(Bloomberg) — Safety officials want to see more technology usedto reduce accidents on U.S. roads, airways and railroads.

In its annual "Most Wanted" list, the NationalTransportation Safety Board is urging government regulators andindustry to move more quickly to adopt equipment that automaticallyhits the brakes on cars, trucks and trains, as well as devices thatmonitor operators with video.

In some cases, the technologies are offered by automakers butcome only on more expensive vehicles.

"The difficulty is some of this technology, which is highlyeffective at reducing rear-end collisions, is not available or isnot available as standard equipment," NTSB board member Earl Weenersaid Wednesday at a press conference. "Many times you have to buy ahigh-end luxury package in order to get the safety equipment."

New technology can be a double-edged sword, NTSB ChairmanChristopher Hart said. The NTSB also wants drivers, pilots andtrain engineers to shut off distracting technologies, such assmartphones and other digital displays that have been repeatedlylinked to fatal accidents.

Automated devices

The NTSB's 2016 list included nine areas the safety boardbelieves are a priority to improve transportation safety. Theyinclude issues on which the agency has long advocated, such asboosting use of seat belts, decreasing drug and alcohol impairmentand cutting operator fatigue.

In addition, the NTSB is calling for swifter adoption ofautomated devices that prevent accidents.

"I do see that as a growing trend through all the modes," Hartsaid. "Humans on their best days can make mistakes. Thesetechnology solutions are safety nets for when humans makemistakes."

On roadways, the safety board wants automatic braking,lane-departure warnings and systems that monitor vehicles indrivers' blind spots. While these features are offered on somevehicles, they often come only on the costliest.

Related: Traffic deaths in these 15 states setting pace fordealiest driving year since 2007

The NTSB cited a 2011 study by the Insurance Institute forHighway Safety that concluded more than 10,000 fatal accidents ayear might be prevented or reduced in severity if those deviceswere in all vehicles.

32,000 deaths

"Motor vehicle crashes continue to be a leading cause of deathand injuries in the United States, killing more than 32,000 eachyear on average," the NTSB said. "Yet currently availabletechnologies could prevent many crashes."

Technology known as "positive train control" could perform asimilar function on railroads and would have prevented theMay 12 derailment of an Amtrak train inPhiladelphia that killed eight people and injured morethan 200, according to the safety board.

Congress last year granted railroads a reprieve from arequirement for positive train control by the end of 2015,extending the deadline until 2018. The NTSB called for no moredelays.

As the cost and size of video recording equipment has shrunk, itis now feasible to equip commercial motor vehicles, trains,aircraft and ships with these devices, according to the NTSB. Thesafety board has increasingly found video recordings help itunderstand how accidents occurred, but there are no requirementsfor them so they're rarely installed.

We're on Facebook, are you?