The AASM congratulates Mark R. Rosekind, PhD, on his confirmation as the new Administrator for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Dr. Rosekind was nominated by President Obama on November 19 to head the agency which is responsible for setting standards for motor vehicle and highway safety.

As one of the world’s leading human fatigue experts, Dr. Rosekind has had a longstanding commitment to minimizing human fatigue and promoting transportation safety. Dr. Rosekind has been a Member of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) since 2010 and in this role he has brought greater attention to the prevalent public safety threats posed by fatigue, circadian misalignment and untreated sleep disorders.

The AASM has been privileged to collaborate with Dr. Rosekind on recent initiatives such as the panel discussion at the National Geographic Channel’s premiere of Sleepless in America and the NTSB’s public forum Awake, Alert, Alive: Overcoming the Dangers of Drowsy Driving. 

The AASM looks forward to furthering our collaborative relationship with Dr. Rosekind at NHTSA. One of our shared goals is to promote the achievement of the Healthy People 2020 objective to reduce the rate of vehicular crashes that are due to drowsy driving, which is a point of emphasis for the CDC-funded National Healthy Sleep Awareness Project that the AASM is leading.

The Senate did not announce when Dr. Rosekind would take over NHTSA, but it is likely to be in January.