Federal Safety Watchdog Takes a Position on Speeding Drivers

Stephen Miller reports: "In a draft report released earlier this week, the National Transportation Safety Board says excessive speed is a deadly problem in our nation’s transportation system — one that federal and state officials aren’t doing enough to address."

The NTSB report includes 19 recommendations, covering ideas from how engineers set speed limits (the so-called 85th Percentile Rule), new technology that can warn drivers about speeding, and better enforcement. The recommendations "should be a wake-up call, especially to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), state legislatures, and transportation and police departments across the country," writes Miller.

According to Miller, the report represents a breakthrough for the agency that investigates plane and railroad disasters, only turning to automobile safety when it comes to impaired driving and seat belts. "Unlike driving drunk or not wearing a seat belt, which have been the subject of sustained national attention for decades, there’s little stigma against driving too fast," writes Miller.