On Tuesday, January 9, 2007, at 1:38 p.m., southbound Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority passenger train 322 operated by Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad struck a track maintenance vehicle that was on the track near Woburn, Massachusetts. The track maintenance vehicle was thrown forward about 210 feet; the train did not derail. Of the six maintenance-of-way employees working on or near the track maintenance vehicle, two were killed, and two were seriously injured. Emergency responders treated and released 10 passengers at the accident scene.

The National Transportation Safety Board is an independent agency charged with determining the probable cause of transportation accidents and promoting transportation safety. The Board investigates accidents, conducts safety studies, evaluates the effectiveness of other government agencies' programs for preventing transportation accidents, and reviews the appeals of enforcement actions involving airman and seaman certificates issues by the Federal Aviation Administration and the U.S. Coast Guard and civil penalty actions taken by the FAA.

Motorcoach safety has received increased public attention after several serious accidents during 2011, some of which involved curbside carriers. As a result, the National Transportation Safety Board conducted an investigation of motorcoach safety with a focus on curbside operations. This report (1) describes the characteristics of the curbside business model among interstate motorcoach carriers; (2) describes the safety record of interstate motorcoach carriers, including those that use a curbside business model; and (3) evaluates the adequacy of safety oversight for interstate motorcoach carriers using a curbside business model.

This Performance and Accountability Report (PAR) for fiscal year (FY) 2008 provides the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) financial and performance information, enabling the President, Congress, and the American people to assess the Agency's performance as provided by the requirements of the government Management Reform Act of 1994, government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) of 1993, chief Financial Officers Act of 1990, federal Manager's Financial Integrity Act (FMFIA) of 1982 and the office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-136.

The National Transportation Safety Board is an independent agency charged with determining the probable cause of transportation accidents and promoting transportation safety. The Board investigates accidents, conducts safety studies, evaluates the effectiveness of other government agencies' programs for preventing transportation accidents, and reviews the appeals of enforcement actions involving airman and seaman certificates issues by the Federal Aviation Administration and the U.S. Coast Guard and civil penalty actions taken by the FAA.

This lesson will discuss the basic building blocks of the atmosphere, beginning with the lower layers in which most flight activity occurs. These layers have particular temperature characteristics that affect many aspects of weather, and thus are important to the understanding of later chapters. Pressure is another characteristic of the atmosphere which enables meteorologists to track weather phenomena as they move across the surface of the earth. Additionally, pressure is important to the aviation community since one of the most basic flight instruments, the barometric altimeter, operates from the action of atmospheric pressure upon its sensors. In order to gain a complete understanding of the altimeter, the effects of temperature and pressure variations on altimeter readings will also be discussed.

The National Transportation Safety Board relies on many external databases when performing accident investigations, safety studies, and special investigations. Most of these databases are sponsored and operated by the modal administrations of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). The Board's ability to study important safety issues is often affected by poor data quality. The Board studied transportation safety databases to evaluate data quality issues and to encourage improvements in this area. The effort had four specific objectives: (a) highlight the value and potential uses of transportation safety data; (b) describe some accident and incident databases commonly used by the Board; (c) summarize past Board recommendations involving transportation data; and (d) evaluate Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) efforts to establish data quality standards, identify information gaps, and ensure compatibility among the safety data systems maintained by the DOT.

The international technology scanning program, sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials and the National Cooperative Highway Research Program, accesses and evaluates innovative foreign technologies and practices that could significantly benefit U.S. highway transportation systems.

This document explores how emerging digital and communications technology can advance safety on the Nation's highways. The range of technology described in this report is available or will be available in the near future to improve traffic safety. As new traffic safety applications become widespread and implementation costs decrease, there could be a network of advanced systems that improve traffic safety by providing information and services to drivers, traffic operations agencies, emergency services personnel, and law enforcement professionals. Discussions in this report include a general overview of traffic safety technology; the use of technology to reach traffic safety goals using the framework of the "Four E's" of engineering, enforcement, education, and EMS; and the technical and non-technical challenges for these technology applications.

Qualification standards published by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) describe the minimum experience or education that individuals must have to qualify for specific positions within the federal government (OPM, 2009). These standards are developed and revised in conjunction with the appropriate federal agency. The purpose of the current research project was to evaluate the OPM qualification standard for the Air Traffic Control (ATC) Series 2152 and provide recommendations for renewing the standard for Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) human resources personnel. In addition to general and specialized experience and education requirements, the ATC Series 2152 qualification standard includes seven alternate requirements for use in qualifying applicants for selection by the FAA as air traffic control specialists (ATCSs).

Within a 2-month period in 2001, the Chicago Transit Authority experienced two similar rear-end collisions involving CTA rapid transit trains.

The Energy and Conservation Act, as amended by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, requires the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, an agency within the U.S. Department of Transportation, to promulgate and enforce Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards.

On Monday, June 22, 2009, about 4:58 p.m., eastern daylight time, inbound Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Metrorail train 112 struck the rear of stopped inbound Metrorail train 214. The accident occurred on aboveground track on the Metrorail Red Line near the Fort Totten station in Washington, D.C. The lead car of train 112 struck the rear car of train 214, causing the rear car of train 214 to telescope into the lead car of train 112, resulting in a loss of occupant survival space in the lead car of about 63 feet (about 84 percent of its total length). Nine people aboard train 112, including the train operator, were killed. Emergency response agencies reported transporting 52 people to local hospitals. Damage to train equipment was estimated to be $12 million.

