WASHINGTON—The United States must address a growing public-health crisis over traffic deaths that remain significantly higher than pre-pandemic levels, the head of the National Transportation Safety Board said on Tuesday.
“Unlike most developed nations, U.S. roadways have grown more deadly over the last several decades,” NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said at a board meeting on its probe into a 2023 vehicle crash that killed six people. “By raw numbers, the U.S. has more motor-vehicle deaths than any other developed country. We also have the highest death rate.”
The January 2023 crash happened in Louisville, New York between a bus transporting workers and a box truck. Homendy said there was insufficient federal oversight from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, adding, “FMCSA’s inadequate oversight played an outsized role.”…