Recommendation: The Administrator of NHTSA should document an evaluation plan for the Crash Injury Research and Engineering Network pedestrian pilot program that includes criteria for determining whether and how to scale the pilot program to ensure that the piloted data-collection and analysis procedures will address NHTSA's data needs related to pedestrian injuries and vehicle characteristics. (Recommendation 1)

Agency: Department of Transportation: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Status: Open

Comments: As of July 2020, NHTSA reported that it plans to develop an evaluation plan for the CIREN pedestrian pilot program by April 30, 2021 to inform decisions about further investigative pedestrian crash studies. According to NHTSA this plan will address research needs categorized as either crash worthiness, crash avoidance, or behavioral in nature, and will include criteria for investigative study elements and the scope or scalability of those studies. NHTSA also reported that in developing the evaluation plan it will consider input from stakeholders, including the first-hand experience from the CIREN pilot study sites. GAO will continue to monitor NHTSA's progress in addressing this recommendation.

Recommendation: The Administrator of NHTSA should document the overall process for making changes to NCAP, including established criteria and milestones for decisions, and share this process with external stakeholders. (Recommendation 2)

Agency: Department of Transportation: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Status: Open

Comments: In July 2020, NHTSA reported that it is developing proposed updates to NCAP, which it plans to publish in a notice in the Federal Register by the end of 2020. According to NHTSA this notice will clarify the process by which NHTSA updates NCAP, and after receiving and responding to comments, NHTSA plans to update its website to provide information to stakeholders on how the agency considers and finalizes changes to NCAP. GAO will continue to monitor NHTSA's actions to address this recommendation.

Recommendation: The Administrator of NHTSA should decide whether to include pedestrian safety tests in NCAP and NHTSA should communicate this decision and rationale to relevant stakeholders and the public. (Recommendation 3)

Agency: Department of Transportation: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Status: Open

Comments: In July 2020, NHTSA reported that it is developing its proposal on planned changes to NCAP, which is expected to include pedestrian safety tests, and is working to publish a notice to the Federal Register by the end of 2020. According to NHTSA, this process will include receiving public comment on the proposal, which the agency will consider in deciding and communicating NHTSA's next stages. As stated in GAO's report, in the absence of a decision on whether to include pedestrian safety testing in NCAP, and the rationale for that decision, stakeholders lack clarity on whether NHTSA is using all of the policy tools at its disposal to address emerging safety risks and to achieve its strategic objectives. GAO will continue to monitor NHTSA's efforts to address this recommendation.

Recommendation: The Chairman of the Board should require the Safety Recommendation and Communication team to fully document its evaluations when assessing items to propose for Most Wanted List consideration (Recommendation 1).

Agency: National Transportation Safety Board
Status: Open

Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Recommendation: The Chairman of the Board should take steps to publicly and fully communicate the selection rationale, such as including why NTSB believes an issue is "ripe for action" to its documentation on its website (Recommendation 2).

Agency: National Transportation Safety Board
Status: Open

Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Recommendation: The NHTSA Administrator should provide direction and clarification to states to ensure compliance with requirements to assess and report progress made in achieving fatality targets. (Recommendation 1)

Agency: Department of Transportation: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Status: Open

Comments: As of January 2020, NHTSA told GAO that they had emailed all State Highway Safety Offices in November 2019 to clarify the requirements for states to assess their progress made in achieving fatality targets. NHTSA also told GAO that they plan to conduct a national webinar for State Highway Safety Offices to provide direction on performance management requirements by July 2020. GAO will continue to monitor NHTSA's implementation of this recommendation.

Recommendation: The NHTSA Administrator should develop and implement a mechanism that communicates to Congress and other stakeholders whether states achieve their fatality and serious injury targets. (Recommendation 2)

Agency: Department of Transportation: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Status: Open

Comments: In April 2020, GAO confirmed that NHTSA published each state's required safety targets from calendar year 2020 on it website. NHTSA told GAO that it plans to provide performance data on state's achievement of their 2020 targets on its website when data becomes available in the fall of 2021, and complete implementation of this recommendation in 2022. GAO will continue to monitor NHTSA's implementation of this recommendation.

