[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 142 (Wednesday, July 24, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44622-44623]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-17684]


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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 multi-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. The Federal Register notice with 
a 60-day comment period soliciting comments on the following collection 
of information was published on May 10, 2013 (78 FR 27479) and the 
comment period ended on July 10, 2013. The 60-day notice produced no 
comments.

DATES: Written comments should be submitted by August 23, 2013.

[[Page 44623]]


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.

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: 3,100.
    Number of Responses: 365 (annual).
    Total Annual Burden: 365.00 hours (average estimate of 20 minutes 
to complete the C\3\RS report form and 30-40 minutes to participate in 
a brief interview.)
    Data Confidentiality Provisions: The confidentiality of Close Call 
data is protected under the BTS confidentiality statute (49 U.S.C. Sec. 
6307) 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. 
BTS will not release to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) or 
any other public or private entity any information that might reveal 
the identity of individuals or organizations mentioned in close call 
reports without explicit consent of the respondent. Accordingly, only 
statistical and non-sensitive information will be made available 
through publications and reports.
    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. 
6307). 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 C\3\RS report form 
(questionnaire) and participating in a brief interview, as needed. 
Respondents are asked to provide: (1) Name and contact information; (2) 
time and location of the close call event; (3) a short description of 
the event; (4) potential contributing factors to the event; and (5) any 
other information that might be useful in determining a root cause of 
such event. 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. Also, it provides rail safety researchers with 
valuable information regarding precursors to safety risks in rail 
operations and contributes to research and development of intervention 
programs aimed at preventing occupational accidents and fatalities.
    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.
    It is estimated that close call reporting will take no more than 
one (1) hour (average estimate of 20 minutes to complete the C\3\RS 
report form and 20-30 minutes to participate in a brief interview) for 
a maximum total burden of 365.00 hours (365 reports*60 minutes/60 = 
365.00 hours). Reports are submitted when there is a qualifying event 
(i.e., when an employee experiences a close call or witnesses an unsafe 
situation) during their work shift. The frequency of such event is 
estimated to be approximately one per calendar 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 on: July 18, 2013.
Patricia Hu,
Director, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Research and Innovative 
Technology Administration.
[FR Doc. 2013-17684 Filed 7-23-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-HY-P