The Transportation for America Campaign is seeking a smart and motivated individual to jump into a vibrant national campaign to be a high performing outreach director. The Outreach Director will direct the day-to-day expansion of a diverse coalition of prominent leaders from a multitude of constituencies working to reform federal transportation policy.

Experience managing coalition building or constituent services on a political or issue campaign is required. The Outreach Director reports to the Director and works with the 4 person outreach staff and over a dozen different national constituent caucus groups engaged in the campaign. The applicant must be a dynamic individual, prepared to speak to audiences, and recruit and organize both grasstops and grassroots leaders, work with NGOs, business leaders, and elected officials. The Outreach Director will also work closely with the Field, Legislative, and Communications teams.

Transportation for America (T4America) is a growing and diverse campaign of partner organizations, businesses and elected officials focused on creating a bold, new national transportation program that will take America into the 21st century by building a modernized infrastructure and healthy, equitable communities where people can live, work and play. Over 450 partners strong nationwide, the campaign is growing daily.

Responsibilities will include:

• Manage national partner engagement in Washington DC and on Capitol Hill.
• Develop tools and materials (in coordination with other campaign teams) to engage coalition partners in advocacy and media efforts in an expanding role over the course of the campaign.
• Manage implementation of outreach activities with targeted constituent groups both in DC and in other target locations, including partner summits, Hill briefings, and media opportunities.
• Coordinate with field team to engage local and state partners to shape outreach strategies appropriate for each state.
• Build a powerful national outreach operation consisting of leaders from the business community, union leaders, elected officials, real estate developers, equity and health groups, environmental organizations, affordable housing leaders, rural and small town leaders, bike and pedestrian organizations, transportation industry representatives and others.
• Train outreach staff on organizing, advocacy and messaging.
• Build the capacity of national partners to engage target members of Congress about the campaign’s legislative agenda.
• Report regularly to Director with written documentation of results.

This position requires a self-motivated and detail-oriented person with excellent organizational skills. The candidate must have good communication and interpersonal skills, and be able to work independently with minimal supervision. The candidate should have:

• Interest in transportation issues, or related areas. Experience doing organizing with a political campaign a MUST. Work with bicyclists, pedestrian, transit, union, business, rural, aging, or political organizing an asset.
• A minimum of six years of salaried management experience in organizing for a political or issue campaign.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently and meet deadlines with willingness to be part of a team working towards a common goal.
• Availability for travel.
• Strong communication and writing skills and an ability to work with a diverse group of people and audiences.
• Ability to build and maintain coalitions on-line, in person or by phone.
• Proven ability to report on numbers, metrics and analysis of field capacity and activity success.

COMPENSATION: Compensation will be commensurate with experience.

TIME FRAME: Full-time.

HOW TO APPLY: Interested applicants should send a cover letter, resume, short writing sample and 3 references to jobs@t4america.org. Interviews will be held on a rolling basis so it’s best to get your application in early.
Equal Opportunity Employment: Transportation For America is an equal opportunity employer. People of color are strongly encouraged to apply.

Early Registration deadline extended to April 30!

This conference brings together more than a dozen TRB Energy and Environmental committees meeting jointly with the AASHTO Standing Committee on the Environment and serves as a platform to develop better transportation solutions through the integration of diverse environmental (human and natural) and transportation perspectives.

Join nationally recognized experts in transportation along with forward-thinking professionals in environmental, planning, community and economic analysis, environmental justice, land use, sustainability, climate change, and transportation fields in a frank and open discussion aimed at sharing experiences, examining the realities of major complex issues, and developing common sense approaches to environmental and transportation challenges.

A preconference workshop on Sunday, June 6, will provide participants with the opportunity to identify critical environmental research needs.

The Conference will be held at the Raleigh Convention Center, a beautiful new facility, centrally located in downtown Raleigh, NC.

Registration

• Early Registration has been extended!
• The conference registration fee of $350 will be in effect until April 30.
• After April 30, the fee will increase to $425.  Conference Participants should register now to save!

