Study of Existing Legal Protections for Safety-Related Information and Analysis of Considerations For and Against Protecting Railroad Safety Risk Reduction Program Information

摘要

In the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (the RSIA), Congress directed the Secretary of Transportation to issue regulations requiring each of certain railroads (A) to develop a railroad safety risk reduction program that systematically evaluates railroad safety risks on its system and manages those risks in order to reduce the numbers and rates of railroad accidents, incidents, injuries, and fatalities; (B) to submit its program, including any required plans, to the Secretary for review and approval; and (C) to implement the program and plans approved by the Secretary. Separately, in 49 U.S.C. Section 20119(a), Congress also directed the Federal Railroad Administration (the FRA) to complete a study evaluating whether it is in the public interest, including public safety and the legal rights of persons injured in railroad accidents, to withhold from discovery or admission into evidence in a Federal or State court proceeding for damages involving personal injury or wrongful death against a carrier any report, survey, schedule, list, or data compiled or collected for the purpose of evaluating, planning, or implementing a railroad safety risk reduction program required under this chapter including a railroad carriers analysis of its safety risks and its statement of the mitigation measures with which it will address those risks.