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Ten states with the most highway-rail grade crossing collisions will be required to develop action plans to reduce the number of accidents. Federal Railroad Administration is requiring Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Ohio and Texas to identify specific solutions for improving safety at crossings, focusing on crossings that have experienced multiple accidents or are at high risk for such accidents. Nationwide, there were 2,772 highway-rail crossing accidents in 2007, 2,409 in 2008, and 1,896 in 2009, resulting in 873 fatalities.

The federal Consumer Product Safety Commission is recalling more than 2,500 steel light poles manufactured by a now-closed Texas company because they can crack and fall. Eleven of them have crashed at stadiums and school gymnasiums over a decade-long period. Manufactured by the defunct Whitco Co. of Ft. Worth, the poles can weigh one ton to four tons and were manufactured between 2000 and 2005. The agency found 50 more Whitco-constructed poles that have fractures or cracks but have not yet fallen, and recommended all poles be inspected by an engineer. The light poles being recalled have been found in at least 22 locations in Arkansas. The poles crash when the top fixtures are too heavy for the base. Because Whitco is out of business, individual owners of the poles are responsible for any inspections and damages that may occur, including replacement costs, according to the commission.

The Texas Department of Public Safety pulled 1,738 commercial vehicles off the road during Roadcheck 2010, which ran from June 8 through June 10. DPS troopers inspected 6,906 commercial vehicles; 25 percent of which were placed out of service because they were found to have serious enough safety violations to be removed from service until repairs could be made. Troopers also placed 160 of the drivers (2.3 percent) out of service for violations ranging from not properly tracking their hours of service to suspended, expired or cancelled driver licenses. Overall, 27,143 violations were documented as a result of the 6,906 inspections conducted.