Notice of Request for Comments on Updates to National Transit Database Safety Information Collection, 49557-49559 [2014-19787]
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2. Scope of the SEIS: The scope of the
SEIS will be informed by the
information in the EA and the
comments received on the EA. In
accordance with 23 CFR 771.130 and
FHWA’s Technical Advisory T6640.8A
(available at https://
environment.fhwa.dot.gov/projdev/
impta6640.asp), the SEIS will address
the changes or new information that are
the basis for preparing the SEIS and
were not addressed in the FEIS, and will
also summarize unchanged, but still
valid, portions of the FEIS. The basis for
preparing the SEIS is that the alternative
that was not fully evaluated in the FEIS
is likely to cause significant impacts on
the environment; therefore, a primary
focus of the SEIS will be the evaluation
of that alternative.
3. Public Review of SEIS: Notification
of the availability of the Draft SEIS for
public and agency review will be made
in the Federal Register and using other
methods. Those methods will identify
where interested parties can go to
review a copy of the Draft SEIS. Public
meetings will be held after the approval
of the Draft SEIS and a 45-day comment
period will be provided on the
document. The Draft SEIS will be
available for review at least 15 days
prior to the public meetings. VDOT will
provide information regarding the
public meetings, including date, time
and location through a variety of means
including VDOT’s Internet site (https://
www.virginiadot.org/projects/
publicinvolvement.asp) and by
newspaper advertisement.
(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance
Program Number 20.205, Highway Planning
and Construction. The regulations
implementing Executive Order 12372
regarding intergovernmental consultation on
Federal programs and activities apply to this
program.)
Authority: 23 U.S.C. 315; 49 CFR 1.48.
Issued on: August 15, 2014.
John Simkins,
Planning and Environment Team Leader.
[FR Doc. 2014–19897 Filed 8–20–14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–22–P
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Transit Administration
[FTA Docket No. FTA–2014–0009]
Notice of Request for Comments on
Updates to National Transit Database
Safety Information Collection
AGENCY:
Federal Transit Administration,
DOT.
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Notice of Request for
Comments.
ACTION:
In accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this
notice announces the intention of the
Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to
request the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) to approve the revision of
the currently approved information
collection: 49 U.S.C. 5335(a) and (b)
National Transit Database (NTD). The
guidance changes in this notice
primarily relate to urbanized area transit
providers.
DATES: Comments must be submitted
before October 20, 2014.
ADDRESSES: To ensure that your
comments are not entered more than
once into the docket, submit comments
identified by the docket number by only
one of the following methods:
1. Web site: www.regulations.gov.
Follow the instructions for submitting
comments on the U.S. Government
electronic docket site. All electronic
submissions must be made to the U.S.
Government electronic docket site at
www.regulations.gov. Commenters
should follow the directions below for
mailed and hand-delivered comments.
2. Fax: 202–366–7951.
3. Mail: U.S. Department of
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey
Avenue SE., Docket Operations, M–30,
West Building, Ground Floor, Room
W12–140, Washington, DC 20590–0001.
4. Hand Delivery: U.S. Department of
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey
Avenue SE., Docket Operations, M–30,
West Building, Ground Floor, Room
W12–140, Washington, DC 20590–0001
between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday
through Friday, except federal holidays.
5. Instructions: You must include the
agency name and docket number, FTA–
2014–0009 for this notice, at the
beginning of your comments. Submit
two copies of your comments if you
submit them by mail. For confirmation
that FTA has received your comments,
include a self-addressed stamped
postcard. Note that all comments
received, including any personal
information, will be posted and will be
available to Internet users, without
change, to www.regulations.gov. You
may review DOT’s complete Privacy Act
Statement in the Federal Register
published April 11, 2000, (65 FR
19477), or at www.regulations.gov.
6. Docket: For access to the docket to
read background documents and
comments received, go to
www.regulations.gov at any time.
Background documents and comments
received may also be viewed at the U.S.
