For the safety event measure, FTA used the National Transit Database (NTD) major event thresholds and excluded security events (events that do not have a nexus to safety). The NTD defines a safety event as “a collision, derailment, fire, hazardous material spill, act of nature (Act of God), evacuation, or [other safety occurrence not otherwise classified] occurring on transit right-of-way, in a transit revenue facility, in a transit maintenance facility, or involving a transit revenue vehicle and meeting established NTD thresholds.”
Safety events may involve injuries and fatalities. If your agency experiences a major safety event that results in an injury, you count the event for the safety event performance measure and the related injury as an injury for the injury safety performance measure.
FTA’s National Public Transportation Safety Plan (NSP) (https://www.transit.dot.gov/sites/fta.dot.gov/files/docs/National Public Transportation Safety Plan_1.pdf) documents the four required safety performance measures, including safety events.
On page 39 of the NSP, FTA explains that safety performance measure "data includes safety events (reportable derailments, collisions, fires, and evacuations), fatalities (not including suicides or trespassers), and injuries (not including assaults or injuries due to crimes)."
For the injury measure, FTA used all injuries reported on both the S&S-40 (major) and S&S-50 (non-major) forms, but excluded injuries related to assaults or crimes. FTA used the definition established by the NTD for an injury (“any damage or harm to persons as a result of an event that requires immediate medical attention away from the scene”).
For more information on this topic, please see FTA’s Safety Performance Targets Guide (https://www.transit.dot.gov/sites/fta.dot.gov/files/docs/regulations-and-programs/safety/public-transportation-agency-safety-program/134716/safety-performance-targets-guide.pdf) and Introduction to Safety Performance Indicators and Targets (https://www.transit.dot.gov/sites/fta.dot.gov/files/docs/regulations-and-programs/safety/public-transportation-agency-safety-program/134106/introduction-safety-performance-indicators-and-targets.pdf).
For more information on NTD reporting thresholds and definitions, please see the NTD Safety Policy Manual (https://www.transit.dot.gov/sites/fta.dot.gov/files/docs/ntd/130586/2019-ntd-safety-and-security-policy-manual-v2.pdf) and the NTD Glossary (https://www.transit.dot.gov/ntd/national-transit-database-ntd-glossary).