Public safety - Articles - Page 3

Drone safety testing process moves forward

December 13, 2019

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has announced the organizations selected to advise the agency in developing test administration requirements for the recreational Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) aeronautical knowledge and safety test. The ultimate goal: to advance public safety of the largest segment of drone operations.

NTSB wants halt on doors-off sightseeing helicopter rides

December 11, 2019

In the wake of a fatal 2018 crash of an Airbus AS350 helicopter into New York City’s East River, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is calling for a halt to doors-off helicopter flights that place passengers in supplemental passenger restraints - until federal regulators can better evaluate the safety of the restraints, which could interfere with the aircraft and hamper escape.

Court rules Exxon must turn over refinery blast info to CSB

Investigation stalled due to litigation

December 11, 2019

In a unanimous decision, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday that Exxon Mobil Oil Corp. must produce information to the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) related to a tank filled with hydrofluoric acid at the site of a 2015 oil refinery explosion in Torrance, California. The decision reverses a lower Court ruling that the information was not sufficiently relevant to the CSB’s investigation.

What is “Vision Zero” & should other cities follow Denver’s lead?

December 10, 2019

An initiative underway in Denver, Colorado may provide a blueprint for other U.S. cities who want to improve safety on their roadways for “vulnerable” road users - bicyclists, pedestrians, and motorcyclists. Denver Vision Zero is a five-year plan crafted by city agencies and State and community partners that includes improved street design, safe speeds, a culture of safety, and improved data.

Keep those holiday laser lights earthbound

December 9, 2019

It’s the most wonderful time of the year…unless you're an airline pilot, flying over a home bedazzled with holiday laser lighting that's pointing up at the sky. If that happens, you and your passengers could be in serious danger, because you could be distracted or temporarily blinded by the residential laser-light display. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which says it receives reports of such incidents each year from pilots.

NTSB delves into bicyclist safety on U.S. roads

December 9, 2019

More bicyclists die on U.S. roadways in crashes with motor vehicles than the deaths resulting in railroad, marine or aviation accidents¹, according the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which has taken up the subject of bicycle safety for the first time in 47 years. The 806 bicyclists who died in crashes in 2017 got the NTSB’s attention; so did the fact that bikes are increasingly being used a means of transportation.

NTSB: Worker error behind school building blowing up

Lawsuits are pending

December 4, 2019

It was a nightmare scenario by any reckoning: workers installing piping at a school accidentally set off a release of gas and ran to warn everyone to evacuate. Some people made it out of the building before a thunderous explosion destroyed it. Others didn’t. That’s what occurred on the morning of August 2, 2017, at Minnehaha Academy, a private school in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The blast killed two employees, custodian John Carlson and receptionist Ruth Berg, and seriously injured nine others.

DOT takes steps to improve safety of U.S. railroad crossings

December 3, 2019

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) yesterday announced the publication of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to improve safety at public highway-rail grade crossings nationwide. The proposed rule would require all states and the District of Columbia to develop and implement a new or updated highway-rail grade crossing action plan no later than one year after the effective date of the final rule.

DOT wants your ideas on “the transportation system of the future”

December 2, 2019

“The NETT council was established to provide a common portal to the Department’s decentralized modes to better engage with new technologies which are cross-modal; the Department is seeking input on how to make the NETT council work more effectively to prepare for the transportation system of the future,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao.

FCC proposal to split wireless spectrum raises safety alarms

NSC: This short-sighted decision puts convenience above safety

December 1, 2019

“Forty thousand people died in 2018 on American roadways. Forty thousand died the year before. How many more people need to die in crashes to help FCC commissioners understand that support for this proposal will cost lives? Technology to advance safety has the potential to save thousands of lives each year, and having dedicated spectrum allows transportation industry players to test promising services without the threat of harmful interference from Wi-Fi users."