Site offers transportation safety discussion

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Internet Forum

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is following the lead of

other Transportation Department agencies by launching an Internet-based

effort to encourage public involvement in improving transportation safety.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration will create an Internet

discussion site at ssp.fmcsa.dot.gov to allow the public to participate

in a discussion of the agency's long-term strategy to improve truck and

bus safety, the 2010 Strategy and Performance Plan. Transportation Secretary

Rodney Slater announced the new site Tuesday.

The site is being created just weeks after the completion of a month-long,

Internet-based workshop on driver distraction from new technologies sponsored

by the DOT's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The FMCSA site

will be available until Dec. 15.

"President Clinton and Vice President Gore believe that information

technology is increasingly important for full participation in America's

economic, political and social life, and this process takes full advantage

of the Internet to support safety, our highest priority," Slater said in

a DOT statement.

The Internet discussion site will allow the public to view and comment

on research papers in progress, review draft safety action plans, and submit

to FMCSA suggestions and alternate motor carrier safety strategies about

how to improve truck and bus safety over the next 10 years, the DOT statement

said. People can register to receive automatic periodic e-mail notifications

as new documents are posted.

FMCSA, with help from NHTSA and the Federal Highway Administration,

will prepare a 10-year truck and bus safety strategy that will be completed

and sent to Congress by the end of the year.