Department of Transportation, 1200
New Jersey Avenue SE., Docket
SUMMARY:
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49557
Operations, M–30, West Building,
Ground Floor, Room W12–140,
Washington, DC 20590–0001 between 9
a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through
Friday, except federal holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Keith R. Gates, National Transit
Database Program Manager, FTA Office
of Budget and Policy, (202) 366–1794, or
email: keith.gates@dot.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Interested
parties are invited to send comments
regarding any aspect of this information
collection, including: (1) The necessity
and utility of the information collection
for the proper performance of the
functions of FTA; (2) ways to enhance
the quality, utility, and clarity of the
collected information; and (3) ways to
minimize the collection burden without
reducing the quality of the collected
information. Comments submitted in
response to this notice will be
summarized and/or included in a final
notice to be published in the Federal
Register along with FTA responses,
where appropriate.
Title: 49 U.S.C. 5335(a) and (b)
National Transit Database. (OMB
Number: 2132–0008).
Background: Section 5335(a) and (b)
of title 49, United States Code, requires
the Secretary of Transportation to
maintain a reporting system, using a
uniform system of accounts, to collect
financial and operating information
from the nation’s public transportation
systems. Congress authorized the NTD
to be the repository of national transit
data to support public transportation
service planning. FTA administers the
NTD to meet these requirements, and
has collected data for over 30 years. The
NTD is comprised of the Annual, Rural,
Monthly, and Safety & Security
modules. This notice proposes various
changes specific to the Safety & Security
module.
Approximately 550 urban transit
systems currently report to the NTD
Safety & Security Module. Each system
provides an annual report on the total
number of security personnel, and an
annual CEO certification of the safety
data. Each month, transit systems
provide a summary report of all minor
fires and all incidents resulting in
single-person injuries due to slips, falls,
or electrical shocks. Systems must also
provide a major incident report within
30 days of any incident involving one or
more fatalities, one or more injuries, or
total property damage in excess of
$25,000.
In sum, the 550 urban transit systems
report about 6,000 major incident
reports per year in addition to 12 minor
incident summary reports per year. This
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Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 162 / Thursday, August 21, 2014 / Notices
reporting activity is within the level that
received Paperwork Reduction Act
(PRA) approval as part of the entire NTD
PRA notice published in the Federal
Register on November 7, 2011 (76 FR
6881).
This notice proposes various changes
to the NTD Safety & Security module
that would take effect with the CY 2015
data reporting cycle. FTA seeks
comment on whether, and how,
agencies reporting this data might
experience difficulties meeting the
revised requirements.
The U.S. Government Accountability
Office (GAO) and the U.S. Department
of Transportation (DOT) Office of the
Inspector General (OIG) reviewed FTA
procedures for collecting safety data
from transit providers and
recommended that FTA develop and
implement appropriate internal control
activities to ensure data entered into the
State Safety Oversight (SSO) reporting
templates are accurate. Additionally, the
GAO and the OIG recommended
appropriate internal controls over the
methods used to review and reconcile
the SSO agency data with other data
sources. The changes proposed here
address these recommendations and
will enhance non-rail NTD safety data
reporting to allow better time series
analysis and evaluation of safety trends.
These changes also support
requirements in Section 20025(b) of the
Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st
Century Act (MAP–21) that FTA
improve the accuracy and reliability of
public transportation safety incident
data. Aligning the NTD and the SSO
reporting thresholds and definitions
will assist FTA in meeting this
requirement and will enable analysis
and evaluation of safety trends.
Although this notice proposes
changes intended to better align the
NTD safety data collection with data
that is collected by State Safety
Oversight organizations, it is
independent of the larger rulemaking
process that is underway to define FTA
safety regulatory procedures. It is,
likewise, not a part of transit asset
management rulemaking or any other
FTA rulemaking activities. Nothing in
this notice should be construed as being
a preliminary part of other FTA
oversight activities.