Conference Hotel

• A block of rooms will be reserved at the new Raleigh Marriott Hotel City-Center adjacent to the convention center. A conference rate of $92/night plus tax has been established but you must reserve your room by May 8, 2010.

Be a Sponsor

• Overall conference sponsorship provides significant opportunities for relationship building among agency, university, corporate, and non-governmental professionals. Let participants know who you are by getting your information prominently displayed. Find out how you can be a sponsor!

Click here to access the event website for preliminary program and other event related details.

Source: Prepared by the Office of Planning, Environment and Realty  – Federal Highway Administration (www.fhwa.dot.gov/hep/climate)

Recent Events

Obama Administration Officials Release Progress Report on Work of Climate Change Adaptation Task Force. On March 16, the CEQ, NOAA, and the Office of Science and Technology Policy released an interim progress report of the Interagency Climate Change Adaptation Task Force.  The report recommends key components to include in a national strategy on climate change adaptation.  It calls for a national adaptation strategy that has a “flexible, forward thinking approach” shifting away from using past conditions to predict the future.  It also calls for adaptation responses to be included in current U.S. government plans, processes and approaches, so that adaptation and resilience approaches become part of existing activities.  Comments on the report are being accepted through May 15.  For full text of the report and to submit a comment, see the Interagency Adaptation Task Force website.

FHWA Posts Study of State Climate Action Plans. This study, completed last summer, reviews progress on state climate action plans in all 50 states.  The report provides a basic summary and analysis of the data gathered on transportation emission reduction strategies. It also assesses the level of certainty in estimates of strategies’ impacts on GHG emissions.  The report, accompanying data spreadsheet, and summary PowerPoint presentation are available on the research page FHWA’s Climate Change Website.

NCHRP Publishes Study on Mechanisms for Integrating Transportation-Related Greenhouse Gas Reductions into Transportation Decision Making. This study provides a factual basis for State DOTs and MPOs to weigh alternatives for managing GHG emissions from transportation.  The report covers five dimensions of GHG management policy: geographic level of implementation, target metric, sources covered, reduction target base, and regulatory nature of target (voluntary or mandatory).  The web-only study is available here.

Social Cost of Carbon for Regulatory Impact Analysis. The “social cost of carbon” (SCC) is an estimate of the monetized damages associated with an incremental increase in carbon emissions in a given year. It is intended to include (but is not limited to) changes in net agricultural productivity, human health, property damages from increased flood risk, and the value of ecosystem services.  The estimates presented in the report are meant to allow agencies to incorporate the social benefits of reducing CO₂ emissions into cost-benefit analyses of regulatory actions that have small, or “marginal,” impacts on cumulative global emissions. The report assists agencies in complying with Executive Order 12866, which requires a cost-benefit analysis of intended regulation. DOT Participated in the interagency process that produced this document.  The report is available here.

State and Local News

Oregon Legislation Calls for a Statewide Transportation Strategy to Achieve Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Goals. On March 18, Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski signed Senate Bill 1059 which calls for the Oregon Transportation Commission in consultation with MPOs, other state agencies, local governments, and other stakeholders to adopt a statewide transportation strategy to reduce GHG emissions. It also calls for the DOT and the Department of Land Conservation and Development to establish guidelines for alternative land use and transportation scenarios that may reduce GHGs.  The legislation also calls for the Department of Land Conservation to establish a light-duty vehicle GHG reduction target in each MPO Region.  Local governments within MPO areas will be required to consider how regional transportation plans could be altered to reduce GHG emission. Full details of the bill are providedhere.

North Carolina Holds Climate Change Adaptation Workshop. On March 2-3, the North Carolina Interagency Leadership Team hosted this workshop on how the state can increase its resilience to projected climate threats.  The workshop was sponsored in part by FHWA and NCDOT.  Presentations and additional information are available here.

