real-world examples, attendees learned about effective countermeasures and community engagement strategies. From leveraging data insights to advocating for vehicle safety technologies and infrastructure enhancements, the workshop underscored the importance of collaboration to curb excessive speed and protect lives on the road.

NTSB Safety Advocate Leah Walton moderated a thought-provoking discussion in her session, “A Safe System Approach to Address Impaired Driving” exploring where and how impaired driving fits into the five pillars of the Safe System Approach. Walton and her panel explored the multifaceted challenges posed by impaired driving, particularly concerning polysubstance impairment. Attendees gained a deeper understanding of the prevalence and risks associated with this behavior, along with potential policy interventions and enforcement strategies.

Leah Walton, Safety Advocate, Office of Safety Recommendations and Communications

In Walton’s opening remarks, she emphasized, “We cannot have a safe system while impaired driving is killing over 13,000 people a year. To achieve zero fatalities, we must expand our view of impaired-driving prevention through the Safe System lens.” With an emphasis on partnership-building at both the state and national levels, the workshop provided a roadmap for stakeholders to tackle impaired driving head-on and enhance road safety.

Stephanie Shaw, NTSB Management Analysis Officer, moderated the session, “Safety for All: How Vehicle Technology Addresses Underserved Populations.” Exploring design considerations, benefits, and challenges, attendees learned ways to extend these advancements to underserved populations. Shaw emphasized the importance of building a system that guarantees safe transportation for all who use it, regardless of socioeconomic status or mode of travel, whether it be personal vehicle, bike, walking, rolling, hailing a rideshare or an autonomous shuttle service, or taking public transportation. This sentiment encapsulated the overarching theme of inclusivity and accessibility discussed throughout the workshop.

Stephanie Shaw, Management Analysis Officer, Office of Railroad, Pipeline, and Hazardous Materials Investigations

The Lifesavers Conference serves as a catalyst for meaningful dialogue and collaboration in advancing road safety initiatives. By harnessing innovation, data-driven approaches, and community engagement, attendees are empowered to drive tangible change and create safer roads for everyone. We hope to continue these important dialogues at next year’s Lifesavers Conference in Long Beach, California!

Traffic Safety Through a Public Health Lens

By Sophia Peerzada, Safety Advocate

On March 28th, I moderated a webinar titled “Traffic Safety Through a Public Health Lens.” This joint effort between the NTSB and the American Public Health Association (APHA) ahead of National Public Health Week highlighted traffic safety as a public health issue.

This topic is very important to me as a transportation safety advocate with a degree in public health. When I was studying for my Master of Public Health degree at the University of South Florida, I was the only student in my program (that I knew of) who was interested in traffic safety. I was motivated by the Tampa Bay region’s regrettably high rates of traffic-related fatalities, and the perceptible imbalance of safety interventions along socioeconomic lines. I also knew the statistics nationwide: each year, 43,000 people die on US roadways. I thought, of course this is a public health issue—people are getting hurt and dying on our roads each day!  

Since joining the NTSB in November 2023, I have had the pleasure of meeting folks who bring a public health mindset to transportation safety. In fact, the NTSB itself plays a significant role in public health by identifying transportation safety issues and issuing recommendations to make travel safer for the public.

Prior to the webinar, I connected with former NTSB Vice Chair T. Bella Dinh-Zarr, who notably referred to traffic fatalities as an “epidemic on wheels.” Of course, I was thrilled when Dr. Dinh-Zarr and public health colleagues Dr. Kathleen Carlson, Dr. David Ederer, and Dr. Mighty Fine agreed to be panelists on this first-of-its-kind webinar.

Each panelist brought an invaluable perspective to the conversation.

Dr. Carlson, a professor of epidemiology at the Oregon Health and Science University-Portland State University School of Public Health and core investigator at the Portland VA, opened the event with a review of injury epidemiology. She explained that “public health takes a scientific approach to a public health problem” as it seeks to identify the problem’s cause and develop strategies for preventing it from happening again.

Dr. Ederer, an epidemiologist at the CDC’s Physical Activity and Health Branch, followed with a presentation on the Safe Systems Pyramid and how public health principles can be applied to engineering. His presentation underscored the need to apply traffic safety interventions systematically to improve population health.

Dr. Dinh-Zarr, Senior Advisor at FIA Foundation and the Traffic Injury Research Foundation, built upon Dr. Carlson’s and Dr. Ederer’s presentations by providing concrete examples of how the public health lens has been applied to traffic safety efforts. She highlighted the NTSB’s investigation process as an example of taking a public health approach to preventing the recurrence of traffic-related injuries and fatalities.

Finally, Dr. Fine, associate executive director of the APHA’s Division of Public Health Policy & Practice, rounded out the panel by emphasizing the need to apply a health equity perspective to all traffic safety efforts. He urged traffic safety practitioners to ensure that interventions are inclusive, accessible, and culturally relevant.

Overall, it was a wonderful and much-needed discussion that I am certain each attendee walked away from having learned something new. Dr. Ederer said it best in his presentation: “Public health is a way of describing and solving problems.” Given that, I think all of us in the traffic safety space are public health practitioners.

You can view the full webinar recording here: https://youtu.be/DMNxSFNANeI?si=FDR2BhF6vZXdJDut..

NTSB at Safe Mobility

By NTSB Safety Advocacy Division

Last week, NTSB Board Member Thomas Chapman and agency staff spoke at the Safe Mobility Conference, hosted by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety in collaboration with the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. Attendees came from throughout government, industry, academia, the research community, advocacy, and other key stakeholder groups. Students and professionals alike were welcome.

