[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: 23CFR972.212]

[Page 434-435]
 
                           TITLE 23--HIGHWAYS
 
 CHAPTER I--FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
 
PART 972_FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS--Table of Contents
 
         Subpart B_Fish and Wildlife Service Management Systems
 
Sec. 972.212  Federal lands safety management system (SMS).

    In addition to the requirements provided in Sec. 972.204, the SMS 
must meet the following requirements:
    (a) The FWS shall have an SMS for all transportation facilities 
serving the Refuge System, as appropriate, funded under the FLHP.
    (b) The FWS 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 FWS shall utilize the 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 transportation facility involved.
    (e) The SMS shall be designed to fit the FWS goals, policies, 
criteria, and needs using, as a minimum, the following components as a 
basic framework for a SMS:
    (1) An ongoing program for the collection, maintenance and reporting 
of a database that includes:
    (i) Accident records with sufficient 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 volumes 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) Routinely maintaining and upgrading safety appurtenances 
including highway-rail crossing warning devices, signs, highway 
elements, and operational features where appropriate; and
    (ii) Identifying and investigating hazardous or potentially 
hazardous transportation system safety problems, roadway locations and 
features, then establishing countermeasures and setting priorities to 
correct the identified hazards and potential hazards.

[[Page 435]]

    (3) A process for communication, coordination, and cooperation among 
the organizations responsible for the roadway, human, and vehicle safety 
elements; and
    (4) Development and implementation of public information and 
education activities on safety needs, programs, and countermeasures 
which affect safety on the FWS transportation systems.
    (f) While the SMS applies to appropriate transportation facilities 
serving the Refuge System 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, sufficient detail should be 
included for each functional classification to provide adequate 
information for use in making safety decisions in the RR program.