Recommendation: The Runway Safety Manager should develop a process to identify and remove duplicate excursion records. (Recommendation 1)

Agency: Department of Transportation: Federal Aviation Administration
Status: Open

Comments: As of December 2019, FAA concurred with this recommendation. FAA noted that it will include actions to identify and remove duplicate excursion records in its Runway Safety Evolution Plan, which is scheduled to be completed by September 30, 2020. We will review the Runway Safety Evolution Plan when it is available.

Recommendation: The Runway Safety Manager should take steps to analyze data on ramp area incidents in FAA's new surface safety metric. (Recommendation 2)

Agency: Department of Transportation: Federal Aviation Administration
Status: Open

Comments: As of December 2019, FAA concurred with this recommendation. FAA noted that it will identify actions to implement this recommendation in its Runway Safety Evolution Plan, which is scheduled to be completed by September 30, 2020. We will review the Runway Safety Evolution Plan when it is available.

Recommendation: The Runway Safety Manager should establish a plan to assess the effectiveness of all of FAA's terminal area-safety efforts, including Airport Surface Detection Equipment, Model X (ASDE-X) and the Runway Safety Program. (Recommendation 3)

Agency: Department of Transportation: Federal Aviation Administration
Status: Open
Priority recommendation

Comments: As of December 2019, FAA has concurred with the recommendation, but needs to take additional steps to address the recommendation. FAA noted that it would identify actions to assess the effectiveness of all of its terminal-area safety efforts in a Runway Safety Evolution Plan, which the agency expects to complete by September 30, 2020. We will review the Runway Safety Evolution Plan when it is available.

Recommendation: The Administrator of FAA should require Flight Standards to share the results of its investigations with the Runway Safety Group, in a timely manner. (Recommendation 4)

Agency: Department of Transportation: Federal Aviation Administration
Status: Open

Comments: As of December 2019, FAA concurred with this recommendation. FAA noted that it will include an initiative in its 2020 Aviation Safety Business Plan Goal to make information from Flight Standards more accessible to the Runway Safety Group. FAA said the 2020 Aviation Safety Business Plan Goal is scheduled to be completed by September 3, 2020. We will review the Aviation Safety Business Plan Goal when it is available.

Recommendation: The Administrator of FAA should require air traffic control managers to share information on terminal area incidents, such as operational incidents and pilot deviations, with airport operators, in a timely manner. (Recommendation 5)

Agency: Department of Transportation: Federal Aviation Administration
Status: Open

Comments: As of December 2019, FAA concurred with this recommendation. FAA noted that it will identify actions to implement this recommendation in its Runway Safety Evolution Plan, which is scheduled to be completed by September 30, 2020. We will review the Runway Safety Evolution Plan when it is available.

Recommendation: The Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration should recommend to the expert panel of the Model Minimum Uniform Crash Criteria to update the Criteria to provide a standardized definition of underride crashes and to include underride as a recommended data field. (Recommendation 1)

Agency: Department of Transportation
Status: Open

Comments: In the 180-day letter GAO received on July 15, 2019, DOT concurred with this recommendation. DOT also noted that NHTSA will recommend a crash underride data element for inclusion in the Model Minimum Uniform Crash Criteria 6th Edition, tentatively scheduled for issuance in the summer of 2020.

Recommendation: The Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration should provide information to state and local police departments on how to identify and record underride crashes. (Recommendation 2)

Agency: Department of Transportation
Status: Open

Comments: In the 180-day letter GAO received on July 15, 2019, DOT concurred with this recommendation. DOT also noted that NHTSA--as well as FMCSA--will develop informational materials for state and local police departments that educate end users, such as police officers, on how to identify and record underride crashes. DOT plans to post the training materials on NHTSA's and FMCSA's public websites by the fall of 2021.

Recommendation: The Administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration should revise Appendix G of the agency's regulations to require that rear guards are inspected during commercial vehicle annual inspections. (Recommendation 3)

Agency: Department of Transportation
Status: Open

Comments: In the 180-day letter GAO received on July 15, 2019, DOT concurred with this recommendation. DOT noted that FMCSA initiated a rulemaking to include rear impact guards on the list of items that must be examined as part of the required annual inspection of commercial motor vehicles. DOT added that the rulemaking would ensure that vehicles with missing or damaged rear guards would not satisfy the annual inspection criteria. FMCSA expects to publish a notice of proposed rulemaking in February 2020.

