Page 18 - Report of the railway accidents investigated in 2023

Annual report 2023 up on recommendation process, Analysis of the human factor in the safety
investigations of railway accidents and incidents, Manual of initiating railway accident investigations. The appendices of the handbook give the person conducting the safety investigation practical guidelines on how to form his position in one or another situation, and what to pay attention to.
Appendix R3 of the manual is called “Characteristics of a railway accident or incident for making the decision to begin a safety investigation or formulating an opinion”. It describes the process of making the decision to initiate or not a safety investigation and what will be addressed in the process. At the same time, in addition to the legal bases, a risk-based assessment of the case, which is part of the decision-making process, is provided for. While collecting additional information about the occurrence the ESIB assesses the potential risk of the occurrence, the number of fatalities or injuries, railway infrastructure manager’s equipment failure, fatality of a person who was known to the railway infrastructure manager to be present or work at the railway, obvious mistake or oversight of the railwayman as a probable cause of the occurrence, circumstances of similar cases, collision of rolling stock with a group of people, depending on the number of injuries and fatalities.
2.2 Institutions involved in investigations
Involvement of institutions, companies, agencies or individuals in safety investigations is regulated by the provisions in the Railways Act and the Minister’s Directive on organisation of safety investigations. Involvement and cooperation take place under the direction and supervision of the investigator-in-charge of the specific safety investigation. The duties of the investigator-in-charge are performed by the senior official of the relevant field at the ESIB. The rules and principles of involvement are common to all parties. It is prohibited by law to interfere with the decision-making process of safety investigations, in case of anyone's possible interest to influence it. The purpose of inclusion is first and foremost to obtain the necessary information about the occurrence and the circumstances surrounding it and to achieve the required standard of safety investigation. Infrastructure managers and third parties are obliged to provide the relevant information they hold when requested by the ESIB. If a safety investigation committee has been formed, the safety investigation may be conducted by several officials who have the right to question railway employees and other witnesses involved in the case. The official conducting the safety investigation has a legal right to make a precept to the person under obligation to fulfil the obligations related to the safety investigation. In the event of non- compliance, the official conducting the safety investigation has the right to impose a
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