Midwest Transportation and Air Quality Summit Conference Proceedings Posted.  On October 27-29, 2009, the Illinois Department of Transportation hosted this summit which included several presentations on climate change.  The proceedings are available here.

Announcements

2010 TRB Energy and Environment Conference, June 6-9 in Raleigh. This conference serves as a platform to develop better transportation solutions through the integration of diverse environmental and transportation perspectives.  Many conference sessions relating to climate change are planned:

• Addressing Climate Change Impacts at the Transportation Project Scale
• Integrating Climate Change Preparedness into State DOT Activities
• Impact of Climate Policy on Transportation
• The Global Supply Chain and Green House Gases
• Adapting Transportation to Climate Change
• Emerging State Approaches to Regulating Climate Change Impacts of Land Development
• How to Achieve a Low Carbon Transport System in 2050
• Multi-Pollutant and Other Co-Benefits of Climate Change Policy
• Balancing Energy, Security, Carbon Mitigation, and Sustainability
• Air Quality and Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Freight Transportation

An early registration rate is available until April 30.  Registration, an agenda, and additional conference information is available here.

Reminders

CEQ Draft NEPA Guidance on Considerations of Effects of Climate Change and Greenhouse Gas Emissions – Comments due May 24.  The guidance covers when and how Federal agencies should analyze the environmental impacts of GHG emissions and climate change when they describe the environmental impacts of a proposed action under NEPA.  Text of the draft guidance and a comment submittal form are available here on the CEQ website.

Note: If you have any suggestions for inclusion in future issues of Transportation and Climate Change News, or if someone forwarded this newsletter to you and you’d like to receive it directly in the future, please send your suggestions or request to Becky Lupes at Rebecca.Lupes@dot.gov.

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Wednesday, June 9, 2010 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM EDT

In December 2009, an international scan was conducted to identify new ideas and practical, workable models for integrating variable road pricing approaches into state, local, and regional policies, programs, and practices.  Scan team members interacted with host city and country experts from Stockholm, Sweden, London, England, Singapore, Germany, the Czech Republic, and the Netherlands. Specifically, the scan team explored the political, institutional, and technical factors that contributed to the successful implementation of road pricing and, in some cases, to their rejection.

Panelists will present the findings of the scan and will address the potential for road pricing to be a part of a sustainable twenty-first century transportation system.  The scan was conducted under the auspices of the International Technology Scanning Program, which is conducted by the Federal Highway Administration in cooperation with the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials and the National Cooperative Highway Research Program.

Session presenters:

• Robert Arnold, Federal Highway Administration
• Vance Smith, Georgia Department of Transportation
• Patrick DeCorla-Souza, Federal Highway Administration

Moderated by: John Doan, SRF Consulting  (Questions may be posed any time during the Webinar, and are answered at the end of the session).

Registration: Participants must register 24 hours in advance. There is no fee for Chairs of TRB Standing Committees, Sections, or Groups.  There is also no fee for employees of TRB Sponsors: http://bit.ly/9tduwj. TRB Sponsors: Please use your work email to register for the session. Others must pay $99 per site.

There may be situations where a webinar may need to be rescheduled due to unforeseen events.  If a webinar needs to be rescheduled, TRB will contact you via email to provide information about rescheduling the session.

Problems signing in? Contact Reggie Gillum at rgillum@nas.edu or 202-334-2382.

Click here to register.

(Sources: Consumer Reports, Detroit Free Press, Wall Street Journal & CNN Money)

Consumer Reports magazine dealt Toyota Motor Corp. a blow Tuesday issuing a rare “don’t buy” recommendation for the 2010 Lexus GX 460 sport-utility vehicle.

