(a) Safety Risk Management process. A transit agency must develop and implement a Safety Risk Management process for all elements of its public transportation system. The Safety Risk Management process must be comprised of the following activities: hazard identification, safety risk assessment, and safety risk mitigation.

(b) Hazard identification. (1) A transit agency must establish methods or processes to identify hazards and potential consequences of the hazards.

(2) A transit agency must consider, as a source for hazard identification:

(i) Data and information provided by an oversight authority, including but not limited to FTA, the State, or as applicable, the State Safety Oversight Agency having jurisdiction;

(ii) Data and information regarding exposure to infectious disease provided by the CDC or a State health authority; and

(iii) Safety concerns identified through Safety Assurance activities carried out under § 673.27.

(c) Safety risk assessment. (1) A transit agency must establish methods or processes to assess the safety risk associated with identified hazards.

(2) A safety risk assessment includes an assessment of the likelihood and severity of the potential consequences of identified hazards, taking into account existing safety risk mitigations, to determine if safety risk mitigation is necessary and to inform prioritization of safety risk mitigations.

(d) Safety risk mitigation. (1) A transit agency must establish methods or processes to identify safety risk mitigations or strategies necessary as a result of the transit agency's safety risk assessment to reduce the likelihood and severity of the potential consequences. For large urbanized area providers, these methods or processes must address the role of the transit agency's Safety Committee.

(2) A transit agency must consider, as a source for safety risk mitigation:

(i) Guidance provided by an oversight authority, if applicable, and FTA; and

(ii) Guidelines to prevent or control exposure to infectious diseases provided by the CDC or a State health authority.

(3) When identifying safety risk mitigations for the safety risk reduction program related to vehicular and pedestrian safety events involving transit vehicles, including to address a missed safety performance target set by the Safety Committee under § 673.19(d)(2), each large urbanized area provider and its Safety Committee must consider mitigations to reduce visibility impairments for transit vehicle operators that contribute to accidents, including retrofits to vehicles in revenue service and specifications for future procurements that reduce visibility impairments.

(4) When identifying safety risk mitigations for the safety risk reduction program related to assaults on transit workers, including to address a missed safety performance target set by the Safety Committee under § 673.19(d)(2), each large urbanized area provider and its Safety Committee must consider deployment of assault mitigation infrastructure and technology on transit vehicles and in transit facilities. Assault mitigation infrastructure and technology includes barriers to restrict the unwanted entry of individuals and objects into the workstations of bus operators.

(5) When a large urbanized area provider's Safety Committee, as part of the transit agency's safety risk reduction program, identifies and recommends under § 673.19(c)(6) safety risk mitigations, including mitigations relating to vehicular and pedestrian safety events involving transit vehicles or assaults on transit workers, based on a safety risk assessment conducted under § 673.25(c), the transit agency must include or incorporate by reference these safety risk mitigations in its ASP pursuant to § 673.11(a)(7)(iv).

(6) When a large urbanized area provider's Safety Committee recommends a safety risk mitigation unrelated to the safety risk reduction program, and the Accountable Executive decides not to implement the safety risk mitigation, the Accountable Executive must prepare a written statement explaining their decision, pursuant to recordkeeping requirements at § 673.31. The Accountable Executive must submit and present this explanation to the transit agency's Safety Committee and Board of Directors or equivalent entity.