Research and Innovative Technology Administration March 12, 2010 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This notice announces that the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) intends to request the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve a data collection effort to evaluate a demonstration research study on the use of close calls data to improve safety in the rail industry. The study is conducted by the Office of Human Factors in the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and is designed to identify safety issues and propose corrective actions based on voluntary reports of close calls submitted to BTS. Because of the innovative nature of this program, the FRA is implementing an evaluation program to determine whether the program is succeeding, how it can be improved, and what is needed to implement the program throughout the railroad industry. This collection is necessary in order to carry out the evaluation program. Specifically, information about changes to the safety culture of the affected workplaces will be used as one of several data sources for potentially establishing a causative relationship between close call reporting and increase in rail safety. This notice is required by the Paperwork Reduction Act.