That's why I established the Garrett A. Morgan Technology and Transportation Futures Program to challenge one million students to develop their science, math and technology skills. The program has already touched the lives of more than 650,000 young people across America. It will return dividends far into the future. During the Workforce Panel session I will be listening for innovative approaches for reaching students of all ages. I expect that some of the technology breakthroughs in transportation that occur down the road, will occur because we took the time and expended the effort to help young people overcome the barriers to a scientific or technical career.
Innovation requires more than new ideas.
It requires bringing these new ideas to the marketplace. I am therefore pleased to announce that the U.S. Department of Transportation is taking two actions today to significantly advance innovation in the technology areas we will be discussing this afternoon. For the first-time ever, we will test a rear end collision warning system on real roads with real drivers. The potential safety benefits are enormous. Rear-end collisions account for 1.7 million crashes every year.