The NTSB delegation discussed the agency’s investigations, recommendations, and experiences advocating for traffic safety improvements. In the closing plenary, Member Chapman capped off the NTSB’s presentations, discussing how to learn from NTSB investigations to turn the vision of zero traffic deaths into reality.

Amplifying Victims’ Voices

NTSB Chief of Safety Advocacy Nicholas Worrell set the tone with opening remarks, and Dr. Ryan Smith, of NTSB’s Office of Research and Engineering, led the discussion that followed about incorporating testimonials from victims of traffic crashes into transportation safety campaigns.

Worrell highlighted successes from both the aviation and road safety worlds, and Smith encouraged victim advocates and researchers to explore how the advocacy and research communities can more effectively work together to improve transportation safety. Both focused on the role and importance of firsthand stories in raising awareness, creating political will and public demand for change, and changing driver behavior.

Safe Speeds for a Safe Transportation System

NTSB Senior Advisor Ivan Cheung updated conference attendees regarding progress on safety recommendations issued from our 2017 speeding report. Speeding is about as prevalent as alcohol in fatal crashes, and the NTSB is committed to finding solutions.

“Speeding increases the likelihood of being involved in a crash and intensifies the severity of injuries sustained by all road users in a crash. Slow down—your life or the life of your loved ones depend on it, the lives of shared road users depends on it,” Cheung told attendees.

Building a Healthy Traffic Safety Culture

NTSB Safety Advocate Bryan Delaney presented on engaging youth and teen drivers in roadway safety. Delaney explained the role of mentorship and advocacy in bringing youth into traffic safety initiatives and creating a positive youth traffic safety culture.

“Engaging youth and teen drivers in traffic safety efforts will increase the effectiveness of interventions,” Delaney said. “Put youth at the head of the table, not in the seat to the side, and they engage. Empowerment leads to ownership.”

Member Chapman: Moving from Vision to Reality

During the closing plenary, Member Thomas Chapman discussed NTSB investigations, recommendations, and positions. He stressed that attendees could learn from NTSB investigations in all modes to turn the vision of zero traffic deaths into reality.

“I am a big believer in the Safe System approach,” Member Chapman said.

Later, he described new and reiterated NTSB recommendations to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) springing from crashes in Avenal, California, and North Las Vegas, Nevada. We called on to NHTSA to:

• require all new vehicles be equipped with passive vehicle-integrated alcohol impairment detection systems and/or advanced driver monitoring systems;
• incentivize adoption of intelligent speed assistance systems that would prevent speed-related crashes;
• require, as standard equipment in all new vehicles, intelligent speed assistance systems that, at a minimum, warn the driver when the vehicle exceeds the speed limit;
• develop guidelines to assist states in implementing pilot intelligent speed assistance interlock programs for high-risk drivers who speed.

The conference boasted 3 interactive workshops and 3 plenary sessions, as well as 8 technical sessions featuring experts in topics such as the Safe System approach, traffic safety culture, and more. Attendees had opportunities to network, as well as to learn from new traffic safety research with a goal of moving the needle on road safety.

Missouri Bans Texting While Driving, Only Montana Remains

By Vice Chair Bruce Landsberg

On July 7 Gov. Mike Parson signed the Siddens Bening Hands Free Law, prohibiting the use of portable electronic devices while driving, making Missouri the 49th state with some form of texting ban. The District of Columbia also bans texting and driving.

As the nation battles the rising number of roadway fatalities, distracted driving continues to be among the road safety issues that most concern the NTSB and the road safety community. Distracted driving is widespread, killing thousands and injuring hundreds of thousands in the United States every year in preventable crashes. Put into context, all driving fatalities now equate to the loss of three airliners a week. In 2011, the NTSB recommended that all states and the District of Columbia ban driver use of portable electronic devices except in emergencies.

The recommendation came in response to a multivehicle crash in Gray Summit, Missouri. That involved two school buses, a truck-tractor, and a pickup truck with a teen driver. The probable cause was distraction due to text messaging by the teen driver.

Although it’s satisfying to see Missouri finally banning texting while driving, no state has fully satisfied our recommendation; rather, they are meeting this recommendation a step at a time. No state has gone far enough yet to fully ban drivers from using portable electronic devices except in support of the driving task, such as navigation. The science is very clear—humans do not multitask well, and we all pay the price in lost lives, huge number of life-altering injuries and massive insurance costs!

49 states and the District of Columbia have texting bans. Now, Montana is the only state to permit texting and driving on its roads.

The battle against distracted driving will progress a step at a time, and the NTSB congratulates Missourians for taking this one. Technology got us into this deadly situation and can end this immediately, along with legislation, proper enforcement and education.

Getting here took the collaborative efforts and hard work of many dedicated advocates, such as AAA Missouri, Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety, MODOT, StopDistraction.org, the National Distracted Driving Coalition, and survivor advocates. Our thanks to the Missouri road safety community for calling on us to testify in support of your efforts and accepting us into a collaborative partnership as you worked to see this law become a reality.

The work to eliminate distracted driving must—and will—continue, and the NTSB will stand with advocates for anti-distraction laws across the nation.

Resources

Learn how you can help eliminate distracted driving.

Watch the 2019 Missouri Roundtable on Distracted Driving: Act to End Deadly Distractions

National Distracted Driving Coalition