About the U.S. Transportation Department

It took 92 years for an agency to be established that would provide efficient and safe modes of travel within the United States. There are many agencies that are part of the United States Federal government. It was during the presidency of Lyndon Johnson that the Department of Transportation was created in 1966. Its first day was April 1, 1967. It became the 4th largest cabinet level department in the government. The vast transportation system and infrastructure that make up the U.S. are overseen by The Department of Transportation. (DOT) It is the responsibility of this agency to maintain, develop, and support our road, rail, sea and air systems.

In 1970, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration was established as another agency under the DOT. The NHTSA handles design, maintenance, and construction of our national highway system, and oversees automobile and highway safety. In 1975, the National Transportation Safety Board became an independent federal agency. The NHTSA researches, creates protection initiatives to protect consumers , enforces manufacturers to comply with safety standards and fuel economy. From defects to crash tests, this agency analyzes accident statistics and the improves the safety of child seats, pedestrian protection, and teen driving.

The DOT is involved in reducing the number and severity of accidents with 18 wheeler trucks.
The FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) monitors the U.S. commercial airline industry. The FAA sets rules for running airports and the safety of American airline passengers. The air traffic control system is also under the auspices of the FAA.

The Federal Railroad Administration and Surface Transportation Board develps and enforces railway safety regulations, in addition to conducting research to improve railroad safety.
The Maritime Administration handles all waterway transportion in the U.S. This agency makes sure the ports, American ships, envronment, safety and national security are safe and protected.

This agency also looks to keep the environment protected and the public safe as hazardous materials are transported throughout the country as they are transported by air, land and sea. There are nearly on million daily shipments of hazardous materials, (including the transportation of petroleum) shipped each day. This agency also enforces the laws that govern the 2.3 million miles of pipelines that carry these materials.

The DOT is a big agency and has a less than perfect record. After the 9/11 hijacking and crash of US ailines they did not hand over documents readily until they were subpoenaed to do so. Six traffic controllers who were tracking or communicating with the hijacked planes were interviewed and tape recorded by an FAA manager. But the tapes were destroyed by another FAA manager.

The Department of Transportation consists of the Office of the Secretary and eleven separate administrations including:

• the Federal Aviation Administration
• the Federal Highway Administration
• the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
• the Federal Railroad Administration
• the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
• the Federal Transit Administration
• the Maritime Administration
• the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation
• the Research and Innovative Technologies Administration
• the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
• the Surface Transportation Board.

The Department of Homeland Security on March 1, 2003, assumed management of the United States Coast Guard and the Transportation Security Administration, formerly part of the DOT.

The Dept of Transportation is very concerned about distracted driving. They believe the best way to help people pay more attention on the roads is through educating the public. Go to http://www.distraction.gov/content/dot-action/index.html to read the DOT “Blueprint for Ending Distracted Driving” .

According to the federal government, The DOT oversees the freight system in the U.S., which “includes 985,000 miles of Federal-aid highways, 141,000 miles of railroads, 11,000 miles of inland waterways, and 1.6 million miles of pipelines connecting ports, airports, cities, manufacturing centers, farms, mines, and other economic activity. Approximately 200,000 miles of highways are designated for conventional combination vehicles, of which 26,000 miles are major freight corridors.” Reliable movement of freight is essential to the U.S. economy.

From exploring solutions to traffic jams and making the roads safer, to traveling by air, sea and land, the Department of Transportation is continuing to create more efficient and safer modes of travel within the vast systems that extends across our country.