Recommendation: The Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration should conduct additional research on side underride guards to better understand the overall effectiveness and cost associated with these guards and, if warranted, develop standards for their implementation. (Recommendation 4)

Agency: Department of Transportation
Status: Open

Comments: In the 180-day letter GAO received on July 15, 2019, DOT concurred with this recommendation. DOT noted that NHTSA is conducting a review of police accident reports of light vehicle crashes into the side of trailers in order to (1) estimate the number of fatalities from side underride crashes and (2) understand the effectiveness of side underride guards in preventing and mitigating the severity of side underride crashes. NHTSA then plans to conduct an analysis of the impacts of requiring side underride guards on trucks and trailers. NHTSA plans to complete these analyses by September 2020.

Recommendation: The General Manager of WMATA should establish documented policies and procedures for the new capital planning process. These policies and procedures should include methodologies for ranking and selecting capital projects for funding in WMATA's fiscal year 2020 capital budget and fiscal years 2020-2025 Capital Improvement Program and for future planning cycles. (Recommendation 1)

Agency: Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
Status: Open

Comments: As of June 2020, WMATA prepared guidance and briefings for project managers to describe the new capital planning process for WMATA's fiscal year 2021 Capital Improvement Program, as well as for the FY 2021-2030 Capital Plan. WMATA's guidance states that WMATA will prioritize projects based on their alignment with WMATA's strategic and supplemental goals and project readiness. WMATA is currently developing the guidance for the FY 2022 Capital Improvement Program planning cycle, which was delayed by COVID-19. WMATA officials stated that they are also finalizing a Capital Program Planning Policy/Instruction document, and they will provide these guidance documents to GAO once completed. GAO will continue to assess whether these policies and procedures include a methodology for ranking and selecting capital projects for funding in future Capital Improvement Program cycles, as we recommended.

Recommendation: The General Manager of WMATA should develop performance measures to be used for assessing capital investments and the capital planning process to determine if the investments and planning process have achieved their planned goals and objectives. (Recommendation 2)

Agency: Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
Status: Open

Comments: As of June 2020, WMATA is in the process of finalizing the strategic criteria that will be used for the FY 2022 Capital Improvement Program Development process. Once the guidance is approved and issued, copies will be provided to GAO. During the FY 2022 Capital Planning process WMATA is working to define expected outcomes, or key performance indicators describing the success of a capital investment when completed. GAO will continue to assess whether these efforts will develop a means to sufficiently assess WMATA's capital investments and its capital planning process

Recommendation: The General Manager of WMATA should develop a plan for obtaining complete information regarding WMATA's asset inventory and physical condition assessments, including assets related to track and structures. (Recommendation 3)

Agency: Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
Status: Open

Comments: As of June 2020, WMATA is managing three efforts focused on improving WMATA's asset inventory and condition assessment processes. Specifically, WMATA reported that it is developing Data Governance and Standards rules and working with contractors to improve WMATA's asset inventory and condition assessment processes. According to WMATA officials, these efforts should all be complete by the end of 2020. GAO will continue to monitor WMATA's efforts to address this recommendation.

Recommendation: The General Manager of WMATA should conduct a comprehensive risk assessment of the track preventive maintenance program that includes both a quantitative and qualitative assessment of relevant program risks. In addition to considering technical program risks, WMATA should also consider broader program risks, such as the availability of funding for the program and stakeholders' support. (Recommendation 4)

Agency: Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
Status: Open

Comments: As of June 2020, WMATA reiterated information provided to GAO in October 2019 that it was developing and implementing a new Reliability Centered Maintenance process that will largely replace the previously established preventive maintenance program. According to WMATA, the Reliability Centered Maintenance process will enable WMATA to assess risks to its assets and implement strategies to mitigate those risks. However, WMATA reported that implementation of Reliability Centered Maintenance across the entire enterprise will take considerable time. GAO will continue to monitor WMATA's efforts to implement its Reliability Centered Maintenance process, including the degree to which it includes both a quantitative and qualitative assessment of relevant program risks, as we recommended for the previously existing preventive maintenance program.

