Have you ever read or sent a text message while driving and then had to slam on the brakes to avoid hitting another car? Or have you missed an exit or turn because you were distracted by a phone call? It only takes seconds for a crash to happen.

Every day in the U.S., 9 people are killed and more than 1,060 are injured in crashes that involve distracted driving, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Using a cell phone, texting, and eating are all forms of distracted driving, but so are in-vehicle technologies such as navigation systems.

Recent railroad accidents caused by employees doing routine repair work killed one person and endangered dozens of passengers and workers, according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which has issued four recommendations intended to address the problem.

A new battle in the long legal war over truckers’ hours of service (HOS) is taking place in a federal appellate court in Washington, D.C. today. Nonprofit consumer advocacy group Public Citizen is attempting to force the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to require what it calls “meaningful limits” on the hours truckers may drive – limits that Congress called for nearly 20 years ago, in an effort to improve transportation safety.

OSHA has ordered the Union Pacific Railroad Co., headquartered in Omaha, Neb., to immediately reinstate an employee who was terminated in violation of the Federal Railroad Safety Act for reporting a work-related injury. The company will pay more than $350,000 in back wages with interest, compensatory and punitive damages.

A recent decision by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to allow small knives on passenger planes is drawing opposition from flight attendants, airlines and politicians as well as the families of victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will meet tomorrow to consider five Safety Alerts aimed at reducing the number of general aviation accidents. A Safety Alert is a brief information sheet that pinpoints a particular safety issue and offers practical remedies to address the hazard.

The head of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is using National Sleep Awareness Week as an opportunity to remind the transportation industry of the importance of adequate sleep. NTSB Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman said fatigue is a serious safety issue across all modes of transportation.