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CHAPTER 1
Introduction
To address safety-related rule noncompliance by transit operators, the American Public
Transportation Association (APTA) adopted a voluntary standard for compliance testing in light
and heavy rail transit systems. While this standard is an important step toward achieving safe
operating practices in the public transportation industry, more remains to be done.
Recent incidents resulting from violations of safety-related rules have called into question the
safety of public transportation. Most notable was the September 2008 commuter rail crash in
Chatsworth, California, that killed 25 and injured 135 others. The National Transportation Safety
Board (NTSB) concluded that "the probable cause . . . was the failure of the Metrolink engineer
to observe and appropriately respond to the red signal . . . because he was engaged in prohibited
use of a wireless device . . . that distracted him from his duties." (NTSB 2010). Texting has also
been implicated in a subsequent collision on the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
(MBTA) Green Line in May 2009. Most recently, NTSB's report on the June 2009 collision of
two Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) trains recommended that the
Federal Transit Administration (FTA) facilitate the development of a nonpunitive safety report-
ing system at all public transit agencies. The purpose of such a system would be to collect reports
from all employees regarding near-misses and unsafe conditions. Under TCRP Project A-34,
this project had the objective to develop a resource for improving safety-related rule compli-
ance in the public transportation industry because of the potentially serious consequences of
safety-related rule noncompliance.
Intended Report Usage
The information, methods, and techniques in this report are designed to be administered by
the public transit professional who plays a role in a transit agency's rules compliance program.
This might be the safety director, rules program officials, training director, or supervisors
involved in daily oversight of transit operations and maintenance. Not all tools and strategies
will work at a particular transit agency because of cultural and operational differences. With few
exceptions, the practices described in Chapter 4 are applicable to all public transit modes and are
scalable to the size of the transit agency. Transit agencies should view the practices as ideas for
consideration when looking for ways to improve an existing rules compliance program or when
designing a program for a new operation.
Safety-related rules apply to employees involved in the operation and maintenance of the tran-
sit system. This includes vehicle operators, dispatchers, and other operations personnel, as well
as those who maintain the vehicles and track infrastructure. The scope of this report is primarily
on safety-related rules that are designed to prevent high consequence events, especially those
where the public is affected or where there may be harm to transit agency employees.
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