FTA proposes NTD reporting changes
as follows:
1. Change in nomenclature, incidents
reported to the NTD will now be called
‘‘events’’;
2. Change in location criteria for
reportable events;
3. Change in evacuation reporting
criteria to include self-evacuations and
maintenance-related evacuations;
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17:18 Aug 20, 2014
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4. Change in derailment reporting to
include yard derailments;
5. Change in collision reporting
requirements to include collisions at
grade crossings;
6. Change in collision reporting
requirements to include all rail
collisions with individuals;
7. Change in collision reporting
requirements to include all collisions
between rail vehicles;
8. Change in vehicle event reporting
to include indication of ‘‘tow-away’’
occurrence;
9. Change in vehicle event reporting
to expand options for reporting ‘‘other
motor vehicles’’;
10. Change in reporting requirements
to expand options for reporting ‘‘type of
fire’’; and
11. Change in reporting requirements
to add latitude and longitude fields for
events.
Detailed description of proposed
changes:
1. Reportable Event (Clarification)
Incidents reported to the NTD and the
SSO will be called ‘‘events.’’ FTA is
suggesting this change because other
uses of the term ‘‘incident’’ are defined
as an occurrence that is less severe than
an accident or imply a security event.
‘‘Event’’ in this case is intended to
include planned and unplanned events
that are required to be reported to the
NTD. This change is necessary to
provide better alignment with
nomenclature used in other
transportation modes, and to provide
clarity during data analysis conducted
to identify safety trends.
2. Change in Location Criteria
The NTD currently includes events
that are ‘‘related to or affect revenue
service.’’ Consistent with data reported
to the SSO program, FTA proposes to
revise these applicability criteria to ‘‘an
event occurring on transit right-of-way,
in a transit revenue facility, in a transit
maintenance facility, or involving a
transit revenue vehicle, excluding
occupational safety events occurring in
administrative buildings.’’ Application
of these new criteria would mean that
the NTD will no longer collect events at
bus stops that are not on real property
owned or controlled by the agency,
unless the event involves a transit
revenue vehicle, or boarding/alighting
from a transit revenue vehicle.
3. Evacuations
FTA proposes to revise the definition
of evacuation to include patron/
passenger self-evacuations and
evacuations for service or maintenancerelated issues when passengers are
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Sfmt 4703
evacuated to locations where they could
potentially be exposed to hazardous
situations, such as a rail right-of-way, or
a highway shoulder lane. These events
would require a major event report and
are consistent with data reported to the
SSO program.
4. Derailments
FTA proposes to expand the
mandatory reporting of derailments to
include yard derailments. Yard
derailments would be reportable
regardless of injuries, fatalities, or
property damage.
5. Collisions at Grade Crossings
FTA proposes to make all collisions at
grade crossings reportable to the NTD in
order to improve event reporting
consistency. Transit agencies are
already required to report and
investigate these events under the
existing the SSO Program.
6. Collision With an Individual on a
Rail Right-of-Way
FTA proposes to change the NTD
thresholds to capture all rail collisions
with individuals, regardless of injuries
or fatalities; as collected in the SSO
program. Collisions with individuals
that do not result in an injury would be
reportable to the NTD.
7. Rail to Rail Collisions
FTA proposes to require a major NTD
event report for every event involving a
collision between rail vehicles. This
would extend the existing SSO
threshold to the NTD to support
improvements in data quality and
reporting. Transit agencies are already
required to report and investigate these
events under the existing SSO program.
This category is not intended to capture
normal connection of vehicles.
8. Addition of ‘‘Tow-Away’’
FTA proposes to add a ‘‘tow-away’’
checkbox to the S&S–40 reporting form
to make vehicle event reporting
compatible with the accident reporting
threshold used by the Federal Motor
Carrier Safety Administration.
9. Revision to Non-Rail ‘‘Other Motor
Vehicle’’ and ‘‘Collision Event’’ Screens
FTA proposes to add selections for
‘‘other motor vehicle type’’ to improve
FTA’s and transit agencies’ ability to
conduct trend analysis of non-rail
vehicle collisions. New selections
would include: collision with an
automobile, moped, scooter, motorcycle,
charter bus, or school bus as a collision
with a Motor Vehicle; collision with
another agency’s transit vehicle as a
collision with a Motor Vehicle; collision
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Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 162 / Thursday, August 21, 2014 / Notices
with another of your transit agency’s
vehicles as a collision with a transit
vehicle.
10. Revision to Non-Rail ‘‘Type of Fire’’
Categories on Fire Event Detail Screens
FTA proposes to add selections for
‘‘type of fire’’ to the non-rail fire event
detail screens to provide better nationallevel information for vehicle fire
prevention and mitigation.
