[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 18 (Wednesday, January 31, 2024)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E103]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   RETIRING OF NTSB'S ``MOST WANTED LIST'' OF TRANSPORTATION SAFETY 
                              IMPROVEMENTS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. VAL T. HOYLE

                               of oregon

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, January 31, 2024

  Ms. HOYLE of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to mark the retirement 
of the National Transportation Safety Board's (NTSB's) ``Most Wanted 
List'' of Transportation Safety Improvements.
  Many of us have interacted with the NTSB in our own communities in 
the wake of transportation tragedies and know they are well-regarded 
for their world-class crash and accident investigations.
  Since 1990, the Most Wanted List has put a focus on needed 
transportation safety improvements across all modes of transportation, 
impacting communities across the country. It was introduced as a 
communications tool--before today's 24-hour news cycle and relentless 
social media--helping the NTSB focus its advocacy messages to 
policymakers. In its time, it was phenomenally effective.
  Since the creation of the List in 1990, the NTSB successfully 
promoted and saw significant policy changes that led to several 
transportation safety wins, including:
  Positive Train Control: legislation requiring full implementation of 
PTC on tracks with regularly scheduled intercity or commuter passenger 
rail service and Class I railroad main lines carrying poison- or toxic-
by-inhalation hazardous materials.
  Fuel Tank Safety: implementation of safety recommendations on fuel 
tank inerting systems and enactment of a related FAA final rule.
  Occupant Protection:
  Child passenger safety laws requiring booster seat use and requiring 
that children ride, properly restrained by a child car seat or seat 
belt, in the back seat.
  Crashworthiness improvements across all modes, including the adoption 
of crash-resistant fuel tanks in helicopters.
  Seat belt laws--requiring that all occupants in all vehicles equipped 
with safety belts use them.
  Recreational Boating: implementation of alcohol-impaired boating 
laws, requirements for personal flotation devices, and requirements for 
boater education.
  Additional areas of safety improvement that the Most Wanted List 
addressed include human fatigue, runway safety, alcohol and drug 
impairment, the shipment of hazardous materials, rail tank car safety, 
as well as pipeline leak detection and mitigation.
  I also want to take a moment to acknowledge the agency's thorough and 
professional investigations that have led to safety recommendations 
which prevented future tragedies.
  America's transportation industry is among the safest in the world, 
and the NTSB is its conscience. But unlike Congress, the agency can 
only recommend, not require or implement these changes. For almost 35 
years, the ``Most Wanted List'' focused the agency's advocacy efforts 
that led to the enactment of new safety policies.
  The NTSB feels now is the moment to change with the times. Its Board 
is calling for a more nimble safety advocacy program, freed from the 
structure of a formal list.
  As they embark on that change, I want to join the Board and the 
agency in celebrating the legacy of the ``Most Wanted List'' on the 
occasion of its retirement. It has served the nation well, and it has 
helped save many American lives.

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