Mission Statement Of The Department Of Transportation

The Secretary of Transportation is the head of the Department of Transportation (DOT), an agency of the federal government that is responsible for overseeing the national interests, development, and infrastructure needs regarding transportation throughout the entire country. The department was created in 1966 under the leadership of President Lyndon Johnson after conflict arose between the Defense Department and the Federal Aviation Agency over regulations on supersonic aircraft. With this new power, many transportation issues were able to be pursued under one national agency which solved many problems at the time including the bailout of the Pennsylvania Central Railroad, the implementation of Amtrak, reaction plans for airline hijackings, air-traffic controller strikes, and production of supersonic transportation [1].
Since its creation, it has continued to absorb many important organizations under its umbrella [1]:
• Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) – maintains interstate highway systems, builds and provides funding to state/local governments for building and maintaining roads and highways, establishes laws and rules for roads, overpasses, and bridges.
• Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) – creates regulations and initiatives to improve the safety of commercial vehicles, primarily large