11. Collect New Data on Geographic
Location of Events
FTA proposes to add fields for
latitude and longitude of events. This
change is necessary for FTA to comply
with OMB’s ‘‘Open Data PolicyManaging Information as an Asset
memorandum, M–13–13’’, which will
provide for the creation and
maintenance of high-quality,
nationwide transportation data in the
public domain.
FTA has determined that items 1, 8,
and 9 above would not require any
additional reporting effort. Items 3, 4, 5,
6, 7, and 10 would require that some
additional data be reported, but the
increase is expected to be minimal as
situations where these events are not
reported under current rules are
relatively rare. Item 11, reporting
latitude and longitude of events, is a
new requirement for the NTD, though it
is now an ubiquitous feature of other
accident investigation reporting. FTA
holds that this additional burden is
more than offset by reductions in
reporting that accrue under item 2,
which eliminates the need to report
events that occur outside this more
narrowly defined area of interest. The
impact of the changes proposed here on
the reporting burden is expected to be
neutral and to remain within the
currently approved Paperwork
Reduction Act collection.
Therese W. McMillan,
Acting Administrator, Federal Transit
Administration.
[FR Doc. 2014–19787 Filed 8–20–14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–57–P
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration
Announcing the Twenty-Second Public
Meeting of the Crash Injury Research
and Engineering Network (CIREN)
National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration (NHTSA), DOT.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
Meeting announcement.
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17:18 Aug 20, 2014
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This notice announces the
Twenty-second Public Meeting of
members of the Crash Injury Research
and Engineering Network. CIREN is a
collaborative effort to conduct research
on crashes injury causation at six Level
I Trauma Centers across the United
States. The CIREN process combines
prospective data collection with
professional multidisciplinary analysis
of medical and engineering evidence to
determine injury causation in every
crash investigation conducted.
Researchers can review data and share
expertise, which may lead to a better
understanding of crash injury
mechanisms and the design of safer
vehicles.
The six centers will give presentations
on current research based on CIREN
data and experience. Topics include:
Research on upper extremity injury
from partial ejection, knee air bag
deployment and lower leg interaction,
injury cost analysis for motor vehicle
multi-trauma, analysis of fatal outcome
and multi-trauma, research on seat
interaction and lower spine injury, and
design of a computed tomography-based
bone mineral density evaluation
methodology. The final agenda will be
posted to the CIREN Web site at https://
www.nhtsa.gov/ciren. The agenda will
be posted one week prior to the meeting.
Dates and Time: The meeting is
scheduled from 9:00 a.m.to 3:30 p.m. on
Wednesday, September 3, 2014.
ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at:
Omni Charlottesville Hotel, 212 Ridge
McIntire Road, Charlottesville, VA
22903.
To Register for this Event: This event
is open to the public, though it is
important that attendees pre-register to
ensure the organizers have an accurate
head-count for planning purposes.
Please send your name, affiliation,
phone number, and email address to
Rodney.Rudd@dot.gov by Wednesday,
August 27, 2014, in order to have your
name added to the pre-registration list.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Rodney Rudd (202) 366–5932 or Mark
Scarboro (202) 366–5078.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
current CIREN model utilizes two types
of centers, medical and engineering.
Medical centers are based at Level I
Trauma Centers that treat large numbers
of people injured in motor vehicle
crashes. These teams are led by trauma
surgeons and emergency physicians and
also include a crash investigator and
project coordinator. Engineering centers
are based at academic engineering
laboratories that have experience in
motor vehicle crash and human injury
research. Engineering teams partner
SUMMARY:
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49559
with trauma centers to enroll crash
victims into the CIREN program.
Engineering teams are led by
mechanical engineers, typically trained
in the area of impact biomechanics.
Engineering teams also include trauma/
emergency physicians, a crash
investigator, and a project coordinator.
Either type of team typically includes
additional physicians and/or engineers,
epidemiologists, nurses, and other
researchers.
