[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 103 (Thursday, May 29, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29185-29186]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-14036]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration


Research and Development Programs Meeting

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces a public meeting at which NHTSA will 
describe and discuss specific research and development projects. 
Further, the notice requests suggestions for topics to be presented by 
the agency.

DATES AND TIMES: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 
will hold a public meeting devoted primarily to presentations of 
specific research and development projects on June 19, 1997, beginning 
at 9:45 a.m. and ending at approximately 2:00 p.m. The deadline for 
interested parties to suggest agenda topics is 4:15 p.m. on June 5, 
1997. Questions may be submitted in advance regarding the agency's 
research and development projects. They must be submitted in writing by 
June 11, 1997, to the address given below. If sufficient time is 
available, questions received after the June 11 date will be answered 
at the meeting in the discussion period. The individual, group, or 
company asking a question does not have to be present for the question 
to be answered. A consolidated list of the questions submitted by June 
11 will be available at the meeting and will be mailed to requesters 
after the meeting.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Clarion Inn, Detroit Metro 
Airport, 9191 Wickham Road, Romulus, Michigan 48174. Suggestions for 
specific R&D topics as described below and questions for the June 19, 
1997, meeting relating to the agency's research and development 
programs should be submitted to the Office of the Associate 
Administrator for Research and Development, NRD-01, National Highway 
Traffic Safety Administration, Room 6206, 400 Seventh St., SW, 
Washington, DC 20590. The fax number is 202-366-5930.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NHTSA intends to provide detailed 
presentations about its research and development programs in a series 
of public meetings. The series started in April 1993. The purpose is to 
make available more complete and timely information regarding the 
agency's research and development programs. This seventeenth meeting in 
the series will be held on June 19, 1997.
    NHTSA requests suggestions from interested parties on the specific 
agenda topics to be presented. NHTSA will base its decisions about the 
agenda, in part, on the suggestions it receives by close of business at 
4:15 p.m. on June 5, 1997. Before the meeting, it will publish a notice 
with an agenda listing the research and development topics to be 
discussed. The agenda can also be obtained by calling or faxing the 
information numbers listed elsewhere in this notice. NHTSA asks that 
the suggestions be limited to six, in priority order, so that the 
presentations at the June 19 R&D meeting can be most useful to the 
audience. Specific R&D topics are listed below. Many of these topics 
have been discussed at previous meetings. Suggestions for agenda topics 
are not restricted to this listing, and interested parties are invited 
to suggest other R&D topics of specific interest to their 
organizations.

Specific R&D topics are:
    On-line tracking system for NHTSA's research projects, and
    Crash Injury Research and Engineering Network (CIREN).
Specific Crashworthiness R&D topics are:
    Automatic lifesaving system--improved triage, transport, and 
treatment decisionmaking for automatic collision notification 
technologies,
    Status of advanced air bag research,
    Demonstration of CD ROM for child restraint/vehicle compatibility,
    Preparation of new dummies for assessment of advanced air bag 
technology,
    Status of research on restraint systems for rollover protection,
    Improved frontal crash protection (program status, problem 
identification, offset testing),
    Advanced glazing research,
    Vehicle aggressivity and fleet compatibility,
    Upgrade side crash protection,
    Upgrade seat and occupant restraint systems,
    Child safety research (ISOFIX),
    Child restraint/air bag interaction (CRABI) dummy testing,
    Truck crashworthiness/occupant protection,
    National Transportation Biomechanics Research Center (NTBRC),
    Head and neck injury research,
    Lower extremity injury research,
    Thorax injury research,
    Human injury simulation and analysis,
    Refinements to the Hybrid III dummy, and
    Advanced frontal test dummy.
Specific Crash Avoidance R&D topics are:
    Intelligent vehicle initiative,
    Strategic plan for NHTSA's Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) 
crash avoidance research,
    Status and plans for anti-lock brake system (ABS) research,
    Truck tire traction,
    Portable data acquisition system for crash avoidance research 
(DASCAR),
    Systems to enhance EMS response (automatic collision notification),
    Crash causal analysis,
    Human factors guidelines for crash avoidance warning devices,
    Longer combination vehicle safety,
    Drowsy driver monitoring,
    Driver workload assessment,
    Pedestrian detection devices for school bus safety,
    Preliminary rearend collision avoidance system guidelines,
    Preliminary road departure collision avoidance system guidelines,

[[Page 29186]]

    Preliminary intersection collision avoidance system guidelines, and
    Preliminary lane change/merge collision avoidance system 
guidelines.
National Center for Statistics and Analysis (NCSA) topic is:
    Special crash investigation studies of air bag cases.

    Separately, questions regarding research projects that have been 
submitted in writing not later than close of business on June 11, 1997, 
will be answered. A transcript of the meeting, copies of materials 
handed out at the meeting, and copies of the suggestions offered by 
commenters will be available for public inspection in NHTSA's Technical 
Reference Division, Room 5108, 400 Seventh St., SW., Washington, DC 
20590. Copies of the transcript will then be available at 10 cents a 
page, upon request to NHTSA's Technical Reference Division. The 
Technical Reference Division is open to the public from 9:30 a.m. to 
4:00 p.m.
    NHTSA will provide technical aids to participants as necessary, 
during the Research and Development Programs Meeting. Thus, any person 
desiring the assistance of ``auxiliary aids'' (e.g., sign-language 
interpreter, telecommunication devices for deaf persons (TTDs), 
readers, taped texts, braille materials, or large print materials and/
or a magnifying device), please contact Rita Gibbons on 202-366-4862 by 
close of business June 12, 1997.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rita Gibbons, Staff Assistant, Office 
of Research and Development, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 
20590. Telephone: 202-366-4862. Fax number: 202-366-5930.

    Issued: May 22, 1997.
Ralph J. Hitchcock,
Acting Associate Administrator for Research and Development.
[FR Doc. 97-14036 Filed 5-28-97; 8:45 am]
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