The U. S. Department of Transportation's (U.S.DOT) Research and Innovative Technology Administration's (RITA) John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe Center), under the direction of the U.S.DOT Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) Office of Research and Development (R&D), conducteda research study focused on collecting and analyzing data related to driver behavior at or on approach to highway-rail grade crossings.VolpeCenter reviewedand coded 4,215 grade crossing eventsinvolving light vehicle drivers collected during a recent field operational test of vehicle safety...

Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) regulations are intended to ensure the safe, timely, and effective evacuation of intercity and commuter rail passengers when necessary during passenger train emergencies. Although it is recognized that during the majority of emergency scenarios, it is much safer for passengers to remain on the train, it may be necessary for passengers and crew to evacuate a passenger train quickly, due to certain life-threatening conditions (e.g., fire).

Based on the success of the 2008 Trespasser Workshop, FRA and FTA sponsored this follow-on workshop. The keynote speech byFRA Administrator, Mr. Joseph C. Szabo, was followed by23 technical presentations in the areas of Pedestrian Safety, Hazard Management, Design Technology and Infrastructure, Community Outreach, Enforcement, and Intentional Deaths/Acts. Workshop attendees broke into working groups charged with developing prioritized recommended actions for their respective topics; theydeveloped more than 90 ideaswhich covered new or expanded initiatives, strategies, and research projects....

The Federal Railroad Administration conducted a pilot demonstration of Clear Signal for Action (CSA), a risk reduction process that combines peer-to-peer feedback, continuous improvement, and safety leadership development. An independent formative and summative evaluation of the pilot using qualitative and quantitative measures found that CSA can be implemented on the railroad despite the historical mistrust between labor and management. It is helpful if the site for CSA is open to change and local and external leadership support the process. Over two years, the site with the CSA process...

The Federal Transit Administration's (FTA) State Safety Oversight Rule (49 CFR Part 659) requires oversight for all rail transitagencies in revenue operation after January 1, 1997. This report summarizes activities performed to implement the State SafetyOversight Program during Calendar Year 2000. This report is a compilation and analysis of rail fixed guideway system accident and crime statistics. Information provided by State Oversight Agencies documenting the safety and security performance of the railtransit industry in 2000 is presented, including a discussion of the probable causes of...

This document is part of a two-volume set prepared under the Federal Transit Administration's (FTA) General Technical Assistance Program, to provide guidance to the recipients of FTA funding that are required to test their safety-sensitive employees for drug use and alcohol misuse. This volume discusses "best practices" used by employers to establish and maintain a compliant testing program. The other volume, Implementation Guidelines for Drug and Alcohol Regulations in Mass Transit, explains the regulatory requirements, which were revised in 2001.

TThis report presents the results of a Substance Abuse Program and Methods of Evaluation study conducted by the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center in fiscal year 2000. The study determines the progress of the Drug and Alcohol Compliance Program in meeting U.S. Department of Transportation and Federal Transit Administration (FTA) strategic goals and objectives. The analysis also allows the FTA to determine whether the current program is operating effectively and efficiently while providing options for allowing limited resources to optimize results. Utilizing 5 years of data and 7...

The Federal Transit Administration's (FTA) State Safety Oversight Rule (49 CFR Part 659) requires oversight of all rail transitagencies in revenue operation after January 1, 1997. This report summarizes activities performed to implement the State Safety Oversight Program during Calendar Year 2003, analyzes rail fixed guideway system accident statistics using information provided by state oversight agencies, and documents the safety and security performance of the rail transit industry in 2003, including a discussion of the probable causes of accidents and unacceptable hazardous conditions.

This is the seventh annual report on the results of the Federal Transit Administration Drug and Alcohol Testing Program. The report summarizes the new reporting requirements intro ducted for calendar year 2001, the requirements of the overall drug and alcohol testing program, the results from the data reported for 2002, and the random drug and alcohol violation rates.

This is the eighth annual report of the results of the Federal Transit Administration's (FTA) Drug and Alcohol Testing Program. The report summarizes the new reporting requirements introduced for calendar year 2003, the requirements of the overall drug and alcohol testing program (the revised CFR Part 40 and CFR Part 655), the results from the data reported for 2003, and the random drug and alcohol violation rates (the percentage of persons selected for a random test who produced a positive specimen or refused to take the test) for calendar years 1996 through 2003.