NHTSA has held CIREN public
meetings on a regular basis since 2000,
including quarterly meetings and
annual conferences. This is the twentysecond such meeting. Presentations
from these meetings are available
through the NHTSA/CIREN Web site at
the address provided above. NHTSA
plans to continue holding CIREN
meetings on a regular basis to
disseminate CIREN information to
interested parties. Individual CIREN
cases collected since 1998 may be
viewed from the NHTSA/CIREN Web
site at the address provided above.
Should it be necessary to cancel the
meeting due to inclement weather or to
any other emergencies, a decision to
cancel will be made as soon as possible
and posted immediately on CIREN’s
Web site as indicated above. If you do
not have access to the Web site, you
may call or email the contacts listed in
this announcement and leave your
telephone number or email address. You
will be contacted only if the meeting is
postponed or canceled.
Issued on: August 15, 2014.
Nathaniel Beuse,
Associate Administrator for Vehicle Safety
Research.
[FR Doc. 2014–19833 Filed 8–20–14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–59–P
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Surface Transportation Board
[Docket No. FD 35849]
CSX Transportation, Inc.—Corporate
Family Merger Exemption—Lakefront
Dock and Railroad Terminal Company
CSX Transportation, Inc. (CSXT) and
Lakefront Dock and Railroad Terminal
Company (LDRT) (collectively,
Applicants) have jointly filed a verified
notice of exemption under 49 CFR
1180.2(d)(3) for a corporate family
transaction. CSXT is a Class I rail carrier
that directly controls and operates
LDRT.1 LDRT is a wholly owned
1 See CSX Corp.—Control—Conrail Inc., 3 S.T.B.
196 (1998).
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 162 (Thursday, August 21, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49557-49559]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-19787]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Transit Administration
[FTA Docket No. FTA-2014-0009]
Notice of Request for Comments on Updates to National Transit
Database Safety Information Collection
AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration, DOT.
ACTION: Notice of Request for Comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this
notice announces the intention of the Federal Transit Administration
(FTA) to request the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve
the revision of the currently approved information collection: 49
U.S.C. 5335(a) and (b) National Transit Database (NTD). The guidance
changes in this notice primarily relate to urbanized area transit
providers.
DATES: Comments must be submitted before October 20, 2014.
ADDRESSES: To ensure that your comments are not entered more than once
into the docket, submit comments identified by the docket number by
only one of the following methods:
1. Web site: www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for
submitting comments on the U.S. Government electronic docket site. All
electronic submissions must be made to the U.S. Government electronic
docket site at www.regulations.gov. Commenters should follow the
directions below for mailed and hand-delivered comments.
2. Fax: 202-366-7951.
3. Mail: U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue
SE., Docket Operations, M-30, West Building, Ground Floor, Room W12-
140, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
4. Hand Delivery: U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New
Jersey Avenue SE., Docket Operations, M-30, West Building, Ground
Floor, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001 between 9 a.m. and 5
p.m., Monday through Friday, except federal holidays.
5. Instructions: You must include the agency name and docket
number, FTA-2014-0009 for this notice, at the beginning of your
comments. Submit two copies of your comments if you submit them by
mail. For confirmation that FTA has received your comments, include a
self-addressed stamped postcard. Note that all comments received,
including any personal information, will be posted and will be
available to Internet users, without change, to www.regulations.gov.
You may review DOT's complete Privacy Act Statement in the Federal
Register published April 11, 2000, (65 FR 19477), or at
www.regulations.gov.
6. Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents
and comments received, go to www.regulations.gov at any time.
Background documents and comments received may also be viewed at the
U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Docket
Operations, M-30, West Building, Ground Floor, Room W12-140,
Washington, DC 20590-0001 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through
Friday, except federal holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Keith R. Gates, National Transit
Database Program Manager, FTA Office of Budget and Policy, (202) 366-
1794, or email: keith.gates@dot.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Interested parties are invited to send
comments regarding any aspect of this information collection,
including: (1) The necessity and utility of the information collection
for the proper performance of the functions of FTA; (2) ways to enhance
the quality, utility, and clarity of the collected information; and (3)
ways to minimize the collection burden without reducing the quality of
the collected information. Comments submitted in response to this
notice will be summarized and/or included in a final notice to be
published in the Federal Register along with FTA responses, where
appropriate.