Four of the magazine’s auto engineers found a safety risk during their standard emergency-handling tests.  The specific problem, according to the magazine’s testers, involved the slow reaction of the vehicle’s electronic stability control system when a driver takes it through a turn while quickly lifting his or her foot off the accelerator. Consumer Reports explained the problem in detail on its website as follows:

In real-world driving, lift-off oversteer could occur when a driver enters a highway’s exit ramp or drives through a sweeping turn and encounters an unexpected obstacle or suddenly finds that the turn is too tight for the vehicle’s speed. A natural impulse is to quickly lift off the accelerator pedal. If that were to happen in the GX, the rear could slide around far enough that a wheel could strike a curb or slide off the pavement.

Either of those scenarios can cause a vehicle to roll over. And because the GX is a tall SUV with a high center of gravity, our concern for rollover safety is heightened.

Like almost all current SUVs, the GX has standard ESC. That system is designed to prevent a vehicle from sliding out in a turn and has generally worked very effectively in the vehicles we’ve tested. It does that by applying individual brakes and cutting engine power to help keep the vehicle on its intended path. But the GX’s system doesn’t intervene quickly enough to stop the slide, and the rear end swings around too far.

“All four of Consumer Reports’ auto engineers who conducted the test experienced the problem in an exercise used to evaluate what’s called lift oversteer,” the magazine said in a statement.

The special designation given to the GX 460 by Consumer Reports — “Don’t Buy: Safety Risk” — is rarely given by the magazine. The last time it was used was in 2001, on the Mitsubishi Montero Limited.

“We’re concerned with the results,” said Toyota in a statement, adding that the company will try to duplicated Consumer Reports’ test “to determine if appropriate steps need to taken.”

About 5,000 GX 460s have been sold in the roughly three months the model has been on sale, the magazine said. It advises current owners of this vehicle to approach exit ramps with caution, and to call Toyota demanding a fix for the problem.

The recommendation comes as Toyota tries recover from a safety crisis that has hurt its reputation as a quality leader amid concerns that its Toyota and Lexus products are prone to sudden acceleration.

Click here to read more.

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• Preview: 2010 Lexus GX 460 (nationalpost.com)
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• Consumer Reports calls Lexus GX460 unsafe (sfgate.com)
• Consumer Reports Warns Against 2010 Lexus GX 460 Because Of Rollover Risk (thecarconnection.com)

(Sources: Transportation for America)

Image Courtesy: T4America

Today, I came across a tweet from someone that talked about T4America’s latest national poll results that said majority Americans support  increased access to public transportation and safe walking and biking.  As a curious mind would do it, I went on to explore the survey results and the press release issued by T4America and here is the summary of what I saw: American voters overwhelmingly support broader access to public transportation and safe walking and biking, according to this new national poll conducted for Transportation for America.  This must be a ton of good news for pro-transit & bike-ped folks, especially given all the activities that are happening on the next transportation re-authorization bill.  My favorite finding of this survey:  79% of rural folks support improved public transportation.  Now, who would have expected that from our American voters!

Here are some interesting findings:

• More than four-in-five voters (82 percent) say that “the United States would benefit from an expanded and improved transportation system, such as rail and buses” and a solid majority (56 percent) “strongly agree” with that statement.
• On a personal level, two-thirds (66%) say that they “would like more transportation options so they have the freedom to choose how to get where they need to go.” Along these same lines, 73% currently feel they “have no choice but to drive as much as” they do, and 57% would like to spend less time in the car.
• A majority (58 percent) say that more should be allocated to public transportation, while 35% feel that this is about the right amount. Only 5% say that less should be allocated to other transportation options.

Image Courtesy: T4America

As I said earlier, it will be interesting to see how these findings play into the next reauthorization bill.  While we wait to find that out, let’s take a moment to check out some more survey findings. You can download by clicking here.

Date: April 15, 2010

Time: 1:00–2:30 PM ET

Cost: All T3s are free of charge

PDH: 1.5. — Webinar participants are responsible for determining eligibility of these PDHs within their profession.

Register On-line
Contact the T3 Administrator

T3 Webinars are brought to you by the ITS Professional Capacity Building Program (ITS PCB) at the U.S. Department of Transportation‘s (USDOT) ITS Joint Program Office, Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA). Reference in this webinar to any specific commercial products, processes, or services, or the use of any trade, firm or corporation name is for the information and convenience of the public, and does not constitute endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by U.S. Department of Transportation.

