[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 23, Volume 1]
[Revised as of April 1, 2004]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 23CFR971.212]

[Page 429]
 
                           TITLE 23--HIGHWAYS
 
 CHAPTER I--FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
 
PART 971_FOREST SERVICE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS--Table of Contents
 
           Subpart B_Forest Highway Program Management Systems
 
Sec. 971.212  Federal lands safety management system (SMS).

    In addition to the requirements provided in Sec. 971.204, the SMS 
must meet the following requirements:
    (a) The tri-party partnership shall have an SMS for transportation 
systems providing access to and within National Forests and Grasslands, 
and funded under the FLHP.
    (b) The SMS may be based on the guidance in ``Safety Management 
Systems: Good Practices for Development and Implementation.''\3\
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    \3\ ``Safety Management Systems: Good Practices for Development and 
Implementation,'' FHWA and NHTSA, May 1996, may be obtained at the FHWA, 
Office of Safety, Room 3407, 400 Seventh St., SW., Washington, DC 20590, 
or electronically at http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/media/documents.htm. It 
is available for inspection and copying as prescribed at 49 CFR part 7.
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    (c) The tri-party partnership shall utilize SMS to ensure that 
safety is considered and implemented, as appropriate, in all phases of 
transportation system planning, design, construction, maintenance, and 
operations.
    (d) The SMS may be utilized at various levels of complexity 
depending on the nature of the facility and/or network involved.
    (e) The SMS shall be designed to fit the FH program goals, policies, 
criteria, and needs and shall contain the following components:
    (1) An ongoing program for the collection, maintenance, and 
reporting of a database that includes:
    (i) Accident records with detail for analysis such as accident type 
using standard reporting descriptions (e.g., right-angle, rear-end, 
head-on, pedestrian-related, etc.), location, description of event, 
severity, weather, and cause;
    (ii) An inventory of safety appurtenances such as signs, 
delineators, and guardrails (including terminals);
    (iii) Traffic information including volume and vehicle 
classification (as appropriate); and
    (iv) Accident rates by customary criteria such as location, roadway 
classification, and vehicle miles of travel.
    (2) Development, establishment, and implementation of procedures 
for:
    (i) Where appropriate, routine maintenance and upgrading of safety 
appurtenances including highway rail crossing safety devices, signs, 
highway elements, and operational features,
    (ii) Identifying, investigating, and analyzing hazardous or 
potentially hazardous transportation system safety problems, roadway 
locations, and features;
    (iii) Establishing countermeasures and setting priorities to correct 
the identified hazards and potential hazards.
    (3) Identification of focal points for all contacts at State, 
regional, tribal, and local levels to coordinate, develop, establish, 
and implement the SMS among the agencies.
    (f) While the SMS applies to appropriate transportation systems 
providing access to and within National Forests and Grasslands funded 
under the FLHP, 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 
roadway to provide for effective inclusion of safety decisions in the 
administration of the FH program.