Mineta to deliver report on U.S. truck safety today

WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 21) — Norman Mineta is wrapping up his investigation of the state of truck safety in the United States this week, and will present his recommendations to U.S. Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater today. He is scheduled to testify publicly before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on May 26.

Mineta’s report will be influential in shaping the future of the government’s truck safety effort. Details are not yet available, but he will recommend improvements to the programs run by the Office of Motor Carrier and Highway Safety.

The respected former chairman of the House Committee on Public Works and Transportation was asked by Federal Highway Administrator Kenneth Wykle and Secretary Slater to prepare an analysis incorporating the views of the major stakeholders.

Mineta, carving time out from his job as vice-president of special business initiatives at Lockheed Martin Corp., has met with representatives of the trucking industry, labor unions, safety enforcement agencies, safety activists and truck manufacturers.

He also has interviewed the principal federal officials, including Julie Cirillo, chief of the Office of Motor Carrier and Highway Safety, and Kenneth Mead, who as DOT Inspector General drafted a highly critical report of OMCHS’s performance.