Incident records and research Guide 09
How to read an FRA crossing incident record
An FRA crossing incident record describes a reported event involving rail equipment and a road user at a crossing. Check the crossing ID, event date and reporting fields before drawing conclusions about what happened.
For reporters, residents and researchers reading an incident report.
Form 57 records a crossing event.
FRA Form 6180.57 records information about a highway-rail crossing event, including the location, circumstances and people affected. Read the field definitions alongside the values.
A report count is not a count of deaths or injuries. Where several records describe the same event, follow the source's counting method before combining them.
Sources: 49 CFR §225.19: reportable crossing incidents; FRA: safety data and reporting.
The reporting rule is not a general damage threshold.
Under 49 CFR §225.19(b), the crossing category covers impacts between railroad on-track equipment and highway users at crossings. Do not apply a general rail-equipment damage threshold to decide which crossing impacts belong in this category.
The rule and reporting instructions determine the scope. Check them before describing the data as every rail incident or every event near a track.
Check whether the crossing is public or private.
An incident file and a public-crossing directory can cover different populations. A private crossing report should not silently be dropped into a total labeled public crossings.
Read the classification and location at the relevant date. A current record alone may not establish the classification when an older event occurred.
Sources: 49 CFR §225.19: reportable crossing incidents; FRA: crossing inventory reporting.
Match the event by crossing ID.
Use the full ID rather than a road-name match alone. Check the state, location and date where the reported ID needs review.
On the crossing page, read the incident section alongside the dated inventory. A match connects the records; it does not establish a cause or assign responsibility.
A reported event is not a complete investigation.
The record cannot supply every witness statement, photograph or later correction. Do not infer fault from an equipment field or a short description.
For a report or legal inquiry, retain the exact version used and seek the underlying records needed for that purpose. A record with no matched incidents does not establish safety.
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