[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 101 (Wednesday, May 27, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29053-29055]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-13982]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Office of the Secretary


Reports, Forms and Recordkeeping Requirements; Agency Information 
Collection Activity Under OMB Review

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, DOT.

ACTION: Notice.

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[[Page 29054]]

SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 
U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this notice announces that the Information 
Collection Requests (ICRs) abstracted below have been forwarded to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. The ICRs 
describe the nature of the information collections and their expected 
burden. The Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period 
soliciting comments on (1) Fatal Accident Reporting System (FARS) was 
published on February 19, 1998 [63 FR 8519-8520] and(2) 49 CFR Part 
583, Motor Vehicle Content Labeling was published on February 26, 1998 
[63 FR 9897] and (3) A Survey of Drivers Experiences and Expectations 
of Light Vehicle Brake System Performance: ABS vs Non-ABS was published 
in the Federal Register on February 23, 1998 [63 FR 9042].

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before June 26, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Robinson, NHTSA Information 
Collection Clearance Officer at (202) 366-9456.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

(1) Title: Fatal Accident Reporting System (FARS)

    OMB Control Number: 2127-0006.
    Type of Request: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Affected Public: State, Local or Tribal Government.
    Abstract: Under both the Highway Safety Act of 1966 and the 
National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966, Traffic Safety 
Administration (NHTSA) has the responsibility to collect accident data 
that support the establishment and enforcement of motor vehicle 
regulations and highway safety programs. These regulations and programs 
are developed to reduce the severity of injury and the property damage 
associated with motor vehicle accidents. The Fatal Accident Reporting 
System (FARS) is in its twenty-third year of operation as a major 
system that acquires national fatality information directly from 
existing State files and documents. Since FARS is an on-going data 
acquisition system, reviews are conducted yearly to determine whether 
the data acquired are responsive to the total user population needs. 
The total user population includes Federal and State agencies and the 
private sector. Two data items, Death Certificate Number and Fatal 
Injury At Work, are not recorded on any FARS form but are 
electronically transmitted to the central FARS file.
    Estimated Annual Burden: 77,400 hours.

(2) Title: 49 CFR 583 Automobile Parts Content Labeling

    OMB Control Number: 2127-0573.
    Type of Request: Extension of currently approved collection.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households.
    Abstract: The American Automobile Labeling Act (AALA) or Section 
210 of the Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act mandates this 
information collection. The Act requires all new passenger motor 
vehicles (including passenger cars, certain small buses, all trucks and 
multipurpose passenger vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating of 
8,500 pounds or Less), beginning on October 1, 1994, to bear labels 
providing information about the domestic and foreign content of their 
equipment. The following information must appear on the label:
    (a) The percentage (by Value) of the equipment in the vehicles that 
originated in the United States and Canada;
    (b) Names of the countries, other than the U.S. or Canada, if any, 
that contributed the two highest Percentages (15 percent or more) to 
the total value of the equipment that comprises the vehicle and the 
percentage those countries contributed;
    (c) The city, state and country of final assembly of the vehicle;
    (d) The country of origin for the transmission of the vehicle 
(i.e., the country that contributed the greatest percentage to the 
total value of the equipment in that engine); and
    (e) The country of origin for the transmission of the vehicle 
(i.e., the country that contributed the greatest percentage to the 
total value of the equipment in the transmission).
    The information submitted under this collection provides the 
justifying rational for labeling content affixation to each new 
passenger motor.
    Estimated Annual Burden: 7080 hours.

(3) Title: A Survey of Drivers Experiences and Expectations of Light 
Vehicle Brake System Performance: ABS vs Non-ABS

    OMB Clearance Number: 2127-0594.
    Type of Request: New collection.
    Affected Public: Individuals, households.
    Abstract: Data collection will be accomplished through the use of 
Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI). The CATI system allows 
a computer to perform a number of functions prone to error when done 
manually by interviewers, including:
    A. Providing correct question sequence;
    B. Automatically executing skip patterns based on responses to 
prior questions (which decreases overall interview time and 
consequentially the burden on respondents);
    C. Recalling answers to prior questions and displaying the 
information in the test of later questions;
    D. Providing random rotation of specified questions or response 
categories (to avoid bias);
    E. Ensuring that questions cannot be skipped; and
    F. Rejecting invalid responses or data entries.
    The CATI system lists questions and corresponding response 
categories automatically on the screen, eliminating the need for 
interviewers to track slip patterns and flip pages. Moreover, the 
interviewers enter responses directly from their keyboards, and the 
information is automatically recorded in the computer's memory.
    The CATI system includes safeguards to reduce interviewer error in 
direct key-entry of survey responses. It has a double check method to 
eliminate the problem of key entry error as a result of accidentally 
hitting the wrong key. Unlike some systems, when the interviewer enters 
the code for the respondent reply, the code is not immediately accepted 
and the interview moved to the next screen. Rather, the screen remains 
on the question and response categories for the item, and the code and 
category entered by the interviewer are displayed at the bottom of the 
screen. The interviewer must confirm the initial entry before it is 
accepted by the computer as final. If, despite these safeguards, the 
wrong answer is entered or a respondent changes his/her reply, the 
interviewer can correct the entry before moving on to the next 
question.
    Description of the need for the information and proposed use of the 
information: Antilock brake systems (ABS) have been increasingly 
prevalent on passenger car and light trucks in recent years. Brake 
experts anticipated that the introduction of ABS on these vehicles 
would reduce the number and severity of crashes. A number of 
statistical analyses of crash databases have been performed over the 
past three years, and suggest that the introduction of ABS does not 
appear to have reduced the number of automobile crashes where they were 
expected to be effective. Included in these analyses is a

[[Page 29055]]

significant increase of single-vehicle, run-off-road crashes for 
vehicles equipped with ABS as compared to cars without ABS. It is 
unknown to what extent, if any, this increase is due to incorrect 
driver usage of ABS, incorrect driver responses to their ABS, or 
unrealistic driver expectations of an ABS braking ability.
    Estimate of Total Annual Burden: 1375 hours.
    Address: Send comments, within 30 days, to the Office of 
Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, 
725-17th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20503, Attention DOT Desk Officer. 
Comments are invited on: whether the proposed collection of information 
is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the 
Department, including whether the information will have practical 
utility; the accuracy of the Department's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed information collection; ways to enhance the quality, utility 
and clarity of the information to be collected; and ways to minimize 
the burden of the collection of information on respondents, including 
the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of 
information technology.
    A comment to OMB is best assured of having its full effect if OMB 
receives it within 30 days of publication.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on May 21, 1998.
Vanester M. Williams,
Clearance Officer, United States Department of Transportation.
[FR Doc. 98-13982 Filed 5-26-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-62-P