Railroad Safety:
DOT Faces Challenges in Improving Grade Crossing Safety, Track Inspection Standards, and Passenger Car Safety
T-RCED-96-114: Published: Apr 1, 1996. Publicly Released: Apr 1, 1996.
Additional Materials:
- Full Report:
Contact:
GAO provided information on the safety of highway railroad crossings, commuter passenger rails and adequacy of track safety inspections. GAO found that: (1) the leading cause of death associated with the railroad industry involved railroad crossing accidents; (2) about half of rail-related deaths occur because of collisions between trains and vehicles at public railroad crossings; (3) in 1994, 501 people were killed and 1,764 injured in railroad crossing accidents; (4) to improve the safety of railroad crossings, the Department of Transportation (DOT) must better target funds to high-risk areas, close more railroad crossings, install new technologies, and develop educational programs to increase the public's awareness of railroad crossings; (5) DOT plans are costly and will require congressional approval; (6) the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is unable to adequately inspect and enforce truck safety standards or direct transportation officials to the routes with the highest accident potential because its database contains inaccurate information; and (7) Congress has directed FRA to establish sufficient passenger car safety standards by 1999.
Sep 30, 2020
Supplemental Material For GAO-20-686:
Transit Asset Management: Survey of TAM Program ParticipantsGAO-20-687SP: Published: Sep 30, 2020. Publicly Released: Sep 30, 2020.-
Transit Asset Management:
FTA Should Clarify Performance Data and Develop a Plan to Guide Future Program ImprovementsGAO-20-686: Published: Sep 30, 2020. Publicly Released: Sep 30, 2020.
Sep 8, 2020
-
Airport Funding:
Information on Grandfathered Revenue Diversion and Potential Implications of RepealGAO-20-684: Published: Sep 8, 2020. Publicly Released: Sep 8, 2020. -
Aviation Sanitation:
FDA Could Better Communicate with Airlines to Encourage Voluntary Construction Inspections of Aircraft Galleys and LavatoriesGAO-20-612: Published: Sep 8, 2020. Publicly Released: Sep 8, 2020.
Sep 2, 2020
-
Facial Recognition:
CBP and TSA are Taking Steps to Implement Programs, but CBP Should Address Privacy and System Performance IssuesGAO-20-568: Published: Sep 2, 2020. Publicly Released: Sep 2, 2020.
Aug 20, 2020
-
Aircraft Noise:
Information on a Potential Mandated Transition to Quieter AirplanesGAO-20-661: Published: Aug 20, 2020. Publicly Released: Aug 20, 2020.
Aug 18, 2020
-
Aviation Safety:
Actions Needed to Evaluate Changes to FAA's Enforcement Policy on Safety StandardsGAO-20-642: Published: Aug 18, 2020. Publicly Released: Aug 18, 2020.
Aug 10, 2020
-
Transportation Research:
Additional Actions Could Improve DOT's Internal Collaboration and Reliability of Information on Research ActivitiesGAO-20-622: Published: Aug 10, 2020. Publicly Released: Aug 10, 2020.
Jul 27, 2020
-
Surface Transportation Security:
TSA Has Taken Steps to Improve its Surface Inspector Program, but Lacks Performance TargetsGAO-20-558: Published: Jul 27, 2020. Publicly Released: Jul 27, 2020.
Jul 16, 2020
-
Capital Investment Grants Program:
FTA Should Improve the Effectiveness and Transparency of Its ReviewsGAO-20-512: Published: Jul 16, 2020. Publicly Released: Jul 16, 2020.
Looking for more? Browse all our products here
Explore our Key Issues on Transportation
Explore our other Key Issues here