Recommendation: The General Manager of WMATA should prepare a formal program management plan for the track preventive maintenance program that aligns with WMATA's strategic plan, addresses how the program is linked to overall strategic goals and objectives, and includes program milestones and decision points. (Recommendation 5)

Agency: Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
Status: Open

Comments: As of June 2020 WMATA reported that it was developing and implementing a new Reliability Centered Maintenance process that will largely replace the previously established preventive maintenance program. According to WMATA officials, Reliability Centered Maintenance is not a preventive maintenance program itself, but that some of the programs have evolved from preventive maintenance to planned corrective maintenance, based on evaluation of effectiveness of the programs and recommendations from the engineering and maintenance teams. GAO will continue to monitor WMATA's efforts to implement its Reliability Centered Maintenance process, including: whether WMATA has made sufficient efforts to compile their various asset management strategies into a formal program management plan; whether this process is clearly linked to WMATA's overall strategic goals and objectives; and whether it includes milestones and decision points for its implementation, as we recommended for the previously existing preventive maintenance program.

Recommendation: The Administrator of FHWA, working with FRA, should evaluate the Section 130 Program's requirements to determine whether they allow states sufficient flexibility to adequately address current and emerging grade-crossing safety issues. As part of this evaluation, FHWA should determine whether statutory changes to the program are necessary to improve its effectiveness. (Recommendation 1)

Agency: Department of Transportation: Federal Highway Administration
Status: Open

Comments: In June 2020, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) completed a summary report, in cooperation with the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center, on stakeholder views of the Section 130 program requirements. As part of this evaluation, Volpe obtained feedback from stakeholders about their experience with the program requirements and their views on the flexibility of the requirements to address current and emerging grade-crossing safety issues. The report also contained a literature review. On August 17, 2020, FHWA reported to GAO that FHWA will continue to explore what statutory changes may be appropriate during the upcoming reauthorization cycle. The recommendation remains open because FHWA has not yet determined whether statutory changes to the program are necessary to improve its effectiveness. GAO will continue to monitor FHWA's efforts to implement this recommendation.

Recommendation: The Secretary of the Treasury should include in Treasury's fiscal year 2018 AFR information about all civil monetary penalties within its jurisdiction, including the inflation adjustment of the civil monetary penalties. (Recommendation 5)

Agency: Department of the Treasury
Status: Open

Comments: In November 2018, Treasury issued its fiscal year 2018 agency financial report and included information about all civil monetary penalties within its jurisdiction. However, it did not adjust two civil monetary penalty amounts for inflation and indicated that it planned to complete the regulations to adjust these two amounts for inflation by the end of 2018. In November 2019, Treasury issued its fiscal year 2019 agency financial report and included information about all civil monetary penalties within its jurisdiction. However, it did not adjust one of the two civil monetary penalty amounts for inflation in our finding. As of June 2020, Treasury has not taken the necessary corrective actions to completely address this recommendation.

Recommendation: The Office of Transit Safety and Oversight should develop and communicate a method for how it will monitor the effectiveness of the enforcement authorities and practices of state safety agencies. (Recommendation 2)

Agency: Department of Transportation: Federal Transit Administration
Status: Open
Priority recommendation

Comments: DOT concurred with this recommendation. DOT should continue its progress to developing and communicating a methodology for how it will monitor the effectiveness of state safety agencies' enforcement.

Recommendation: Once reliable data are available, the Coast Guard, or another agency identified by the working group, should assess the rates of commercial fishing vessel accidents, injuries, and fatalities to determine whether certain factors--including vessel length and region of operation, among other things--affect these rates. (Recommendation 3)

Agency: Department of Homeland Security: United States Coast Guard
Status: Open

Comments: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) did not concur with our recommendation that the Coast Guard assess the rates of commercial fishing vessel accidents, injuries, and fatalities to determine whether certain factors-such as vessel length and region of operation-affect these rates. DHS officials stated that the Coast Guard has limited resources and capabilities to conduct such assessments and noted that the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) studies marine incidents to identify causal factors in fishing vessel casualties, which could more effectively determine casualty rates. The Coast Guard uses this information to update and develop commercial fishing vessel safety standards and policy, as appropriate. GAO agrees that NIOSH plays an important role in identifying commercial fishing fatalities and regional risk factors, but such assessments typically focus on fatalities in specific fisheries, and generally did not consider such factors as vessel length or whether the vessel has been classed. As of July 2020, Coast Guard officials stated the Coast Guard continues to work with other Federal partners on data collection strategies through the established work group to determine the best reliable data in order to establish credible rates of casualties, injuries, and fatalities in the commercial fishing vessel industry. This recommendation will remain open pending a decision by the working group on the appropriate agency to conduct these assessments.

