[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 81 (Thursday, April 27, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24913-24914]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-6348]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Research and Innovative Technology Administration

[Docket No.: RITA-2006-24566]


Notice of Request for Approval To Collect New Information: 
Confidential Close Call Reporting System

AGENCY: Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), Research and 
Innovative Technology Administration (RITA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the requirements of section3506(c)(2)(A) of 
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces that the 
Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) intends to request the Office 
of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve a new information collection 
effort in railroad yards. This data collection effort is in support of 
a five-year research study aiming at improving rail safety by analyzing 
information on close calls and other unsafe occurrences in the rail 
industry. The study is conducted by the Office of Human Factors in the 
Federal Railroad Administration and is designed to identify safety 
issues and propose corrective actions based on voluntary reports of 
close calls submitted to BTS. This collection is necessary because data 
on close calls are not normally reported to the railroad carriers or 
the Federal Railroad Administration.

DATES: Comments must be received by June 26, 2006.

ADDRESSES: You can mail or hand-deliver comments to the U.S. Department 
of Transportation (DOT), Dockets Management System (DMS). You may 
submit your comments by mail or in person to the Docket Clerk, Docket 
No. RITA-2006-24566, U.S. Department of Transportation, 400 Seventh 
Street, SW., Room PL-401, Washington, DC 20590-0001. Comments should 
identify the docket number; paper comments should be submitted in 
duplicate. The DMS is open for examination and copying, at the above 
address, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal 
holidays. If you wish to receive confirmation of receipt of your 
written comments, please include a self-addressed, stamped postcard 
with the following statement: ``Comments on Docket RITA-2006-24566.'' 
The Docket Clerk will date stamp the postcard prior to returning it to 
you via the U.S. mail. Please note that due to delays in the delivery 
of U.S. mail to Federal offices in Washington, DC, we recommend that 
persons consider an alternative method (the Internet, fax, or 
professional delivery service) to submit comments to the docket and 
ensure their timely receipt at U.S. DOT. You may fax your comments to 
the DMS at (202) 493-2251.
    If you wish to file comments using the Internet, you may use the 
DOT DMS Web site at http://dms.dot.gov. Please follow the online 
instructions for submitting an electronic comment. You can also review 
comments on-line at the DMS Web site at http://dms.dot.gov.
    Please note that anyone is able to electronically search all 
comments received into our docket management system by the name of the 
individual submitting the comment (or signing the comment if submitted 
on behalf of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may 
review DOT's complete Privacy Act Statement in the Federal Register 
published on April 11, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 70; pages 19477-78) or 
you may review the Privacy Act Statement at http://dms.dot.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Demetra V. Collia, RTS 31, Room 3430, 
Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Research and Innovative Technology 
Administration, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590; (202) 
366-1610; Fax No. (202) 493-0568; e-mail: [email protected]. 
Office hours are from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 
except Federal holidays.
    Data Confidentiality Provisions: The confidentiality of Close Calls 
data is protected under the BTS confidentiality statute (49 U.S.C. 
111(k) and the Confidential Information Protection and Statistical 
Efficiency Act (CIPSEA) of 2002 (Pub. L. 107-347, Title V). In 
accordance with these confidentiality statutes, only statistical and 
non-identifying data will be made publicly available through reports. 
Further, BTS will not release to FRA or any other public or private 
entity any information that might reveal the identity of individuals or 
organizations mentioned in close call reports.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. The Data Collection

    The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. chapter 35; as 
amended) and 5 CFR part 1320 require each Federal agency to obtain OMB 
approval to initiate an information collection activity. BTS is seeking 
OMB approval for the following BTS information collection activity:
    Title: Confidential Close Call Reporting System.
    OMB Control Number: 2139-NEW.
    Type of Review: Approval of data collection.
    Respondents: Employees of selected (pilot) railroad sites.
    Number of Respondents: 350 (per annum).
    Estimated Time per Response: 0.50 hours.
    Frequency: Intermittent for 5 years. (Reports are submitted when 
there is a qualifying event, i.e., a close call occurs within a pilot 
site. The frequency of such event is estimated to be approximately one 
per day.)
    Total Annual Burden: 175.00 hours.

II. Background

    Collecting data on the nation's transportation system is an 
important component of BTS's responsibility to the transportation 
community and is authorized in BTS statutory authority (49 U.S.C. 
111(c)(1) and (2) and 49 U.S.C. 111(c)(5)(j)). BTS and FRA share a 
common interest in promoting rail safety based on better data. To that 
end, FRA's Office of Research and Development is sponsoring the 
Confidential Close Call Reporting System (C3RS) 
Demonstration Project to investigate the effectiveness of such system 
in improving rail safety.
    A close call represents a situation in which an ongoing sequence of 
events was stopped from developing further, preventing the occurrence 
of potentially serious safety-related consequences. This might include 
the following: (1) Events that happen frequently, but have low safety 
consequences; (2) events that happen infrequently but have the 
potential for high consequences (e.g., a train in dark territory 
proceeds beyond its authority); (3) events that are below the FRA 
reporting threshold (e.g., an event that causes a minor injury); and 
(4) events that are reportable to FRA but have the potential for a far 
greater accident than the one reported (e.g., a slow speed collision 
with minor damage to the equipment and no injuries.)
    Employees involved in a close call will be asked to fill out a 
questionnaire which will be made available on the Web and at their work 
site and mail it to BTS. The close call questionnaire will request the 
respondent to provide information such as: (1) Name and contact 
information; (2) time and location of the incident; (3) a short 
description of the event; (4) contributing factors to the close call; 
and (5) any other information that might be useful

[[Page 24914]]

in determining a root cause of such event.
    BTS will collect close call reports submitted by railroad 
employees, develop an analytical database containing the reported data 
and other pertinent information, and protect the confidentiality of 
these data through its own statute (49 U.S.C. 111(i)) and the 
Confidential Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act of 
2002 (CIPSEA). The database will be a valuable tool to railroad 
carriers and the FRA in their effort to identify safety issues and 
provide corrective measures before an accident occurs.
    Voluntary reporting of close calls to a confidential system can 
provide a tool to identify and correct weaknesses in railroad safety 
systems before an accident actually occurs. The C3RS 
demonstration project will foster a voluntary, cooperative, non-
punitive environment to communicate safety concerns. Through the 
analysis of close calls the FRA and the railroad community will receive 
information about factors that may contribute to unsafe events and the 
error recovery mechanisms that prevented an adverse consequence from 
occurring. Such information can be used to develop new training 
programs, identify root causes of potentially adverse events, assess 
risk and allocate resources to address those risks more efficiently. 
The database will also provide other users such as rail safety 
researchers with valuable information regarding precursors to safety 
risks and contribute to research and development of intervention 
programs aimed at preventing accidents and fatalities.

III. Request for Comments

    BTS requests comments on any aspects of these information 
collections, including: (1) The accuracy of the estimated burden; (2) 
ways to enhance the quality, usefulness, and clarity of the collected 
information; and (3) ways to minimize the collection burden without 
reducing the quality of the information collected, including additional 
use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology.

    Issued in Washington, DC on April 20, 2006.
William Bannister,
Acting Deputy Director, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Research 
and Innovative Technology Administration.
 [FR Doc. E6-6348 Filed 4-26-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-HY-P