The National Transportation Safety Board is an independent federal agency charged with determining the portable cause of transportation accidents and promoting transportation safety, and assisting victims of transportation accidents and their families.

Since its creation in 1967, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has investigated more than 132,000 aviation accidents and thousands of surface transportation accidents. On call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, NTSB investigators travel throughout the country and to every corner of the world to perform investigations. Thanks to this dedication, the NTSB has become recognized as the world's leading accident investigation agency.

In April 1999, the National Transportation Safety Board began a Truck/Bus Safety Initiative and to date has held four public hearings to obtain information from a variety of sources about the relevant safety issues regarding trucks and buses and on how to address them. Participating in these hearings were representatives from the truck and bus industries, vehicle and equipment manufacturers, labor unions, safety advocacy groups, and various State and Federal agencies.