Recommendation: The Coast Guard should issue regulations or guidance to clarify and implement the alternative-to-class approach. (Recommendation 4)

Agency: Department of Homeland Security: United States Coast Guard
Status: Open

Comments: The Department of Homeland Security concurred with our recommendation that the Coast Guard issue regulations or guidance to clarify and implement the alternative-to-class approach. As of November 2018, the Coast Guard made a presentation to the commercial fishing industry clarifying the alternative-to-class approach as it relates to commercial fishing vessels including discussion topics such as understanding the language of 46 USC 4503 and State Licensed Naval Architect and Marine Engineers' scope of responsibilities when incorporating standards equivalent to those prescribed by a classification society. As of June 2020, Coast Guard officials stated they have formalized work instruction guidance regarding implementation of the alternative-to-class approach. This guidance is expected to be released by the end of 2020.

Recommendation: To ensure future large-scale rehabilitation projects are in line with leading project management practices, WMATA should develop a policy that requires and includes relevant procedures specifying that, prior to starting large-scale projects, WMATA should use detailed data on the conditions of assets to develop project objectives and scope.

Agency: Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
Status: Open

Comments: As of July 2020, WMATA is managing three efforts focused on improving WMATA's asset inventory and condition assessment processes. Specifically, WMATA reported that it is developing Data Governance and Standards rules and working with contractors to improve WMATA's asset inventory and condition assessment processes. These efforts should all be complete by the end of 2020. GAO will continue to monitor WMATA's efforts to address this recommendation.

Recommendation: To ensure future large-scale rehabilitation projects are in line with leading project management practices, WMATA should develop a policy that requires and includes relevant procedures specifying that, prior to starting large-scale projects, WMATA should evaluate and compare alternative ways of accomplishing the project objectives, including estimates for the alternatives' costs and impacts.

Agency: Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
Status: Open

Comments: As of July 2020, WMATA has implemented a new process to evaluate major projects. More specifically, WMATA's new initiative includes a process for assessing and presenting alternative strategies for selected major projects. WMATA currently has a number of cases moving through this process for the first time, and GAO will assess the outcomes of these cases as well as the extent to which this process is codified in WMATA policies later in 2020.

Recommendation: To ensure future large-scale rehabilitation projects are in line with leading project management practices, WMATA should develop a policy that requires and includes relevant procedures specifying that, prior to starting large-scale projects, WMATA should develop a comprehensive project management plan for the selected alternative--to include key elements such as detailed plans for managing the project's scope, schedule, and cost--for those projects that may not be designated major capital projects.

Agency: Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
Status: Open

Comments: As of July 2020, WMATA is updating its Infrastructure Project Implementation Manual, which would cover projects such as new construction and rehabilitation of facilities and systems. WMATA is planning to issue the update for the Project Implementation Manual by end of September 2020. GAO will continue to monitor WMATA's progress in addressing this recommendation.

Recommendation: To determine whether CSA interventions influence motor carrier safety performance, the Secretary of Transportation should direct the FMCSA Administrator to identify and implement, as appropriate, methods to evaluate the effectiveness of individual intervention types or common intervention patterns to obtain more complete, appropriate, and accurate information on the effectiveness of interventions in improving motor carrier safety performance. In identifying and implementing appropriate methods, FMCSA should incorporate accepted practices for designing program effectiveness evaluations, including practices that would enable FMCSA to more confidently attribute changes in carriers' safety behavior to CSA interventions.

Agency: Department of Transportation
Status: Open

Comments: FMCSA has reviewed the methodology for its effectiveness model and identified many of the same limitations GAO discussed in its report. FMCSA also identified several approaches to address these limitations, including modifying its model to measure individual intervention types. However, as of July 2020, FMCSA had not implemented any of its proposed approaches.