Webinar Description

The Intelligent Transportation Systems Joint Program Office (ITS JPO) of the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has developed online ITS Knowledge Resources for decision making support. The major objectives on these online tools are to:

• Capture ITS costs, benefits and lessons learned from experiences of stakeholders in their planning, deployment, operations, maintenance, and evaluation of ITS.
• Provide all ITS stakeholders with convenient access to costs, benefits and lessons learned knowledge so that they can make informed decisions in their future ITS actions.

The ITS Knowledge resources include the ITS Benefits Database (www.itsbenefits.its.dot.gov), the ITS Costs Database (www.itscosts.its.dot.gov), and the ITS Lessons Learned Database (www.itslessons.its.dot.gov). The U.S. DOT’s ITS Professional Capacity Building (PCB) Program is sponsoring a T3 (Talking Technology and Transportation) webinar to show ITS professionals how to use these databases to help stakeholders make better informed decisions.

This webinar will show participants how to use the databases and knowledge resources available through a “live” demonstration that features the websites. Following the demonstration of each of the ITS Benefits, Costs and Lessons Learned databases, participants will engage in interactive exercises where participants will use the knowledge resources to solve test case problems and respond to polling questions.

In addition, presenters will introduce new enhancements to the unit cost database that provide sample project costs. Participants will have an opportunity to provide comments about the new features.

Audience

Anyone involved in planning, implementation, and operation of ITS systems, including Federal, State, and local transportation professionals.

Learning Outcomes

• Ability to use the ITS Knowledge Resources to find information on ITS costs, benefits and lessons learned.
• Understanding how the ITS Knowledge Resources can help stakeholders make informed decisions in planning, deployment, operations, maintenance, and evaluation of ITS.
• Provide comments on the new unit costs enhancements.

Host:

Marcia Pincus, Program Manager, Environment (AERIS) and ITS Evaluation, ITS Joint Program Office

Marcia Pincus is currently the Program Manager, Environment (AERIS) and ITS Evaluation, for the ITS Joint Program Office at USDOT. Marcia joined the ITS JPO six years ago, and has over 15 years experience as an ITS policy analyst and program manager in the public, private, and academic sectors.

Presenters:

Firoz Kabir, Principal, Noblis

Firoz Kabir is a Principal with Noblis in Washington, DC. He has over 24 years of experience in Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) and transportation engineering. He has been a consultant to public- and private-sector organizations for a wide range of projects that have encompassed regional transportation planning, highway design, ITS architecture, transportation knowledge resource development, and advanced technology implementation planning for traffic and transit systems. He has conducted research for U.S. DOT, the New Jersey DOT, and the Florida DOT in the areas of traffic operations and transportation safety. Firoz holds a BS in Civil Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (Mumbai), an MS in Civil Engineering from the New Jersey Institute of Technology and an MBA from the Johns Hopkins University.

Cheryl Lowrance, Principal Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Engineer, Noblis

Cheryl Lowrance is a Principal Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Engineer with Noblis supporting the Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA), ITS Joint Program Office. She has 25 years of experience in traffic engineering and traffic management including project management, design and implementation of traffic signals, traffic signal systems, and freeway surveillance systems. Cheryl currently provides leadership for the ITS Program Assessment Knowledge Resources, Benefits and Costs databases. Activities include researching and writing content; leading the development of improvements to the websites; making presentations to industry leaders on the resources available for planning, design, and implementation; and responding to quick task assignments from the client pertaining to benefit and cost inquiries. She has a BS in Civil Engineering from Tennessee Technological University.

Responsibilities:

Individual will provide support to the Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) contract with the US Department of Transportation. Typical activities will include technical oversight of standards development and deployment activities, reviewing literature to identify promising ITS technologies, reviewing new standards to determine their completeness, evaluating standards deployment outreach tools, reviewing project specifications and design documents to determine their conformance to ITS standards, reviewing standards based test documentation, and reviewing project documentation for vehicle to vehicle and vehicle to infrastructure communications projects for conformance to ITS Standards.

