Open Government

Open Government Badge that Links to White House

At the Department of Transportation we are working hard to become more participatory, collaborative and transparent.

DOT Is Looking For Your Input to Help Shape the Next Open Government Plan

In this updated 2012 Open Government Plan, we have advanced our commitment to openness and engagement by focusing our efforts on new initiatives and supporting activities that create public value … To meet the challenges of the future, DOT must continue to harness the ingenuity of the American people in new and innovative ways. .

- John D. Porcari, Deputy Secretary

Read the Full Text of the Deputy Secretary's Introductory Letter

Open Government Plan

In its first Open Government Plan, the Department of Transportation (DOT) recognized that the Open Government initiative is about more than adopting new tools and emerging technologies—it is about effecting real policy and internal culture change to ensure that our Department truly becomes even more transparent, participatory, and collaborative, both internally and externally. Building on that strong foundation, our second Open Government Plan looks at the public engagement impact of, and public value generated by, enhancing DOT’s openness. DOT is pursuing a number of Open Government initiatives in the next two years. Check out version 2.0 of our plan!

DOT leadership and employees from across the Department worked together to help create an Open Government Plan to meet the requirements of Open Government Directive.

This plan is a living document. As we continue towards increased transparency, participation, collaboration, and innovation, we will be refining and enhancing our strategic efforts. We welcome public comments regarding the content of this plan on our Citizen Engagement Tool and at open@dot.gov.

Our Approach to Open Government

The DOT began preparing for the OMB Open Government Directive by designing an Open Government framework to guide the development of our Open Government Plan. This framework enabled us to quickly identify planning steps; analyze and address the relevant technology, policy, and cultural issues that would impact Open Government activities; and get the best-suited people involved in Open Government efforts from the very beginning.

Evaluate our Progress

To help you navigate our Open Government Plan, DOT has created a table that links each requirement of the Open Government Directive to the relevant section of our plan. Also, the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy maintains an Open Government Dashboard. On that website, you can find the self assessment of our progress towards meeting the Open Government Directive requirements.

Data Sets

Tire Quality  

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has rated more than 4,200 lines of tires using a grading system known as the Uniform Tire Quality Grading System (UTQGS).

Rate the utility of this dataset and download the raw data at: UTQGS Data Set on data.gov

Safety Ratings   The New Car Assessment Program encourages vehicle manufacturers to make safety improvements through its 5-star safety ratings.  The ratings are a matter of commercial pride for manufacturers that utilize them in promotional marketing efforts. 
Rate the utility of this dataset and download the raw data at: NCAP Data Set on data.gov
Child Safety   The Child Passenger Safety (CPS) Ease of Use program provides ratings that reflect the ease of using child restraint features.  Manufacturers strive to meet the standards set by the program, materially promoting the health and well being of every child occupying a safety seat. Rate the utility of this dataset and download the raw data at: CPS Data Set on data.gov
Law Data   The Department of Transportation is participating in the law community on data.gov. Click here for our law-related data sets on data.gov.
Enforcement & Compliance Data   The President issued a Memorandum on "Regulatory Compliance" that asked DOT to develop a plan to make our compliance and enforcement data publicly accessible, downloadable, and searchable online. You can review our draft preliminary plan.
Other Data   The Department of Transportation has published numerous datasets on data.gov. For more information and to rate the utility of those datasets please visit Data.gov. To suggest transportation related datasets for release, please visit Suggest Datasets. To view a list of all our data sets, please visit our inventory.
Updated: Friday, February 15, 2013