Recommendation: To enable FMCSA management to monitor the agency's progress in achieving its effectiveness and efficiency outcomes for CSA interventions and balance priorities, the Secretary of Transportation should direct the FMCSA Administrator to establish and use performance measures to regularly monitor progress toward both FMCSA's effectiveness outcome and its efficiency outcome.

Agency: Department of Transportation
Status: Open

Comments: The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) plans to establish an inventory of effectiveness and efficiency measures and monitor performance on an ongoing basis. FMCSA is working to modify its model to measure the effectiveness of individual intervention types. However, as of July 2020, it had not implemented any of its proposed modifications.

Recommendation: To promote the transition to improved crash test standards, to strengthen FHWA's oversight of the roadside safety hardware's crash-testing process, and to make more information available to states and industry on how roadside safety hardware performs in actual conditions, the Secretary of Transportation should direct the Administrator of FHWA to provide additional guidance to crash test labs and accreditation bodies to ensure that labs have a clear separation between device development and testing in cases where lab employees test devices that were developed within their parent organization.

Agency: Department of Transportation
Status: Open

Comments: As of January 2020, FHWA has not determined what actions, if any, it plans to take to address this recommendation. During 2019, FHWA officials stated that the agency was planning, in consultation with state departments of transportation, to establish a mechanism for third party verification of results from crash-test labs. The initial plan was to work with an outside organization that would assume responsibility for third party verification by mid to late 2020. This outside organization was to be responsible for developing guidelines with respect to lab independence and dealing with cases where a testing lab and a hardware developer are owned by the same parent company. According to FHWA officials, while the agency engaged with two outside organizations, it has not been able to establish a mechanism for third party verification of results through an outside organization and is considering additional options. As a result, FHWA is re-evaluating actions to address this recommendation.

Recommendation: To promote the transition to improved crash test standards, to strengthen FHWA's oversight of the roadside safety hardware's crash-testing process, and to make more information available to states and industry on how roadside safety hardware performs in actual conditions, the Secretary of Transportation should direct the Administrator of FHWA to develop a process for third-party verification of results from crash-test labs.

Agency: Department of Transportation
Status: Open

Comments: As of January 2020, FHWA has not determined what actions, if any, it plans to take to address this recommendation. During 2019, FHWA officials stated that the agency was planning, in consultation with state departments of transportation, to establish a mechanism for third party verification of results from crash-test labs. The initial plan was to work with an outside organization that would assume responsibility for third party verification by mid to late 2020. According to FHWA officials, while the agency engaged with two outside organizations, it has not been able to establish a mechanism for third party verification of results through an outside organization and is considering additional options. As a result, FHWA is re-evaluating actions to address this recommendation.

Recommendation: To promote the transition to improved crash test standards, to strengthen FHWA's oversight of the roadside safety hardware's crash-testing process, and to make more information available to states and industry on how roadside safety hardware performs in actual conditions, the Secretary of Transportation should direct the Administrator of FHWA to support additional research and disseminate results on roadside safety hardware's in-service performance, either as part of future phases of FHWA's current pilot study on guardrail end terminals' performance or as part of FHWA's broader research portfolio.

Agency: Department of Transportation
Status: Open

Comments: As of January 2020, FHWA officials stated that the agency expects the pilot program report to be issued in December 2020, but it will not report results because the sample sizes were too small. In addition, officials told us that no further research into in-service performance evaluations are planned.

Recommendation: To enhance FAA's efforts to improve general aviation safety, the Secretary of Transportation should direct the FAA Administrator to improve measures of general aviation activity by requiring the collection of the number of hours that general aviation aircraft fly over a period of time (flight hours). FAA should explore ways to do this that minimize the impact on the general aviation community, such as by collecting the data at regular events (e.g., during registration renewals or at annual maintenance inspections) that are already required.

