Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request, 5493-5494 [E7-1826]

Agencies

• Federal Railroad Administration
• DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 24 (Tuesday, February 6, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5493-5494]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-1826]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration


Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment 
Request

AGENCY: Federal Railroad Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and its 
implementing regulations, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) 
hereby announces that it is seeking approval of the following 
information collection activities. Before submitting these information 
collection requirements for clearance by the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB), FRA is soliciting public comment on specific aspects of 
the activities identified below.

DATES: Comments must be received no later than April 9, 2007.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments on any or all of the following 
proposed activities by mail to either: Mr. Robert Brogan, Office of 
Safety, Planning and Evaluation Division, RRS-21, Federal Railroad 
Administration, 1120 Vermont Ave., NW., Mail Stop 17, Washington, DC 
20590, or Ms. Gina Christodoulou, Office of Support Systems Staff, RAD-
43, Federal Railroad Administration, 1120 Vermont Ave., NW., Mail Stop 
35, Washington, DC 20590. Commenters requesting FRA to acknowledge 
receipt of their respective comments must include a self-addressed 
stamped postcard stating, ``Comments on OMB control number 2130-New.'' 
Alternatively, comments may be transmitted via facsimile to (202) 493-
6230 or (202) 493-6170, or E-mail to Mr. Brogan at 
robert.brogan@dot.gov, or to Ms. Christodoulou at 
gina.christodoulou@dot.gov. Please refer to the assigned OMB control 
number or collection title in any correspondence submitted. FRA will 
summarize comments received in response to this notice in a subsequent 
notice and include them in its information collection submission to OMB 
for approval.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Robert Brogan, Office of Planning 
and Evaluation Division, RRS-21, Federal Railroad Administration, 1120 
Vermont Ave., NW., Mail Stop 17, Washington, DC 20590 (telephone: (202) 
493-6292) or Ms. Gina Christodoulou, Office of Support Systems Staff, 
RAD-43, Federal Railroad Administration, 1120 Vermont Ave., NW., Mail 
Stop 35, Washington, DC 20590 (telephone: (202) 493-6139). (These 
telephone numbers are not toll-free.)

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), 
Pub. L. No. 104-13, Sec.  2, 109 Stat. 163 (1995) (codified as revised 
at 44 U.S.C. Sec. Sec.  3501-3520), and its implementing regulations, 5 
CFR Part 1320, require Federal agencies to provide 60-days notice to 
the public for comment on information collection activities before 
seeking approval by OMB. 44 U.S.C. Sec.  3506(c)(2)(A); 5 CFR 
Sec. Sec.  1320.8(d)(1), 1320.10(e)(1), 1320.12(a). Specifically, FRA 
invites interested respondents to comment on the following summary of 
proposed information collection activities regarding (i) Whether the 
information collection activities are necessary for FRA to properly 
execute its functions, including whether the activities will have 
practical utility; (ii) the accuracy of FRA's estimates of the burden 
of the information collection activities, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used to determine the estimates; (iii) ways 
for FRA to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information 
being collected; and (iv) ways for FRA to minimize the burden of 
information collection activities on the public by automated, 
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology (e.g., permitting electronic 
submission of responses). See 44 U.S.C. Sec.  3506(c)(2)(A)(i)-(iv); 5 
CFR 1320.8(d)(1)(i)-(iv). FRA believes that soliciting public comment 
will promote its efforts to reduce the administrative and paperwork 
burdens associated with the collection of information mandated by 
Federal regulations. In summary, FRA reasons that comments received 
will advance three objectives: (i) Reduce reporting burdens; (ii) 
ensure that it organizes information collection requirements in a 
``user friendly'' format to improve the use of such information; and 
(iii) accurately assess the resources expended to retrieve and produce 
information requested. See 44 U.S.C. Sec.  3501.
    Below is a brief summary of proposed new information collection 
activities that FRA will submit for clearance by OMB as required under 
the PRA:

[[Page 5494]]

