Wrong-way driving will be the first item on the agenda during the National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB) meeting Dec. 11th. The Board will hear a report on one of the most serious types of accidents that occur on U.S. highways: collisions involving vehicles traveling the wrong way on high-speed divided highways.
The goal of the project is to identify relevant safety recommendations to prevent wrong-way collisions on such highways and access ramps. The investigations included in the report take a focused view of the driver and highway issues affecting wrong-way collisions.
The report will discuss the following areas:
• Wrong-way collisions – Defines the problem, examines the NTSB history with these types of collisions, and surveys the data and research concerning wrong-way driving collisions.
• NTSB investigations – Summarizes nine NTSB wrong-way collision investigations.
• Characterization of wrong-way driving – Considers the components of wrong-way collisions and uses data, research, and NTSB investigative work to summarize these types of collisions.
• Countermeasures – Provides recommendations to address wrong-way collisions.
Also on the agenda: a review of a grade-crossing accident involving a truck and an Amtrak train which occurred on June 24, 2011 in Miriam, Nevada and claimed the lives of the truck driver, train conductor and four train passengers. Fifteen train passengers and one crew member were injured.
This accident was originally scheduled to come before the NTSB on October 30, 2012, but was postponed due to the disruptions caused by Hurricane Sandy.
The meeting will begin at 9:30 am EST. A link to a live webcast of the event will be available on the following page shortly before the start of the meeting: http://www.capitolconnection.net/capcon/ntsb/ntsb.htm
