PTS Accident and Incident Reporting 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A train strikes an abandoned vehicle on the track at night. No railroad employees are injured. Which agency must the railroad notify within the federally required timeframe?
- Only the local police department
- The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) (Correct answer)
- The Department of Transportation highway division only
- No federal notification is required if no employee is injured
Correct answer: The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA)
The FRA must be notified of reportable accidents, including highway-rail grade crossing collisions, within federally established deadlines regardless of employee injury.
Question 2: During an incident investigation interview, a track worker is asked to describe what they observed. What is the worker's obligation?
- Provide an accurate account of facts they personally observed (Correct answer)
- Refuse to speak without a union representative present before saying anything
- Give only a written statement and decline verbal questions
- Decline to answer any question that might implicate a coworker
Correct answer: Provide an accurate account of facts they personally observed
Workers are obligated to provide honest, factual accounts of what they personally witnessed during an investigation.
Question 3: Which of the following BEST explains why near-miss data is valuable to a railroad safety program?
- It helps managers identify which workers to discipline
- It reveals hazard patterns before they produce injuries (Correct answer)
- It reduces the number of required safety briefings
- It is used to negotiate lower insurance premiums only
Correct answer: It reveals hazard patterns before they produce injuries
Near-miss data exposes system weaknesses and recurring hazards, allowing corrective action before a fatality or serious injury occurs.
Question 4: A supervisor fails to submit a required incident report within the railroad's internal deadline. What is the likely consequence?
- The incident is automatically closed with no further action
- The supervisor may face disciplinary action and the railroad may face regulatory penalties (Correct answer)
- The worker involved must file the report instead
- The deadline is automatically extended by 48 hours
Correct answer: The supervisor may face disciplinary action and the railroad may face regulatory penalties
Late or missing incident reports can result in disciplinary action for the supervisor and regulatory penalties for the railroad.
Question 5: A track worker is injured and transported to a hospital. The RWIC is on scene. What is the RWIC's immediate reporting priority after ensuring the worker receives care?
- Contact the worker's family before notifying the railroad
- Notify the operations control center and railroad management per established procedures (Correct answer)
- Secure personal belongings of the injured worker
- Begin writing the full investigation report on site
Correct answer: Notify the operations control center and railroad management per established procedures
After confirming medical care is underway, the RWIC must immediately notify the operations control center and management per the railroad's reporting chain.
Question 6: What does the term 'root cause analysis' mean in the context of a PTS accident investigation?
- Identifying who is legally at fault for the accident
- Determining the fundamental underlying reason the accident occurred (Correct answer)
- Calculating the total cost of the incident for insurance purposes
- Reviewing which safety rules exist but were not enforced
Correct answer: Determining the fundamental underlying reason the accident occurred
Root cause analysis identifies the fundamental systemic or behavioral reason an accident happened so that effective corrective actions can be implemented.
Question 7: A track gang supervisor notices that a minor cut injury was not reported because the worker 'didn't think it was a big deal.' What action should the supervisor take?
- Accept the worker's judgment and move on
- Document the injury retroactively and counsel the worker on reporting requirements (Correct answer)
- Report the worker for intentional non-compliance without further discussion
- Only take action if the injury worsens and requires clinic treatment
Correct answer: Document the injury retroactively and counsel the worker on reporting requirements
The supervisor must complete a retroactive injury report and coach the worker on the obligation to report all injuries, regardless of perceived severity.
PTS Accident and Incident Reporting 5
A train strikes an abandoned vehicle on the track at night.
No railroad employees are injured.
Which agency must the railroad notify within the federally required timeframe?