    Title: Causal Analysis and Countermeasures to Reduce Rail-Related 
Suicides.
    OMB Control Number: 2130-New.
    Abstract: Pedestrian trespassing on railroad property resulting in 
serious injury or death is one of the two most serious safety 
problems--the second being grade crossing collisions--facing the 
railroad industry and its regulators not only in the United States but 
also in other countries. It is widely believed in the United States 
that the reported prevalence and incidence of railway suicide vastly 
under-represents the nature and extent of the problem. There is no 
central reporting system within the railroad industry or suicide 
prevention field that provides verifiable information about how many 
trespass deaths are accidental versus intentional. Therefore, there are 
no verifiable measures of the extent of rail-related suicides in this 
country. While railroad companies must report trespass incidents 
resulting in serious injury or death to the U.S. Federal Railroad 
Administration (FRA), injuries or deaths that are ruled by a medical 
examiner or coroner to be intentional are not reported. Preliminary 
figures from 2006 indicate there were approximately 500 deaths and 360 
injuries reported to FRA--an increase of 100 incidents over the 
previous year--but suicides are not represented in these numbers. 
Unverifiable estimates from a number of sources range from 150 to more 
than 300 suicides per year on the U.S. railways. Like any other 
incident on the rail system, a suicide on the tracks results in 
equipment and facility damage, delays to train schedules, and trauma to 
railroad personnel involved in the incidents. As a result, FRA last 
year awarded a grant for the first phase of a five-year project to 
reduce suicides on the rail system to the Railroad Research Foundation 
(part of the Association of American Railroads) and its subcontractor, 
the American Association of Suicidology (AAS). In the course of the 
five-year project, the research project's goals include: (i) A 
prevalence assessment to determine verifiable numbers of suicides on 
the rail system; (ii) Development of a standardized reporting tool for 
industry use; (iii) A causal analysis and root cause analysis of 
suicide incidents that occur during the grant cycle; and (iv) Design 
and implementation of suicide prevention measures for the nation's rail 
system to reduce suicide injuries and deaths. AAS is also receiving a 
grant from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to study suicides 
on commuter rail lines throughout the country. Consequently, AAS has 
expanded its study to include commuter lines as well, and will be using 
the same collection instruments once they are approved by the Office of 
Management and Budget.
    This collection of information pertains to Phase II of the project, 
the causal analysis. In order to understand as much as possible about 
people who intend to die by placing themselves in the path of a train 
and, therefore, to design prevention strategies, AAS intends to conduct 
70 psychological autopsies over the course of two years on people who 
die by rail-related suicide. Psychological autopsy is a recognized and 
accepted method for obtaining information about physical, emotional, 
and circumstantial contributors to a person's death. The 70 
psychological autopsies proposed for the FRA and FTA projects will 
involve interviews with witnesses to these incidents--rail and commuter 
personnel and members of the public--as well as family members, 
friends, employers, and co-workers. After conducting a root cause 
analysis of this data, AAS will then work with the industry to design, 
pilot test, and implement effective countermeasures with the goal of 
reducing deaths, injuries, and psychological trauma.
    Form Number(s): FRA F 6180.125A; FRA F 6180.125B.
    Affected Public: Railroad Personnel, Members of the Public, 
Affected Family and Friends.
    Respondent Universe: 210 Railroad Personnel/Members of the Public/
Affected Family and Friends.
    Frequency of Submission: On occasion.
    Estimated Annual Burden: 60 hours.
    Status: Regular Review.
    Pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 3507(a) and 5 CFR Sec. Sec.  1320.5(b), 
1320.8(b)(3)(vi), FRA informs all interested parties that it may not 
conduct or sponsor, and a respondent is not required to respond to, a 
collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB 
control number.

    Authority: 44 U.S.C. Sec. Sec.  3501-3520.

    Issued in Washington, DC on January 31, 2007.
D.J. Stadtler,
Director, Office of Budget, Federal Railroad Administration.
[FR Doc. E7-1826 Filed 2-5-07; 8:45 am]
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