[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 89 (Friday, May 8, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25543-25544]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-12232]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
[Docket No. NHTSA-98-3774; Notice 1]


Program Plan for Evaluating the Effectiveness of Existing 
Regulations, 1998-2002

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

ACTION: Request for comments.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces the publication by NHTSA of its 
Evaluation Program Plan for 1998-2002. The report describes the 
agency's ongoing and planned evaluations of its existing Federal Motor 
Vehicle Safety Standards (49 CFR Part 571) and its other safety and 
consumer programs. It also summarizes the results of completed 
evaluations. The agency's evaluation program responds to Executive 
Order 12866, which provides for Government-wide review of existing 
significant Federal regulations. This notice solicits public review and 
comment on the evaluation plan. Comments received will be used to 
improve the plan.

DATES: Comments must be received no later than September 8, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Report: Interested people may obtain copies of the reports 
free of charge by sending a self-addressed mailing label to 
Publications Ordering and Distribution Services (NAD-51), National 
Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 400 Seventh Street, SW, 
Washington, DC 20590.
    Comments: All comments should refer to the docket and notice number 
of this notice and be submitted to: Docket Section, Room 5109, Nassif 
Building, 400 Seventh Street, SW, Washington DC 20590. [Docket hours, 
9:30 a.m.-4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.]

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Charles J. Kahane, Chief, Evaluation 
Division, Plans and Policy, National Highway Traffic Safety 
Administration, Room 5208, 400 Seventh Street, SW, Washington, DC 20590 
(202-366-2560).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NHTSA has rigorously evaluated its major 
programs as a matter of policy since 1970. The evaluation of the 
effectiveness of the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) 
began in 1975. The Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 and 
Executive Order 12866, ``Regulatory Planning and Review,'' issued in 
October 1993 (58 FR 51735), now oblige all Federal agencies to evaluate 
their existing programs and regulations. Previously, Executive Order 
12291, issued in February 1981 (46 FR 13193), also required reviews of 
existing regulations. Even before 1981, however, NHTSA was a leader 
among Federal agencies in evaluating the effectiveness of existing 
regulations and technologies. There are large data bases of motor 
vehicle crashes which can be analyzed to find out what vehicle and 
traffic safety programs work best.
    This five-year plan presents and discusses the programs, 
regulations, technologies and related areas NHTSA proposes to evaluate, 
and it summarizes the findings of past evaluations. Depending on scope, 
evaluations typically take a year or substantially more, counting 
initial planning, contracting for support, OMB clearance for surveys, 
internal reviews, approvals, publication, review of public comments, 
and the last phase of preparing recommendations for subsequent agency 
action.
    Most of NHTSA's crashworthiness and several crash avoidance 
standards have been evaluated at least once since 1975. A number of 
consumer-oriented regulations, e.g., bumpers, theft protection, fuel 
economy and NCAP have also been evaluated. So have promising safety 
technologies, such as antilock brake systems, that were not mandatory 
under Federal regulations. The plan for the next five years includes 
evaluations of new and existing vehicle safety regulations, 
technologies and consumer protection programs, plus the completion of 
an assessment of the highway safety program.
    NHTSA welcomes public review of the plan and invites the reviewers 
to comment about the selection, priority, and schedule of the 
regulations to be evaluated. The agency is interested in learning of 
any additional data that may be useful in the evaluations. The plan 
will be periodically updated in response to public and agency needs, 
with a complete revision scheduled every four years. The most recent 
plan before this one was published on June 10, 1994 (59 FR 30090).
    If a commenter wishes to submit certain information under a claim 
of confidentiality, three copies of the complete submission, including 
purportedly confidential business information, should be submitted to 
the Chief Counsel, NHTSA, at the street address given above, and 7 
copies from which the purportedly confidential information has been 
deleted should be submitted to the Docket Section. A request for 
confidentiality should be accompanied by a cover letter setting forth 
the information specified in the agency's confidential business

[[Page 25544]]

information regulation. (49 CFR Part 512).
    All comments received before the close of business on the comment 
closing date will be considered, and will be available for examination 
in the docket at the above address both before and after that date. To 
the extent possible, comments filed after the closing date will also be 
considered. The NHTSA will continue to file relevant information as it 
becomes available in the docket after the closing date, and it is 
recommended that interested people continue to examine the docket for 
new material.
    People desiring to be notified upon receipt of their comments in 
the rules docket should enclose a self-addressed, stamped postcard in 
the envelope with their comments. Upon receiving the comments, the 
docket supervisor will return the postcard by mail.

    Authority: 49 U.S.C. 30111, 30168; delegation of authority at 49 
CFR 1.50 and 501.8.
William H. Walsh,
Associate Administrator for Plans and Policy.
[FR Doc. 98-12232 Filed 5-7-98; 8:45 am]
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