Title: 49 U.S.C. 5335(a) and (b) National Transit Database. (OMB
Number: 2132-0008).
Background: Section 5335(a) and (b) of title 49, United States
Code, requires the Secretary of Transportation to maintain a reporting
system, using a uniform system of accounts, to collect financial and
operating information from the nation's public transportation systems.
Congress authorized the NTD to be the repository of national transit
data to support public transportation service planning. FTA administers
the NTD to meet these requirements, and has collected data for over 30
years. The NTD is comprised of the Annual, Rural, Monthly, and Safety &
Security modules. This notice proposes various changes specific to the
Safety & Security module.
Approximately 550 urban transit systems currently report to the NTD
Safety & Security Module. Each system provides an annual report on the
total number of security personnel, and an annual CEO certification of
the safety data. Each month, transit systems provide a summary report
of all minor fires and all incidents resulting in single-person
injuries due to slips, falls, or electrical shocks. Systems must also
provide a major incident report within 30 days of any incident
involving one or more fatalities, one or more injuries, or total
property damage in excess of $25,000.
In sum, the 550 urban transit systems report about 6,000 major
incident reports per year in addition to 12 minor incident summary
reports per year. This
[[Page 49558]]
reporting activity is within the level that received Paperwork
Reduction Act (PRA) approval as part of the entire NTD PRA notice
published in the Federal Register on November 7, 2011 (76 FR 6881).
This notice proposes various changes to the NTD Safety & Security
module that would take effect with the CY 2015 data reporting cycle.
FTA seeks comment on whether, and how, agencies reporting this data
might experience difficulties meeting the revised requirements.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the U.S.
Department of Transportation (DOT) Office of the Inspector General
(OIG) reviewed FTA procedures for collecting safety data from transit
providers and recommended that FTA develop and implement appropriate
internal control activities to ensure data entered into the State
Safety Oversight (SSO) reporting templates are accurate. Additionally,
the GAO and the OIG recommended appropriate internal controls over the
methods used to review and reconcile the SSO agency data with other
data sources. The changes proposed here address these recommendations
and will enhance non-rail NTD safety data reporting to allow better
time series analysis and evaluation of safety trends. These changes
also support requirements in Section 20025(b) of the Moving Ahead for
Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) that FTA improve the accuracy
and reliability of public transportation safety incident data. Aligning
the NTD and the SSO reporting thresholds and definitions will assist
FTA in meeting this requirement and will enable analysis and evaluation
of safety trends.
Although this notice proposes changes intended to better align the
NTD safety data collection with data that is collected by State Safety
Oversight organizations, it is independent of the larger rulemaking
process that is underway to define FTA safety regulatory procedures. It
is, likewise, not a part of transit asset management rulemaking or any
other FTA rulemaking activities. Nothing in this notice should be
construed as being a preliminary part of other FTA oversight
activities.
FTA proposes NTD reporting changes as follows:
1. Change in nomenclature, incidents reported to the NTD will now
be called ``events'';
2. Change in location criteria for reportable events;
3. Change in evacuation reporting criteria to include self-
evacuations and maintenance-related evacuations;
4. Change in derailment reporting to include yard derailments;
5. Change in collision reporting requirements to include collisions
at grade crossings;
6. Change in collision reporting requirements to include all rail
collisions with individuals;
7. Change in collision reporting requirements to include all
collisions between rail vehicles;
8. Change in vehicle event reporting to include indication of
``tow-away'' occurrence;
9. Change in vehicle event reporting to expand options for
reporting ``other motor vehicles'';
10. Change in reporting requirements to expand options for
reporting ``type of fire''; and
11. Change in reporting requirements to add latitude and longitude
fields for events.
Detailed description of proposed changes:
1. Reportable Event (Clarification)
Incidents reported to the NTD and the SSO will be called
``events.'' FTA is suggesting this change because other uses of the
term ``incident'' are defined as an occurrence that is less severe than
an accident or imply a security event. ``Event'' in this case is
intended to include planned and unplanned events that are required to
be reported to the NTD. This change is necessary to provide better
alignment with nomenclature used in other transportation modes, and to
provide clarity during data analysis conducted to identify safety
trends.
