[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 63 (Thursday, April 2, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16291-16292]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-8562]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
[Docket No. 98-NHTSA-98-3651; Notice 1]


Long Range Strategic Planning

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 
Department of Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Notice and Request for Comment.

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SUMMARY: NHTSA has published a draft Strategic Plan that supports 
Secretary Slater's recently published Department of Transportation 
Strategic Plan. The agency invites comments and suggestions that will 
be used in development of the final plan.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eleanor A. Hunter, Strategic Planning 
Division, NPP-11, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 400 
Seventh Street, S.W., Washington D.C. 20590, telephone 202/366-2573, 
facsimile 202/366-2559. Copies of the draft Strategic Plan are 
available on the NHTSA Home Page (http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov) or by 
written request to NHTSA. Copies of all public comments will be 
available on the DOT Home Page 24 hours after receipt in the docket.

DATES: Comments are due no later than May 18, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Comments should refer to the docket and notice number of 
this notice and be submitted to: Docket Management, Room PL-401, 400 
Seventh Street, SW, Washington, DC 20590. (Docket Room hours are 10:00 
a.m.-5:00 p.m. EST, Monday-Friday.)

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The National Highway Traffic Safety 
Administration's mission is to prevent motor vehicle crashes, save 
lives, prevent injuries, and reduce resulting health care and other 
economic costs. The agency develops and promotes educational, 
engineering, and enforcement strategies to end preventable tragedies 
and reduce economic costs of vehicle use and highway travel.
    Traffic safety in the United States has experienced a dramatic 
improvement in the past twenty years. Fewer people are killed and 
injured in crashes, and travel on U.S. roadways is the safest on 
record. These gains result from: improved vehicle crashworthiness and 
crash avoidance; positive change in driver and passenger safety 
behavior; heightened public interest in safety; a national commitment 
to healthier lifestyles; and advances in medical care. Programs 
promoted by the agency are credited with saving over a quarter million 
lives and $700 billion in societal cost.
    Traffic safety nonetheless remains a major public health issue. 
Traffic crashes result in 94 percent of the deaths and 99 percent of 
the injuries in U.S. transportation. Traffic crashes are the leading 
cause of death for ages 6 to 27, the major cause of occupational 
injury, and the leading source of health care costs. The yearly 
economic cost to society exceeds $150 billion.
    Since publishing its first strategic plan in November 1994, NHTSA 
has expanded safety partnerships, focused attention on injury 
prevention, given a human face to the tragedy of crashes, and provided 
tools to empower safety advocates to take responsibility and work with 
us. Safety trends demonstrated that strategies guiding agency programs 
have been successful, but recently, indicators of traffic safety have 
stagnated, showing little if any improvement.
    The agency's programs are closely aligned with the DOT strategic 
goals, and the linkage with our program areas is indicated in the plan. 
In September 1997, DOT published its new strategic plan containing five 
goals: safety; mobility; economic growth and trade; human and natural 
environment; and national security. NHTSA's primary role in the 
Department is to improve U.S. traffic safety and provide leadership for 
improving vehicle safety worldwide. Our programs make secondary 
contributions to DOT's mobility, economic growth and trade, and human 
and natural environment goals.
    As the country approaches the new millennium, the agency views this 
as an important opportunity to reassess traffic safety issues facing 
this country and determine effective strategies for continuing historic 
improvements in traffic safety. The so-called ``easy program fixes'' 
have been made; achieving safety gains in the future will become more 
difficult, thus new strategies will be needed. The approaches 
traditionally promoted by NHTSA need to be reassessed jointly with the 
traffic safety community. New ideas and strategies must be defined and 
then added to the safety agenda of traditional programs that have 
demonstrated effectiveness in benefitting vehicle and behavioral 
safety.
    NHTSA's goal (developed jointly with the Federal Highway 
Administration) is to reduce traffic fatalities and injuries 20 percent 
by the year 2008. Reaching this goal means deaths will decline from 
41,900 (1996) to 33,500 (2008) and injuries will decline from 3.5 
million to 2.8 million. Achieving these goals would reduce the traffic 
fatality rate by 35 percent, and save $2.3 billion annually in health 
care costs. The agency looks forward to working with its partners and 
the general public to design a final plan that will help NHTSA achieve 
its goal.
    The ideas and expertise of agency partners, other groups and the 
public are essential ingredients in the agency's strategic planning 
process. Therefore, the purpose of this notice is to

[[Page 16292]]

announce availability of the agency's proposed strategic plan for 
formal review and comment by all individuals and organizations 
interested in highway safety, vehicle safety, injury prevention, 
customer service, program delivery and non-safety activities of NHTSA. 
Comments should address specific information presented in the strategic 
plan and if warranted, be accompanied by supporting information. It is 
requested (but not required) that ten copies of the comments be 
submitted. Comments, exclusive of attachments, should not exceed 
fifteen pages (49 CFR 553.21).
    Comments received by closing date (listed below) will be 
considered, and can be examined in the docket room (address below) and 
on the Internet (DOT Home Page) before and after that date. Comments 
filed after the closing date will be considered to the extent possible. 
Relevant information will continue to be filed as it becomes available, 
thus it is recommended that interested persons continue to examine the 
docket for new material. People/organizations desiring to be notified 
of receipt of their comments should include a self-addressed, stamped 
postcard, and upon official receipt of your comments, the docket 
supervisor will mail your postcard to you.

    Issued on March 23, 1998.
William H. Walsh,
Associate Administrator for Plans and Policy.
[FR Doc. 98-8562 Filed 4-1-98; 8:45 am]
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