[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 1 (Monday, January 4, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 177-178]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-31135]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Research and Innovative Technology Administration


Agency Information Collection; Activity Under OMB Review; 
Confidential Close Call Reporting System

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

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 
U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this notice announces that the Information 
Collection Request (ICR) described below is being forwarded to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for approval for renewal of 
information collection supporting a five-year research study that aims 
at improving rail safety by analyzing information on close calls and 
other unsafe occurrences in the rail industry. The ICR describes the 
nature of the information collection and its expected burden. The 
Federal Register notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting 
comments on the following collection of information was published on 
October 21, 2009 (74 FR 54116) and the comment period ended on December 
21, 2009. The 60-day notice produced no comments.

DATES: Written comments should be submitted by February 3, 2010.

[[Page 178]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Demetra V. Collia, E-36, Room 314, 
Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Research and Innovative Technology 
Administration, 1200 New Jersey Ave., SE., Washington, DC 20590; (202) 
366-1610; Fax (202) 366-3676; e-mail [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: Confidential Close Call Reporting System.
    Type of Request: Approval to continue to collect information on 
close calls.
    OMB Control Number: 2139-0010.
    Affected Public: Workers in the railroad industry.
    Number of Respondents: 4,000.
    Number of Responses: 730.
    Total Annual Burden: 365.00 hours (Average estimate of 30 minutes 
to complete the C\3\RS Close Call form and employee survey, resulting 
in a total of 365.00 hours).
    Abstract: 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)). The Federal Railroad 
Administration (FRA) and BTS 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 
(C\3\RS) 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 are asked to provide information 
about the reported event by filling out a questionnaire and 
participating in a brief interview, as needed. The close call reporting 
form (questionnaire) asks the respondent to provide information on: (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 in 
determining a root cause of such event.
    BTS collects close call reports submitted by railroad employees and 
protects 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). Accordingly, only 
statistical and non-sensitive information will be made available 
through publications and reports. In addition, BTS is developing an 
analytical database containing the reported data and other pertinent 
information to determine root causes of frequently reported close 
calls. The database is 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 C\3\RS demonstration 
project offers a voluntary, cooperative, non-punitive environment to 
communicate safety concerns. Through the analysis of close calls, the 
FRA and the railroad community receive information about factors that 
may contribute to unsafe events and the error recovery mechanisms that 
prevented an adverse consequence from occurring. Such information is 
used to develop new training programs, identify root causes of 
potentially adverse events, assess risk and allocate resources to 
address those risks more efficiently. In addition, the database 
provides rail safety researchers with valuable information regarding 
precursors to safety risks and contributes to research and development 
of intervention programs aimed at preventing accidents and fatalities.
    It is estimated that close call reporting will take no more than 30 
minutes to complete for a maximum total burden of 365.00 hours (730 
reports * 30 minutes/60 = 365.00 hours). 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 two 
per day.

ADDRESSES: The agency seeks public comments on its proposed information 
collection. Comments should address whether the information will have 
practical utility; the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden 
of the proposed information collection; ways to enhance the quality, 
utility and clarity of the information to be collected; and ways to 
minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, 
including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of 
information technology. Send comments to the Office of Information and 
Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, 725-17th Street, 
NW., Washington, DC 20503, Attention: BTS Desk Officer.

    Issued in Washington, DC on December 28, 2009.
Steven D. Dillingham,
Director, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Research and Innovative 
Technology Administration.
[FR Doc. E9-31135 Filed 12-31-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-HY-P