2. Change in Location Criteria
The NTD currently includes events that are ``related to or affect
revenue service.'' Consistent with data reported to the SSO program,
FTA proposes to revise these applicability criteria to ``an event
occurring on transit right-of-way, in a transit revenue facility, in a
transit maintenance facility, or involving a transit revenue vehicle,
excluding occupational safety events occurring in administrative
buildings.'' Application of these new criteria would mean that the NTD
will no longer collect events at bus stops that are not on real
property owned or controlled by the agency, unless the event involves a
transit revenue vehicle, or boarding/alighting from a transit revenue
vehicle.
3. Evacuations
FTA proposes to revise the definition of evacuation to include
patron/passenger self-evacuations and evacuations for service or
maintenance-related issues when passengers are evacuated to locations
where they could potentially be exposed to hazardous situations, such
as a rail right-of-way, or a highway shoulder lane. These events would
require a major event report and are consistent with data reported to
the SSO program.
4. Derailments
FTA proposes to expand the mandatory reporting of derailments to
include yard derailments. Yard derailments would be reportable
regardless of injuries, fatalities, or property damage.
5. Collisions at Grade Crossings
FTA proposes to make all collisions at grade crossings reportable
to the NTD in order to improve event reporting consistency. Transit
agencies are already required to report and investigate these events
under the existing the SSO Program.
6. Collision With an Individual on a Rail Right-of-Way
FTA proposes to change the NTD thresholds to capture all rail
collisions with individuals, regardless of injuries or fatalities; as
collected in the SSO program. Collisions with individuals that do not
result in an injury would be reportable to the NTD.
7. Rail to Rail Collisions
FTA proposes to require a major NTD event report for every event
involving a collision between rail vehicles. This would extend the
existing SSO threshold to the NTD to support improvements in data
quality and reporting. Transit agencies are already required to report
and investigate these events under the existing SSO program. This
category is not intended to capture normal connection of vehicles.
8. Addition of ``Tow-Away''
FTA proposes to add a ``tow-away'' checkbox to the S&S-40 reporting
form to make vehicle event reporting compatible with the accident
reporting threshold used by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration.
9. Revision to Non-Rail ``Other Motor Vehicle'' and ``Collision Event''
Screens
FTA proposes to add selections for ``other motor vehicle type'' to
improve FTA's and transit agencies' ability to conduct trend analysis
of non-rail vehicle collisions. New selections would include: collision
with an automobile, moped, scooter, motorcycle, charter bus, or school
bus as a collision with a Motor Vehicle; collision with another
agency's transit vehicle as a collision with a Motor Vehicle; collision
[[Page 49559]]
with another of your transit agency's vehicles as a collision with a
transit vehicle.
10. Revision to Non-Rail ``Type of Fire'' Categories on Fire Event
Detail Screens
FTA proposes to add selections for ``type of fire'' to the non-rail
fire event detail screens to provide better national-level information
for vehicle fire prevention and mitigation.
11. Collect New Data on Geographic Location of Events
FTA proposes to add fields for latitude and longitude of events.
This change is necessary for FTA to comply with OMB's ``Open Data
Policy-Managing Information as an Asset memorandum, M-13-13'', which
will provide for the creation and maintenance of high-quality,
nationwide transportation data in the public domain.
FTA has determined that items 1, 8, and 9 above would not require
any additional reporting effort. Items 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 10 would
require that some additional data be reported, but the increase is
expected to be minimal as situations where these events are not
reported under current rules are relatively rare. Item 11, reporting
latitude and longitude of events, is a new requirement for the NTD,
though it is now an ubiquitous feature of other accident investigation
reporting. FTA holds that this additional burden is more than offset by
reductions in reporting that accrue under item 2, which eliminates the
need to report events that occur outside this more narrowly defined
area of interest. The impact of the changes proposed here on the
reporting burden is expected to be neutral and to remain within the
currently approved Paperwork Reduction Act collection.
Therese W. McMillan,
Acting Administrator, Federal Transit Administration.
[FR Doc. 2014-19787 Filed 8-20-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-57-P
