[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 91 (Friday, May 10, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27479-27480]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-11190]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Research and Innovative Technology Administration

[Docket Number RITA-2008-0002]


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

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

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the requirements of section 3506(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) renew the information collection request 
for the Close Calls project. 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 ongoing research 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. 
Continuous data collection for this research project is necessary to 
develop trends about rail safety and to improve railroad safety on an 
ongoing basis.

DATES: Comments must be received by July 9, 2013.

ADDRESSES: To ensure that your comments are not entered more than once 
into the docket, submit comments by only one of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and follow the instructions for sending your 
comments electronically. Docket Number: RITA-2008-2002.
     Mail: Docket Management Facility (DMF), U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., West Building, Ground 
Floor, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
     Hand Delivery: Deliver to mail address above between 9 
a.m. and 5 p.m. EST, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
     Fax: (202) 493-2251.
    Identify all transmission with ``Docket Number RITA-2008-0002'' at 
the beginning of each page of the document.
    Instructions: All comments must include the agency name and docket 
number for this notice. Paper comments should be submitted in 
duplicate. The DMF is open for examination and copying, at the above 
address from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST, 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-2008-
0002.'' The Docket Clerk will date stamp the postcard prior to 
returning it to you via the U.S. mail. Please note that all comments 
received, including any personal information, will be posted and will 
be available on the Internet users, without change, at 
www.regulations.gov. You may review

[[Page 27480]]

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 www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Demetra V. Collia, Bureau of 
Transportation Statistics, Research and Innovative Technology 
Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, Office of Advanced 
Studies, RTS-31, E324-302, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 
20590-0001; Phone No. (202) 366-1610; Fax No. (202) 366-3383; email: 
[email protected]. Office hours are from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., EST, 
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 (Public Law 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 continue 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: 2139-0010.
    Type of Review: Approval to continue to collect new information: 
Confidential Close Call Reporting System (C\3\RS).
    Respondents: Employees of selected (pilot) railroad sites.
    Number of Respondents: 3,100 (per annum).
    Estimated Time per Response: 0.50 hours.
    Frequency: Intermittent for approximately two (2) years. (Reports 
are submitted when there is a qualifying event, i.e. a close call 
occurs within a pilot site. The frequency of such an event is estimated 
to be two per day.)
    Total Annual Burden: 365.00 hours.

II. Background

    Collecting data on the nation's transportation system is an 
important component of BTS' mission and responsibility to the 
transportation community as stated in its authorizing statute (49 
U.S.C. 6302). BTS and FRA share a common interest in promoting rail 
safety based on better data. To that end, FRA's Office of Safety is 
sponsoring the Confidential Close Call Reporting System (C\3\RS) 
Demonstration Project to investigate the effectiveness of such a data 
collection system in improving rail safety. The data collection phase 
of this study was initiated in February, 2007 and is scheduled to 
continue for approximately 2 more years.
    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 reporting a close call incident will be asked 
to fill out a report and participate in a brief, confidential 
interview. Employees will have the option to mail or submit the report 
electronically to BTS. Participants will be asked to provide 
information such as: (1) Name and contact information; (2) time and 
location of the event; (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. 6302(i)) and the Confidential Information Protection and 
Statistical Efficiency Act of 2002 (CIPSEA). 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.

III. Request for Comments

    BTS requests comments on any aspects of these information 
collections, including: (1) The accuracy of the estimated burden of 365 
hours detailed in Section I; (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 May 3, 2013.
Patricia Hu,
Director, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Research and Innovative 
Technology Administration.
[FR Doc. 2013-11190 Filed 5-9-13; 8:45 am]
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