Statement of ATA President and CEO Graves on the New NTSB Most Wanted List

ARLINGTON, Va., June 24, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- ATA President and CEO Bill Graves issued the following statement after the release of the National Transportation Safety Board's updated Most Wanted List:

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100129/ATALOGO)

"I commend Chairman Hersman and the other members of the National Transportation Safety Board on modernizing the recent Most Wanted List.  In particular, I was pleased to see the Board and ATA share some of the same views on ways to make highways safer for all motorists.

"ATA's progressive safety agenda calls for tools to eliminate drunk driving such as ignition interlock devices for repeat offenders and stronger open container laws, so we were pleased to see that Addressing Alcohol Impaired Driving is on NTSB's revised Most Wanted List.

"Also, ATA shares many of the observations Board Member Rosekind made on driver fatigue.  As Dr. Rosekind noted that hours-of-service regulations must be science-based and that, hours of service regulations alone – though necessary – are an insufficient solution.  

"ATA has long called for more effective measures to address driver fatigue, such as development of fatigue management plans and driver sleep disorder screening programs.  Most recently, ATA members adopted a policy supporting a federal mandate of electronic logging devices to monitor hours of service for truck drivers.  NTSB has long supported such devices to ensure compliance with federal hours of service regulations.

"We look forward to working with NTSB on ways to further improve highway safety and urge the Board to prioritize its efforts on the most prevalent causes of crashes including speeding and other problem driver behaviors.  "

The American Trucking Associations (www.truckline.com) is the largest national trade association for the trucking industry. Through a federation of other trucking groups, industry-related conferences, and its 50 affiliated state trucking associations, ATA represents more than 37,000 members covering every type of motor carrier in the United States. Follow ATA on Twitter @TruckingMatters (www.twitter.com/truckingmatters), or become a fan on Facebook (http://tinyurl.com/y4qwp6h).

SOURCE American Trucking Associations