Requirements:

BS in a related technical area (Systems Engineering, Software Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or Information Systems, etc.) MS preferred. 5+ years experience with developing concept of operations, system requirements specifications, or business processes; strong analytical ability required; excellent oral and written communication skills required; and experience with transportation systems desirable. An understanding of, and familiarity with, the following is desirable:

• Standards development process and the use of standards
• Wireless networks for vehicle to vehicle and vehicle to infrastructure communication
• International standards
• Information/communications system design and development
• Vehicle-based electronics systems

Employer Profile: Noblis is a nonprofit science, technology and strategy organization that helps clients solve complex systems, process and infrastructure problems in ways that benefit the public.  We bring the best of scientific thought and engineering know-how to find solutions that are practical, efficient and effective.  You will find Noblis at work in many fields, including national and homeland security; transportation; healthcare; criminal justice; energy and the environment; oceans, atmosphere and space; and public safety.

Noblis is consistently recognized as a “Great Place to Work” and “One of the Best Mid-Sized Companies to Work For”by Washingtonian Magazine, Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), the Great Places to Work Institute, and AARP.  Noblis was also named to the “World’s Most Ethical Companies” list by the Ethisphere Institute at the Forbes, Ethisphere Joint Conference

Click here to apply for the above position and/or to view other  job opportunities at Noblis.  Good luck!

(Sources: Next Generation HealthCare via Good; Infrastructurist)

Incidents like 9-11 bring to people’s mind the dangers of man made disasters, and the enormity of the problem gets magnified with the loss of lives resulting from such incidents.  But how many of us realize that here in the US we lose many more lives on our nation’s roads every year due to automobile accidents?  If you have not grasped the enormity of the problem we are facing in our roads, it the rough equivalent of 12 times the losses we suffered in that one incident  — that would be roughly 34,000 lives were lost in the US roads in 2009 alone, according to a new report released by NHTSA. In the decades past the problem was even worse and the transportation agencies at all levels – Federal, State and Local have been actively engaged in combating this problem.  The silver lining in this grey cloud is that the numbers are dropping steadily in the past the years, at least in the US.   Thanks in large part to the continued efforts of the governments in making our roads safer and also to the auto manufacturers who have made the vehicles stronger and smarter, we can now continue to see a reduction in the years ahead.  Here are some interesting numbers from this NHTSA estimates:

• A decline in highway deaths of  8.9% from 2008 to 2009
• The lowest fatality rate–1.16 deaths for every 100 million vehicle miles traveled–on record
• The lowest overall number of deaths–33,963–since 1954
• 15 straight quarters of decline in the number of overall roadway deaths

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about the rest of the world.  Pretty much every country on this blue planet has been a victim of this problem and many of them counter massive, tragic losses every year that have only continued to climb up.   The losses are steeper in many of the developing countries and under-developed countries, where the poor infrastructure and lack of enforcement & driver education are compounding the problems.  Especially in countries like China and India, where the growing economies have fueled a significant spike in the number of vehicles on road, the governments are struggling to keep pace with the surging demand for roads and other surface transportation infrastructure. The graphical depiction below, courtesy of  Next Generation Healthcare, clearly demonstrates the enormous problem we are facing around the world.  It shows how many deaths there are from road traffic accidents in different parts of the world and the numbers are alarming.

Click to enlarge the image

Quoting the numbers from the NHTSA estimate for 2009 motor vehicle traffic fatalities, Ray LaHood – the Secretary of the US Department of Transportation, noted on his blog that he is extremely encouraged by the significant drop in fatalities on American roads but at the same time he is disturbed by the fact that “we are still talking about nearly 34,000 preventable deaths a year. There are still too many people dying in traffic accidents every year. Just too many.”

