[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 232 (Wednesday, December 3, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64041-64042]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-31696]


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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 December 17, 1997, 
beginning at 1:30 p.m. and ending at approximately 5:00 p.m. The 
deadline for interested parties to suggest agenda topics is 4:15 p.m. 
on December 8, 1997. Questions may be submitted in advance regarding 
the agency's research and development projects. They must be submitted 
in writing by December 10, 1997, to the address given below. If 
sufficient time is available, questions received after the December 10 
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 answers 
to questions submitted by December 10 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, MI 48174. Suggestions for specific 
R&D topics as described below and questions for the December 17, 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., S.W., 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 nineteenth meeting in 
the series will be held on December 17, 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 December 8, 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 or from NHTSA's Web 
site under Announcements/Public Meetings at URL http://
www.nhtsa.dot.gov/nhtsa/announce/meetings/. NHTSA asks that the 
suggestions be limited to six, in priority order, so that the 
presentations at the December 17 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. Additionally, if any interested parties would like to 
make a presentation regarding technical issues concerning any of 
NHTSA's research programs, information concerning the proposed topic 
and speaker should be submitted in writing by close of business 
December 8, 1997.
    Specific R&D topics are:
    Fiscal Year 1998 R&D Research Efforts,
    International Harmonized Research Activities (IHRA),
    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:
    National Advanced Driving Simulator (NADS),
    Intelligent vehicle initiative,
    Status and plans for anti-lock brake system (ABS) research,
    Truck tire traction,
    Human factors guidelines for crash avoidance warning devices,
    Drowsy driver monitoring,
    Driver workload assessment,
    Rearend collision avoidance system guidelines,

[[Page 64042]]

    Road departure collision avoidance system guidelines,
    Intersection collision avoidance system guidelines, and
    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 December 10, 
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 at 
NHTSA's Technical Information Services, Room 5108, 400 Seventh St., 
S.W., Washington, DC 20590. Copies of the transcript will then be 
available at 10 cents a page, upon request to NHTSA's Technical 
Information Services. The Technical Information Services section is 
open to the public from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The transcript will also 
be available on NHTSA's Web site under Announcements/Public Meetings at 
URL http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/nhtsa/announce/meetings/.
    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 
or by telefax on (202) 366-5930 by close of business December 8, 1997.

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

    Issued: November 26, 1997.
Raymond P. Owings,
Associate Administrator for Research and Development.
[FR Doc. 97-31696 Filed 12-2-97; 8:45 am]
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