Agency: Department of Transportation
Status: Open

Comments: In July 2019, GAO confirmed that FAA still does not plan to collect General Aviation (GA) flight hour data during registration renewals or annual maintenance inspections because this would require rulemaking and could have a significant economic and paperwork impact on the GA industry. While FAA has made changes to the GA Activity Survey to improve the accuracy of the flight hour data collected for a sample of GA populations, FAA still does not plan to collect all GA flight hour data as part of its GA Activity Survey. GAO maintains that without comprehensive GA flight hour data, estimates from the GA Activity Survey may not be sufficient for drawing conclusions about changes in crash rates over time and that more precise flight hour data could allow FAA to better target its safety efforts within the GA industry.

Recommendation: To enhance FAA's efforts to improve general aviation safety, and to ensure that ongoing safety issues are addressed, the Secretary of Transportation should direct the FAA Administrator to set specific general aviation safety improvement goals--such as targets for fatal accident reductions--for individual industry segments using a datadriven, risk management approach.

Agency: Department of Transportation
Status: Open

Comments: In July 2019, GAO confirmed that FAA still does not plan to develop safety targets for different segments of the General Aviation (GA) industry. While FAA's General Aviation Joint Steering Committee was exploring metrics for monitoring different GA industry segments, it was determined that developing credible metrics was not feasible using the GA Activity Survey. GAO maintains that FAA needs to develop specific general aviation safety improvement targets for individual industry segments to support a data-driven, risk management approach.

Recommendation: To enhance FAA's efforts to improve general aviation safety, and to determine whether the programs and activities underlying the 5-year strategy are successful and if additional actions are needed, the Secretary of Transportation should direct the FAA Administrator to develop performance measures for each significant program and activity underlying the 5-year strategy.

Agency: Department of Transportation
Status: Open

Comments: FAA reported it established performance measures for significant programs and activities underlying its 5-year strategy. However, as of July 2019 FAA has still not provided GAO with documentation of these performance measures. Without this documentation, GAO cannot confirm that the agency has developed performance measures for each significant program and activity underlying its 5-year strategy.

Recommendation: In order to develop an approach to decision making and the development of evidence on high-clockspeed trends affecting highway safety that are characterized by uncertainty, the Secretary of Transportation should consider and evaluate practices and principles for making decisions under conditions of uncertainty and for using data in such decision making and, on that basis, develop an approach to guide decision making on high-clockspeed trends that, although somewhat uncertain, may affect highway safety.

Agency: Department of Transportation
Status: Open

Comments: In GAO-09-56, GAO recommended the Secretary of Transportation consider and evaluate practices and principles for making conditions under uncertainty and for using data in light of issues encountered in developing evidence on high-clockspeed trends affecting highway safety that are characterized by uncertainty. GAO had studied driver distraction involving electronic devices, in particular cell phones with texting capability and identified these evolving electronic devices as a high clockspeed trend. DOT reports several actions on distracted driving, specifically: (1) an Executive Order to federal employees not to engage in text messaging while driving government-owned vehicles; when using electronic equipment supplied by the government while driving; or while driving privately owned vehicles when they are on official business; (2) the Secretary called on state and local governments to (a) make distracted driving part of their state highway plans, (b) pass state and local laws against distracted driving in all types of vehicles, (c) back up public awareness campaigns with high-visibility enforcement actions; (3) the Secretary directed the Department to establish an on-line clearinghouse on the risks of distracted driving and also (4) pledged to continue the Department's research on how to best combat distracted driving. DOT also notes that the Department's www.distraction.gov website provides information on the latest data on distracted driving and that 34 states have passed laws against texting and driving since the 2009 announcement by the Secretary of DOT.

Recommendation: The Secretary of Transportation should evaluate whether or not new approaches to data collection are needed to better track new trends related to highway safety.

Agency: Department of Transportation
Status: Open

Comments: DOT has not responded to this recommendation.

Recommendation: In order to improve the information available to the Congress for reauthorization, the Secretary of Transportation should analyze and report on trends currently anticipated to affect highway safety through 2020 and beyond in a systematic fashion--including information on high-clockspeed trends, discussion of evidence about these and other individual trends, their implications and potential interactions, and DOT responses.