On 2 March 2010 governments around the world took the historic decision to increase action to address the road safety crisis over the next ten years. The UN General Assembly resolution proclaiming a Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020 (A/64/L.44/Rev.1) was tabled by the Government of the Russian Federation and cosponsored by more than 90 countries. WHO welcomes this proclamation which seeks to save lives by halting the increasing trends in road traffic deaths and injuries world-wide.  A draft Plan for the Decade, which was prepared by WHO with support from members of the UN Road Safety Collaboration, is now open to all stakeholders for comments. Visit the Collaboration’s web site at http://www.who.int/roadsafety.

Some nuggets of information for you that will make you gasp (courtesy of World Health Organization’s report on road safety titled The Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020):

• Over 3000 people die on the world’s roads every day.
• Tens of millions of people are injured or disabled every year.  Nearly 1.3 million people are killed each year. If trends continue unabated deaths will rise to an estimated 2.4 million a year by 2030.
• Between 20 and 30 million sustain non-fatal injuries.
• It’s predicted that by 2030, the amount of people who are killed in road traffic accidents will rise to fifth in the leading causes of death around the world. Currently it is in ninth place.

Hopefully, with improved funding and targeted attention towards issues like distracted driving and drunk driving, we can expect a decrease in this trend.   Oh if are wondering how you personally contribute towardsaddressing the problem — Leave your keys behind and take transit systems (buses, trains, etc) if you can.   If you have the proper infrastructure, you can consider walking or biking to places instead of driving. Next time when you drive your car/ motorcycle/bicycle ,  remember that you are not just driving for your own safety but also also for those of others who share that road with you.  At the end of the day, there is only so much the goverments can do to keep is safe and we the citizens have to realize that they have a very important and personal role to play in keeping our roads safe.  Let’s do it!

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• U.S. Plans New Car-Safety Rules (online.wsj.com)
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The Washington Post’s Coverage: A federal investigation has identified pervasive flaws in rail safety at Metro and severe inadequacies in the agency responsible for oversight. Findings released Thursday call for widespread changes in how the nation’s second-busiest subway system is supervised and managed.

The sternly worded report, prepared by the Federal Transit Administration and presented Thursday to Washington area members of Congress, was the first in-depth look at Metro’s safety program, FTA Administrator Peter Rogoff said. It revealed deep-rooted deficiencies at the transit agency and its independent oversight committee, highlighting vulnerabilities in the systems that are supposed to safeguard passengers and workers, he said.

Rogoff said the safety performance of the Washington system was worse than others of similar size. He said the findings were a symptom of a much deeper problem, extending from executive leadership down to the most junior employee, and he urged the incoming Metro general manager to use the report as a “road map” for the “overarching safety problem.” Click here to read the Washington Post article.

The FTA’s audit resulted in 21 findings and recommendations: 11 findings and recommendations for TOC and 10 findings and recommendations to WMATA.

I have to agree with this excerpt from a post by David Alpert on one of my favorite local blogs – Greater Greater Washington:

The most disappointing piece to me is why it took press attention and FTA oversight to identify, explain, and fix these issues. WMATA could have formulated and publicized its own report explaining how the safety structure was deficient and suggesting ways it would fix them on its own. It didn’t. After the Post discovered and publicized the lapses, WMATA’s statements instead nitpicked specific wording from TOC Chair Eric Madison to try to claim there wasn’t a problem at all.

WMATA needs to own up to these things, not just respond to the FTA’s report and have meetings but actually start coming clean to riders. There are undoubtedly some points the FTA missed; WMATA should proactively suggest those as well. As for the TOC, they have a solemn responsibility to ensure safety, and should take whatever steps necessary without regret, whether that’s breaking procedure and going directly to top managers or the Board, or talking to the press and shouting from the rooftops when something is wrong.

