Section 973.212 - Indian lands safety management system (SMS)In addition to the requirements provided in § 973.204 , the SMS must meet the following requirements:
(a) The BIA shall have a nationwide SMS for all federally and tribally owned IRR and public transit facilities included in the IRR inventory.(b) Where a tribe collects data for the tribe's SMS, the tribe shall provide the data to the BIA to be used in the nationwide SMS.(c) The nationwide and tribal SMS may be based on the guidance in "Safety Management Systems: Good Practices for Development and Implementation."(d) The BIA and ITGs shall utilize the SMSs to ensure that safety is considered and implemented as appropriate in all phases of transportation system planning, design, construction, maintenance, and operations.(e) The nationwide and tribal SMSs may be utilized at various levels of complexity depending on the nature of the IRR facility involved.(f) An SMS shall be designed to fit the BIA's or ITG's goals, policies, criteria, and needs using, as a minimum, the following components as a basic framework for an SMS:(1) A database and an ongoing program for the collection and maintenance of the inventory, inspection, cost, and supplemental data needed to support the SMS. The minimum SMS database shall include:(ii) An inventory of safety hardware including signs, guardrails, and lighting appurtenances (including terminals); and(iii) Traffic information including volume and vehicle classification (as appropriate).(2) Development, establishment and implementation of procedures for:(i) Routinely maintaining and upgrading safety appurtenances including highway-rail crossing warning devices, signs, highway elements, and operational features where appropriate;(ii) Routinely maintaining and upgrading safety features of transit facilities;(iii) Identifying and investigating hazardous or potentially hazardous transportation system safety problems, roadway locations and features; and(iv) Establishing countermeasures and setting priorities to correct the identified hazards and potential hazards.(3) A process for communication, coordination, and cooperation among the organizations responsible for the roadway, human, and vehicle safety elements;(4) Development and implementation of public information and education activities on safety needs, programs, and countermeasures which affect safety on the BIA's and ITG's transportation systems; and(5) Identification of skills, resources and training needs to implement safety programs for highway and transit facilities and the development of a program to carry out necessary training.(g) While the SMS applies to all federally and tribally owned IRRs in the IRR inventory, the extent of system requirements (e.g., data collection, analyses, and standards) for low volume roads may be tailored to be consistent with the functional classification of the roads. However, adequate requirements should be included for each BIA functional classification to provide for effective inclusion of safety decisions in the administration of transportation by the BIA and ITGs.(h) For any transportation facilities in the IRR inventory or subset thereof, SMS reporting requirements shall include, but are not limited to, the following:(1) Accident types such as right-angle, rear-end, left turn, head-on, sideswipe, pedestrian-related, run-off-road, fixed object, and parked vehicle;(2) Accident severity per year measured as number of accidents with fatalities, injuries, and property damage only; and(3) Accident rates measured as number of accidents (fatalities, injuries, and property damage only) per 100 million vehicle miles of travel, number of accidents (fatalities, injuries, and property damage only) per 1000 vehicles, or number of accidents (fatalities, injuries, and property damage only) per mile. 69 FR 9499 , Feb. 27, 2004, as amended at 74 FR 28442 , June 16, 2009