The Binational Commission is an example of international cooperation that could well be emulated in many corners of the world. What I would like to do today is share with you our experiences in the United States that we believe prove the value of an independent accident investigation agency. First of all, I think it is important to note that transportation safety cannot be accomplished through the efforts of one person, one group, or one government agency. It is a shared responsibility among people who travel, the companies that provide the travel and agencies that regulate that travel. Those companies that enacted safety improvements voluntarily and those agencies that mandated them through regulatory action can take credit for doing their part to improve the quality of our lives.
Safety is no accident.
I am the Chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, an independent agency within the United States government established in 1967 to investigate major transportation accidents to determine cause, and, more importantly, to formulate safety recommendations for government or industry aimed at preventing accidents in the future. During the course of our investigations, we often must examine what role other government agencies might have played in the accidents. That is why it is imperative that we are independent of those agencies. Otherwise, it would give the appearance that we were investigating ourselves. No Federal agency can properly perform such functions unless it is totally separate and independent from any other department, bureau, or commission, or agency of the United States.