WASHINGTON (April 15, 2016) — U.S. auto safety and aviation regulators have invited auto makers to a joint summit in the nation's capital on April 22 to examine whether airline industry safety practices can be adapted to help improve safety on the road.
The event, which will be closed to the public, will be co-hosted by Mark Rosekind, administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), and Federal Aviation Administration (FHA) chief Michael Huerta, according to an invitation to the event obtained by Automotive News.
U.S. aviation officials and senior executives from U.S. airlines such as Delta and United will discuss data sharing and other collaborative efforts between the aviation industry and government that have contributed to an 83-percent decline in commercial airline fatalities from 1998 to 2008, according to the invitation, which was sent to representatives of auto makers.
“The FAA and aviation industry have been tremendously successful reducing commercial aviation fatalities,” Mr. Rosekind said in a statement. “We are convening this cross-industry and cross-agency forum because we believe that the best practices will apply” to the auto industry.
The summit is an outgrowth of Mr. Rosekind's push to instill a more “proactive” culture of safety in the auto industry after a series of recent high-profile safety crises. In January, NHTSA and 18 auto makers agreed to adopt voluntary “proactive safety principles” aimed at rooting out safety problems before they erupt into crises and reducing traffic fatalities. Among the steps outlined in the principles were wider sharing of safety data among industry players and exploring whether aviation industry safety practices could be adapted to the auto industry.
