NTSB Report stresses improved technology/brake pedal design.
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Press Release Summary:
NTSB Special Investigation Report SIR-09/02 cites pedal misapplication as factor in 5 heavy vehicle accidents from 2005-2008. Report covers potential benefits of technological solutions and presents safety recommendations to prevent/mitigate issue. As a result, NTSB recommended NHTSA publish design guidelines for designers and manufacturers. It also reiterated and reclassified 1999 recommendations requiring event data recorders on school buses/motorcoaches manufactured after January 1, 2003.
Original Press Release:
NTSB Calls for Improved Technology, Pedal Design to Minimize Risk of Pedal Misapplication in Heavy Vehicles
Washington, DC - In a Special Investigation Report (SIR-09/02) adopted today, the National Transportation Safety Board concluded that pedal misapplication was a factor in five heavy vehicle accidents investigated by the Board between 2005 and 2008. Pedal misapplication occurs when a driver depresses the accelerator instead of, or in addition to, the brake pedal.
The report was prompted by the Board's investigation of a school bus accident that occurred in Liberty, Missouri, in May 2005. The NTSB subsequently investigated four additional accidents that shared common elements. In all five, the drivers either reported a loss of braking or were observed by vehicle occupants to be unsuccessfully attempting to stop the vehicles, though no evidence of braking system failure was found.
The Board noted that the purpose of the report was not only to review these recent investigations and the Board's previous work on pedal misapplications, but also to examine the potential benefits of a variety of possible technological solutions and to present safety recommendations designed to prevent or mitigate the consequences of pedal misapplication involving heavy vehicles.
As a result of this report, the Board called upon the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to require the installation of technology in heavy vehicles susceptible to pedal misapplication to prevent unintended acceleration when starting from a parked position. The Board also recommended that NHTSA both conduct an analysis of pedal configurations in heavy vehicles and study the effect of pedal design on the driving task. Upon completion of the analysis, the Board recommended that NHTSA publish pedal design guidelines for designers and manufacturers. Additional recommendations were made to the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services and the National Association for Pupil Transportation to advise their members of the dangers of pedal misapplication and to consider driver refresher training and suggested mitigation strategies.
The NTSB also reiterated and reclassified two 1999 safety recommendations made to NHTSA requiring event data recorders on school buses and motorcoaches manufactured after January 1, 2003, and for NHTSA to work with other government agencies and industry to develop and implement standards for on-board recording of bus crash data.
A synopsis of the Special Investigation Report, including the findings, probable cause determinations for two accidents, and safety recommendations, can be found on the Board's website at www.ntsb.gov. The complete report will be available within several weeks.
NTSB Media Contact: Bridget Serchak
202-314-6100
Bridget.serchak@ntsb.gov