Summary List of Findings and Recommendations

Findings to the Tri-State Oversight Committee (TOC):

1. Assess the level of resources necessary from each jurisdiction (District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia) to meet TOC’s responsibilities. Use the results of this assessment to establish resource commitments from each jurisdiction to TOC for the next three calendar years. Resources should be committed and onboard before the beginning of the next Federal audit cycle.
2. Evaluate the technical and professional skills that TOC representatives need to effectively carry out their oversight duties.  To the extent that TOC representatives do not currently possess these skills, ensure training is provided as soon as practicable to each TOC member.
3. Determine the best method to respond quickly and professionally, as WMATA safety situations arise and require coordinated action.  Consider whether full-time TOC positions can be vested with decision-making authority to act in specific safety situations with WMATA.
4. Identify and formalize a mechanism to ensure that critical unresolved WMATA safety concerns identified by TOC members are elevated to the highest levels of each TOC jurisdictional agency and WMATA for immediate action.
5. Require WMATA to complete a timely, thorough, and competent review and update of WMATA’s Safety Rules and Procedures Manual.  This review and update must reflect actual current practices and needed improvements identified by TOC and by FTA in this audit report.
6. Require WMATA to develop (and TOC to review and approve) an internal WMATA safety audit recovery plan for calendar year 2010 and calendar year 2011. Before WMATA develops this plan, TOC should sponsor a meeting with WMATA’s Safety Department, Quality Department, and Executive Leadership Team to explain the internal safety audit program requirements and TOC’s expectations regarding WMATA’s internal safety audit recovery plan.
7. Require WMATA to develop a recovery plan to complete all open accident investigations following procedures established in TOC’s Program Standard, WMATA’s System Safety Program Plan and WMATA’s Accident Investigation Procedures.
8. Document the Corrective Action Plan Technical Review process in TOC’s Program Standard and Procedures and WMATA’s System Safety Program Plan.
9. Work with WMATA to ensure that there is a process in place for evaluating Corrective Action Plans (CAP) alternatives that may be necessary as a result of capital and operating program resource limitations.
10. Require WMATA to develop and implement a comprehensive and system-wide hazard management program (as required by 49 CFR Part 659.31).
11. Require WMATA to strictly adhere to the annual certification of compliance with its System Safety Program Plan (as specified in 49 CFR 659.43), including identifying areas where WMATA is not in compliance with its System Safety Program Plan as well as specific actions WMATA is taking to achieve compliance.

Recommendations to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA):

1. Conduct an assessment to identify the resources and expertise necessary for the Safety Department to carry out the activities specified in WMATA’s System Safety Program Plan and Safety Rules and Procedures Manual.
2. Use the results of the assessment to ensure adequate staffing levels and expertise within the Safety Department.
3. Increase the Safety Department’s access to operating and maintenance information and reports to ensure that this information is being analyzed for potential impacts on the safety of WMATA.
4. Develop an internal process to require the communication of safety-related information across all WMATA departments, including the impacts of budget reductions and resource constraints on the performance of safety-related maintenance activities and requirements.
5. Define and implement the process for the top Safety Department position to communicate safety priorities to the General Manager in a timely and consistent manner.
6. Identify the technical skills required to perform system-wide hazard analysis (as required in 49 CFR Part 659 and TOC’s Program Standard). To the extent that WMATA Safety Department staff does not currently possess the needed skills, provide training as soon as practicable.
7. Update the WMATA System Safety Program Plan (specifically Procedure #2.1/0 and Section 6) to develop a hazard management process that ensures that all WMATA departments participate in an on-going manner.
8. Institute a process to ensure that changes in operating rules are analyzed for safety impacts before system-wide implementation. For example, WMATA engineering bulletins are “field tested” before full implementation.
9. Finalize the right-of-way protection rules, develop training to implement the new rules and ensure all right-of-way employees and contractors receive this training before accessing the right-of-way.
10. Implement the configuration management program described in the WMATA System Safety Program Plan.

You can read the oral statement of the FTA Administrator to the congress here.  Below is a copy of the report, which is also available for download at the FTA website.