Page 7 - Report of the railway accidents investigated in 2021

Annual report 2021
the causes of an occurrence affecting railway safety is stipulated. Subsection 7 of the same Section provides the provision delegating authority for notifying about the occurrences affecting railway safety to enact the Minister’s Directive. Pursuant to the provision delegating authority of the Minister of Economic Affairs and Infrastructure Directive No. 83 “Safety Management System, Safety Indicators, Verification of Compliance with Railway Infrastructure, Traffic Management and Safety Requirements, their Reporting, Forms and Deadlines and Notification of Incidents Affecting Railway Safety” entered into force on 12.12.2020. Annex 11 of the Directive provides the format for written notification of a serious accident or an accident. Annex 12 of the Directive provides the format for reporting an incident.
Section 50 of the Railways Act “Initiation of a safety Investigation” provides the obligation of the Safety Investigation Bureau to immediately initiate a safety investigation in the case of a serious accident. In order to initiate a safety investigation in other cases, the conditions for making a discretionary decision have been legalized. The same section allows a decision to be made within 2 months of the occurrence of an accident and incident to initiate a safety investigation. The principal legal aim of the safety investigation is to determine whether the occurrence affecting railway safety was caused by an action, inaction, an event, a circumstance or a combination thereof and propose recommendation to prevent such occurrence in the future and to improve railway safety.
Section 51 “Proceedings of a Safety Investigation” establishes the obligation by railway infrastructure managers and third persons to provide any relevant information they hold when requested by the ESIB. The obligation of the railway undertaking to submit to the ESIB the materials collected on all serious accidents and accidents is stipulated. The materials about an incident are presented by the railway undertaking if ESIB demands it. The Safety Investigation Bureau organises the investigation of the scene within the shortest possible time. The safety investigation is conducted as publicly as possible with the parties being given the opportunity to provide explanations. Subsection 6 of the same Section provides the provision delegating authority to establish the format for safety investigations by the Minister’s Directive.
Section 52 of the Act "Procedural rights of the Safety Investigation Bureau" stipulates the rights of the official conducting the safety investigation to access information, equipment, recordings, results of expert examinations, other materials of investigations of the same case. In the event of non-cooperation, the official conducting the safety investigation may issue a precept to the obligated person to ensure compliance with the obligations related to the safety investigation activities. In the event of non-compliance with the precept the official conducting the safety investigation has a right to impose a penalty charge pursuant to the same Section.
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