Agency: Department of Transportation
Status: Open

Comments: DOT has not responded to this recommendation, but DOT announced a distracted driving summit September 30-October 1, 2009, with a limited number of invitees, and invited the GAO Assistant Director on this report to participate. U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood stated that the purpose of the summit is to "to address the dangers of text-messaging and other distractions behind the wheel." The summit will include "senior transportation officials, elected officials, safety advocates, law enforcement representatives and academics" who will convene in Washington, DC "to discuss ideas about how to combat distracted driving."

Recommendation: In order to improve the information available to the Congress for reauthorization, the Secretary of Transportation should determine, in consultation with relevant congressional committees, schedules for periodic reporting that will be sufficiently frequent to update the Congress on fast-changing trends.

Agency: Department of Transportation
Status: Open

Comments: DOT has not responded to this recommendation.

Recommendation: To improve the effectiveness of the federal investment in surface transportation, meet the nation's transportation needs, and ensure a sustainable commitment to transportation infrastructure, Congress may wish to consider reexamining and refocusing surface transportation programs to be responsive to these principles so that they institute tools and approaches to that emphasize the return on the federal investment.

Agency: Congress
Status: Open

Comments: As of November 2019, Congress has not yet acted on this recommendation. The Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act; P.L. 114-94), signed into law in December 2015, is due to be reauthorized in fiscal year 2021.

Recommendation: To improve the effectiveness of the federal investment in surface transportation, meet the nation's transportation needs, and ensure a sustainable commitment to transportation infrastructure, Congress may wish to consider reexamining and refocusing surface transportation programs to be responsive to these principles so that they address the current imbalance between federal surface transportation revenues and spending.

Agency: Congress
Status: Open

Comments: As of November 2019, Congress has not yet acted on this recommendation. The Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act; P.L. 114-94), signed into law in December 2015, did not address the current imbalance between federal surface transportation revenues and spending. The Act is due to be reauthorized in fiscal year 2021.

Recommendation: In order to improve freight mobility by more clearly defining the federal role in the freight transportation network and to begin to align federal investments with economically significant national benefits, the Secretary of Transportation should develop with Congress and public and private sector stakeholders a comprehensive national strategy for freight transportation. This national strategy should include defining the federal role and national interests in freight transportation, including economically-based and objective criteria to identify areas of national significance for freight transportation and to determine whether federal funds are required in those areas.

Agency: Department of Transportation
Status: Open

Comments: To fully implement this recommendation, DOT should complete and issue a National Freight Strategic Plan. As part of the development of the National Freight Strategic Plan, DOT should include defining the federal role in freight transportation, including economically-based and objective criteria to identify areas of national significance for freight transportation and to determine whether federal funds are required in those areas. As of February 2020, DOT had not issued the National Freight Strategic Plan and DOT officials said they were planning to issue the strategy by the end of 2020.

Recommendation: In order to improve freight mobility by more clearly defining the federal role in the freight transportation network and to begin to align federal investments with economically significant national benefits, the Secretary of Transportation should develop with Congress and public and private sector stakeholders a comprehensive national strategy for freight transportation. This national strategy should include establishing the roles of regional, state, and local governments, as well as the private sector.

Agency: Department of Transportation
Status: Open

Comments: To fully implement this recommendation, DOT should complete and issue a National Freight Strategic Plan. As part of the development of the National Freight Strategic Plan, DOT should include establishing the roles of regional, state, and local governments, as well as the private sector. As of February 2020, DOT had not issued the National Freight Strategic Plan and DOT officials said they were planning to issue the strategy by the end of 2020.

Recommendation: In order to improve freight mobility by more clearly defining the federal role in the freight transportation network and to begin to align federal investments with economically significant national benefits, the Secretary of Transportation should develop with Congress and public and private sector stakeholders a comprehensive national strategy for freight transportation. This national strategy should include using new or existing federal funding sources and mechanisms to support a targeted, cost-effective, and sustainable federal role in freight transportation.

Agency: Department of Transportation
Status: Open

Comments: To fully implement this recommendation, DOT should complete and issue a National Freight Strategic Plan. As part of the development of the National Freight Strategic Plan, DOT should include using new or existing federal funding sources and mechanisms to support a targeted, cost-effective, and sustainable federal role in freight transportation. As of February 2020, DOT had not issued the National Freight Strategic Plan and DOT officials said they were planning to issue the strategy by the end of 2020.