On April 17, 2011, about 6:55 a.m. central daylight time, eastbound BNSF Railway coal train C-BTMCNM0-26, BNSF 9159 East, travelling about 23 mph, collided with the rear end of standing BNSF Railway maintenance-of-way equipment train U-BRGCRI-15, BNSF 9470 East, near Red Oak, Iowa. The accident occurred near milepost 448.3 on main track number two on the Creston Subdivision of the BNSF Railway Nebraska Division. The collision resulted in the derailment of 2 locomotives and 12 cars. As a result of collision forces, the lead locomotive's modular crew cab was detached, partially crushed, and involved in a subsequent diesel fuel fire. Both crewmembers on the striking train were fatally injured. Damage was in excess of $8.7 million.

The National Transportation Safety Board's interest in the medical oversight of noncommercial drivers stems from its examination of six noncommercial vehicle accidents in which a driver's medical condition played a role.

This special investigation report describes the results of a National Transportation Safety Board review of 32 accidents that involved parachute jump ("or skydiving") operations and that occurred between 1980 and 2008. The report identifies the following recurring safety issues: inadequate aircraft inspection and maintenance; pilot performance deficiencies in basic airmanship tasks, such as preflight inspections, weight and balance calculations, and emergency and recovery procedures; and inadequate Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) oversight and direct surveillance of parachute operations. Parachute jump operators, many of which transport parachutists for revenue, maintain their aircraft under regulatory provisions that require little FAA oversight. Lack of operation-specific pilot training is also discussed. Safety recommendations to the FAA and to the United States Parachute Association are included. Appendix A details other current and past Safety Board recommendations related to parachute operations.

About 12:17 p.m., on February 1, 2001, the two cars of the Angels Flight funicular railway collided in downtown Las Angeles, California.

In 2000, the Maryland Transit Administration experienced two similar accidents in the same location just 6 months apart. Both accidents involved the failure of a light rail vehicle train to stop at the designated stopping point at the Baltimore-Washington International Airport Light Rail Station (BWI Airport Station).

On May 28, 2008, about 5:51 p.m., eastern daylight time, westbound Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Green Line train 3667, traveling about 38 mph, struck the rear of westbound Green Line train 3681, which had stopped for a red signal. The accident occurred in Newton, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston. Each train consisted of two light rail trolley cars and carried two crewmembers-a train operator at the front of the lead car and a trail operator in the second car. The operator of the striking train was killed; the other three crewmembers sustained minor injuries. An estimated 185 to 200 passengers were on the two trains at the time of the collision. Of these, four sustained minor injuries, and one was seriously injured. Total damage was estimated to be about $8.6 million.

On Friday, November 30, 2007, Amtrak (National Railroad Passenger Corporation) passenger train 371, consisting of one locomotive and three passenger cars, struck the rear of a standing Norfolk Southern Railway Company freight train near Chicago, Illinois. The forward portion of the Amtrak locomotive came to rest on top of a container on the rear car of the freight train. Sixty-six passengers and five crewmembers were transported to hospitals; two passengers and one crewmember were subsequently admitted. The weather was clear, and the temperature was 30 F. Estimated damage was $1,299,000"

About 10:41 p.m. eastern daylight time on Friday, October 20, 2006, Norfolk Southern Railway Company train 68QB119, en route from the Chicago, Illinois, area to Sewaren, New Jersey, derailed while crossing the Beaver River railroad bridge in New Brighton, Pennsylvania. The train consisted of a threeunit locomotive pulling 3 empty freight cars followed by 83 tank cars loaded with denatured ethanol, a flammable liquid. Twenty-three of the tank cars derailed near the east end of the bridge, with several of the cars falling into the Beaver River. Of the 23 derailed tank cars, about 20 released ethanol, which subsequently ignited and burned for about 48 hours. Some of the unburned ethanol liquid was released into the river and the surrounding soil. Homes and businesses within a seven-block area of New Brighton and in an area adjacent to the accident were evacuated for 2 days. No injuries or fatalities resulted from the accident. The Norfolk Southern Railway Company estimated total damages to be $5.8 million.

This report focuses on transportation indicators pertinent to key initiatives of the U.S. Department of Transportation and the topics specified in legislative mandate. In addition, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics highlights efforts to improve transportation statistics.

This report presents information on deployment of Advanced Public Transportation Systems (APTS), also known as Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) for transit. The summary information included is designed to be useful to both governmental agencies and the private sector for an overview of the current deployment and interest in additional purchase of these systems. The tables presented following this summary information lists deployment and plans by agency.

From its beginnings, the federal Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) program has viewed cooperation with the private sector as essential for the timely implementation of ITS technologies and services. Indeed, one of the program's four guiding principles is "to create a new industry by involving and emphasizing the private sector in all aspects of the program." This has been achieved through ongoing partnerships in research, capacity building, standards-setting, and other areas.