The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "Transportation Safety Agency" ...
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Breakdown: Traveling Dangerously in America
The National Transportation Safety Board has issued more than 13,000 recommendations in the past 43 years to make travel safer. The recommendations have largely gone ignored by federal and state agencies while people have continued to die.
Tags: travel; cars; NTSB; National Transportation Safety Board
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Rough Road for Bus Safety
Houston's public transit agency, Metro, has poor safety records according to an investigation by the Houston Chronicle. The investigation determined there were more than 1000 bus-involved crashes in a one-year period and hundreds of traffic violations. Metro officials were unaware of many of these violations.
Tags: bus safety; transportation; driving; traffic; Metro
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Air Marshals: Undercover and Under Arrest
The Federal Air Marshal Service presents the image of an elite undercover force charged with making life-and-death decisions that demand sound judgment. ProPublica found that dozens of air marshals have been charged with crimes, including 18 felonies, and hundreds more have been accused of misconduct. Cases include smuggling drugs past airport security, aiding a human trafficking ring, child sex abuse, bribery, drunken driving, domestic violence, holding an escort against her will during an overnight layover, solicitation to commit murder and voyeurism after one air marshal was caught taking photos of women's genitals on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.
Tags: air marshals; Transportation Safety Agency; human trafficking; child sex abuse; drunken driving; domestic violence; criminal convictions
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The Worst City Bus Drivers
ABC7 sued the City and County of San Francisco to gain access to the public records of the ongoing investigation of a small group of bus drivers whom many complaints have been filed against. Despite the number of complaints, Municipal Transportation Agency has never disciplined them, even when complaints are valid. The series revealed "serious systemic and safety problems" in the public agency.
Tags: bus; bus drivers; municipal; transportation; FOIA; public records; Municipal Transportation Agency
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Aging Airtankers
"An Associated Press investigation of the nation's aerial firefighting program found that many of the aging planes should never have been flying in the first place. It found a spotty safety record by a contractor who had the wings snap off two airtankers in mid-flight last summer, and that no single registry or agency keeps track of accidents involving so-called public service aircraft. The series traced the use of the airtankers to an apparently illegal transfer of military aircraft, showing that the investigation of one of last summer's crashes was hampered because the plane once was used to fly spy missions for the CIA. It found that there is poor financing and supervision of the crucial program, findings echoed in a report by a special government commission."
Tags: airtanker; airplanes; safety; record; transportation; CIA; spy; accidents; government oversight; crash
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Road to Corruption
The Citizen-Times investigates corruption among police officers at the Division of Motor Vehicles. According to the contest questionnaire: "Charges included bribe-taking to ignore truck-safety violations for politically connected companies, job and promotion buying within the agency, the coercion of officers to make donations to politicians, ticket-fixing and a loss of focus on the primary mission of enforcing trucking industry laws." Some of the conclusions were based on database analysis. The newspaper's investigation has been followed by a grand jury investigation.
Tags: law enforcement; bribery; public safety; transportation; campaign finance; money and politics; state government
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OSHA penalties: A double standard
A Free Lance-Star investigation reveals that state government agencies are among the most common violators of worker safety standards, but - unlike private bodies - they never get fined. The story lists the top violators in the Fredericksburg, VA area in the last 25 years. The No. 1 local violator over this time period is Keller Industries, a private company that stopper operating in 1996, and No. 2 is the Virginia Department of Transportation. Among the top ten violators are also the City of Fredericksburg and the County of Stafford. "Virginia is one of eight state-run OSHA programs that never fine governments for violations," the Star reports. The article includes a table of the most common injuries and sources of injury.
Tags: Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA); state government; local government; deaths; injuries; CAR
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Pipelines: The invisible danger
In a four-part investigative series American-Statesmen examines "the operation and regulation of some of the most profitable companies in America, those that operate pipelines carrying oil, gasoline, fuel oil, natural gas and other hazardous materials." The reporting team reveals the dangerous - and at times deadly - condition of the pipelines the American industry uses to transport crude oil and natural gas. The stories point to statistics showing that from 1984 through 2000 a total of 366 people have died in the USA as a result of pipeline leaks and explosions. Inspections have showed that one inactive pipeline, which passes through the populated area of Austin, has had "4,000 anomalies" caused by weak steel skin. Texas is notorious for the highest death toll, since it is the state with the most miles of pipelines. The follow-up editorials focus on the need for reforms, and suggest new federal and state regulation that would improve pipeline safety.
Tags: environment; pollution; natural resources; gas explosions; OPS- Office of Pipeline Safety; NTSB- National Transportation Safety Board; Association of Oil Pipe Lines; EPA- Environmental Protection Agency; "railroad fatigue"; federal records; corrosion; safety violations; fines; maintenance; CAR
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Explosive Issue: Gas-Pipeline Tragedies Have Energy Industry, Regulators Under Fire
"The U.S. agency that inspects pipelines, federal officials say, lacks trained manpower, reliable data on accidents and the will to crack down on unsafe practices before deadly blasts occur. The pipeline industry has resisted calls from the National Transportation Safety Board and others for mandatory periodic inspections of pipelines and national employee-training standards. Meanwhile, the nation's pipelines continue to age, many of them now more than 50 years old and too narrow to accommodate the probes sent through pipes to inspect them internally for defects."
Tags: NTSB; natural gas; explosions; sonar; corrosion; Malaga; OPS; Office of Pipeline Safety; self-regulating; retrofit; oil; increased civil penalties; accident-reporting regulations; "high consequence areas"; operating pressure
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Blowout
The National Journal examines how the Ford - Bridgestone/Firestone tire safety incident was a "case study in how corporations handle a Washington crisis." When the situation began in May of 2000, Ford was able to take immediate steps at diffusing the situation because of the large crisis response team it already had in place. Ford had a well-established Washington D.C. office for its lobbyists and legal teams to work out of as well as a PR firm to handle consumer issues. Conversely, Bridgestone/Firestone was left with no response team, and managed to take the majority of the flak for the recall. Bridgestone/Firestone went through several PR agency and legal firms during the course of the recall and subsequent Congressional hearings. As a result of the tire crisis Congress passed the Transportation Recall Enhancement, Accountability, and Documentation (TREAD) Act, and Bridgestone/Firestone set up its first Washington office.
Tags: Transportation; automobile safety; tires; Bridgestone/Firestone; Ford