Department of Transportation October 21, 2009 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

PHMSA is considering amending the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR) by incorporating various amendments to international standards and modal regulations, including changes to proper shipping names, hazard classes, packing groups, special provisions, and packaging authorizations. These amendments may be necessary to harmonize the HMR with revised editions of the United Nations Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods Model Regulations and Manual of Tests and Criteria, the International Maritime Organization's Dangerous Goods Code, the International Civil Aviation Organization's Technical Instructions for the Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods by Air and Transport Canada's Transport of Dangerous Goods Regulations. In this notice, we are soliciting public comment regarding the safety consequences, regulatory burden, and cost implications of some of the more significant amendments adopted or under consideration for adoption in these international standards.

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.

FRA published a final rule in the Federal Register on August 25, 2009, revising the Track Safety Standards. The final rule included compliance dates for Class I, II, and III railroads only. The final rule inadvertently omitted compliance dates for commuter railroads, intercity passenger railroads, and any other additional railroads that have continuous welded rail (CWR). This document corrects the final rule by including compliance dates for the omitted railroads and amending a reference to the effective date in the rule text.

Today's NPRM proposes two changes to the agency's specifications for the Hybrid III six-year-old child dummy. In Part 1 of this NPRM, to improve the durability of the dummy's femurs, we propose changes to the design of and material used for the femur assembly. In Part 2, the drawing for the abdomen insert would be corrected so that the abdominal insert dimensions on the drawing reflect the actual part. Part 2 of this rulemaking commenced in response to a petition for rulemaking submitted by Denton ATD (Denton) and First Technology Safety Systems (FTSS). This document declines the petitioners' suggestion to investigate tolerances for vinyl and rubber components of the dummy and to specify the expected time frame each part would meet the tolerances.