Safety Recommendations

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​The NTSB issues safety recommendations to address specific safety concerns uncovered during investigations and to specify actions to help prevent similar accidents from occurring in the future. Safety recommendations are our most important product because they alert government, industry, and the public to the critical changes that are needed to prevent transportation accidents and crashes, reduce injuries, and save lives.

We:

• ​issue recommendations to the organizations best able to take corrective action, such as the US DOT and its modal administrations, the Coast Guard, other federal and state agencies, manufacturers, operators, labor unions, and industry and ​trade organizations.
• issue safety recommendations at any point during the investigation of transportation accidents and in connection with safety studies.
• monitor the progress of action to implement each recommendation until it is closed, which usually takes several years. 
  

Find Our Recom​​mendations

CAROL  (Case Analysis and Reporting Online) is our search tool for investigations and safety recommendations across all modes. CAROL includes all NTSB recommendations. See the Field Descriptions​ page for specific information about safety recommendations data fields.

Recommendation Spotlight

Each month, we shine the spotlight on a few recommendations that have been successfully implemented (closed acceptable action) and are helping to further safety. These recommendations span all modes of transportation and recommendation recipients. Visit the Recommendation Spotlight Archive​ to see previous safety wins.

We urge recommendation recipients to keep us informed of the progress on implementing recommendations. ​​If you do, you may see your recommendation spotlighted here. ​Read more about responding to our safety recommend​​​ations.

​​​​Getting Ahead of the Weather and Potential Catastrophic Derailments

Weather-related railroad accidents account for a small percentage of all reported rail incidents, yet their consequences can be severe. Over the past 40 years, the NTSB has investigated several derailments where unforeseen adverse weather conditions impacted railroad infrastructure and created unsafe operating environments.

One notable incident occurred in 2020 when a high-hazard train transporting denatured ethanol derailed in Kentucky, between a hillside and a river. This derailment resulted in the release of 38,400 gallons of denatured ethanol, which ignited when it mixed with the locomotive's diesel fuel. Fortunately, the train crew evacuated with only minor injuries, despite the destruction of the locomotives.

The NTSB's investigation​ into this derailment revealed that two weeks before the incident, the area experienced more than three times its average rainfall, leading to a mudslide that covered the tracks just before the derailment.

In response to this catastrophe, we recommended (R-22-8) that Class I Railroads and Amtrak improve their weather alert criteria by incorporating location-specific current, persistent, and past weather conditions that could lead to hazardous operating conditions. Additionally, we recommended (R-22-9) that the railroads train their employees on updates to their alert criteria and protocols in response to different alerts.

In November, our board members evaluated the response of Class I Railroads and Amtrak to our recommendations (R-22-8 and R-22-9) and found that their weather alert criteria now include dynamic weather conditions that change over short and long periods, with an emphasis on location-specific current, persistent, and historical rainfall.​

Safety Recommendations at a G​​​​lance​​ ​ ​

​​We have issued over 15,400 safety Recommendations since the agency was established in 1967.

​​​Total safety recommendations by mode​

Total safety recommendations by Recipient

​2023 Safety Recommendation Statistics​