Transportation Safety Board says industry slow to implement safety recommendations

OTTAWA, Ont.– The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) released its annual reassessment of responses to Board recommendations. The reassessments show that progress has been slow especially in Aviation where only 61% of the Board’s recommendations have been implemented, said the TSB, which is urging industry and regulators to take action on a number of outstanding safety recommendations.

The aviation sector has seen limited movement on recommendations. While 5 recommendations have received the TSB’s highest rating of “fully satisfactory”, another 32 remain unresolved, the TSB said. Indeed, 6 of the 32 have been classed as “dormant” as the TSB foresees no action on the part of the regulator. The TSB remains committed to the Watchlist goal of reducing landing accidents and runway overruns where there are a number of outstanding recommendations including calls on Transport Canada (TC) for longer runway safety end areas or a means of stopping aircraft that provides an equivalent level of safety. 

In the marine sector, 2 recommendations dating from 1996 have been reassessed as “fully satisfactory.” As in the past, a key Watchlist issue that remains unaddressed is the introduction of safety management systems (SMS) for commercial operators of small passenger vessels. SMS is proven to help manage risk, and TC and the marine industry need to take action to make this a reality for small marine operators.

Canada’s rail sector also has its challenges. Traditionally, TC has implemented about 90% of the TSB’s rail recommendations but this year, with many new recommendations being issued, that decreased slightly to 86%. Safety at railway crossings remains a significant risk, the TSB said. Many of the outstanding recommendations have not been fully addressed and 1 has been downgraded to unsatisfactory (R91-01). The issue of passenger trains colliding with vehicles is on the TSB Watchlist and the Board continues to press for the introduction of voice and video recorders in locomotives.

Recommendations are made when the Board identifies systemic safety issues that pose a serious risk to Canada’s transportation system. The Board then reassesses its active recommendations on an annual basis to determine whether action was taken and to make those accountable for safety in the transportation system aware of outstanding issues.