NHTSA Nominee Faces Senate Grilling, from The Wall Street Journal.
National Transportation Safety Board member Mark Rosekind is an expert on how tired pilots, ship’s captains and drivers put people at risk. On Wednesday, members of a Senate panel will ask him what he can bring to the federal highway safety agency accused of being asleep at the wheel.
President Barack Obama has nominated Mr. Rosekind to take over the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration at a time when the agency that polices motor-vehicle safety is overwhelmed by a flood of safety recalls and bipartisan frustration with its failure to detect safety risks sooner.
At the safety board, Mr. Rosekind established himself as a detail-oriented member able to work well with colleagues and adept at handling the press. He started his career as director of a sleep research center at Stanford, then worked on problems of pilot fatigue at NASA before starting a consulting firm that advised companies in transportation and other industries on how to prevent accidents caused by tired workers.
Mr. Rosekind also knows how it feels to face regulatory scrutiny. In 2005, JetBlue Airways was accused of assigning some pilots to work shifts longer than allowed by federal rules. The airliner told the Federal Aviation Administration that its policy was based on advice from Mr. Rosekind’s consulting firm. The FAA never took formal action against Mr. Rosekind.
