Don’t Ignore NTSB Suggestions, Nominee Hersman Tells Congress
This story appears in the July 13 print edition of Transport Topics.
WASHINGTON — Debbie Hersman, President Obama’s choice to lead the National Transportation Safety Board, told a Senate committee that other transportation agencies should voluntarily adopt the board’s recommendations, and if they don’t, Congress should order them to.
“One of the best ways for those recommendations to be implemented and not ignored is for Congress to pay attention to them,” Hersman said during her testimony before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee on July 8.
Hersman, a former staff member for the Commerce Committee and current member of the NTSB, singled out the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration for not implementing more of NTSB’s recommendations to improve safety — even though she acknowledged the number of truck-related fatalities “has remained relatively flat since [FMCSA] has been created.”
For example, Hersman said NTSB has pushed FMCSA to adopt mandatory electronic onboard recorders and more stringent medical and drug-testing standards.
Hersman called NTSB “the safety conscience and compass for the transportation industry,” even though it does not have the power to issue regulations or sanctions.
She also praised the Senate panel for addressing several of the board’s “most wanted” rail safety improvements, including changing hours-of-service rules.
Hersman testified along with several other nominees, including Richard Lidinsky, the administration’s choice to sit on the Federal Maritime Commission.
Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.). said he was concerned the FMC last year delayed implementation of the clean-air plan at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, Calif.
Lidinsky, currently an attorney and trade consultant, said he was “well aware of the program, and since it’s still in litigation … I can’t comment on the specifics.”
American Trucking Associations filed a lawsuit in July 2008, challenging the ports’ plan. A federal judge in Los Angeles has issued a temporary injunction blocking implementation of certain portions of the plan.
FMC took action separately from ATA to block the concession plan but was rebuffed.
Lidinsky did add that if the issues were raised again, he would “give it very full and fair consideration.”
Also during the hearing, Polly Trottenberg, who has been nominated for Department of Transportation assistant secretary for policy, said DOT was looking for ways to further help states fund large projects such as the Hudson River Tunnel between New York and New Jersey.
Trottenberg, executive director of Building America’s Future and a former Senate staff member, said using stimulus money and other funding for “these very large, transformational projects that often straddle different states . . . is going to be a big priority.”
Top members of the panel signaled even before the hearing began that they expected all three nominees to be confirmed.
