[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 157 (Friday, August 14, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43740-43741]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-21842]


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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 September 17, 1998, 
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 August 28, 1998. Questions may be submitted in advance regarding the 
agency's research and development projects. They must be submitted in 
writing by September 2, 1998, to the address given below. If sufficient 
time is available, questions received after the September 2 date will 
be answered at the meeting during 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 September 2 will be available at the meeting 
and will be mailed to requesters after the meeting.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Tysons Westpark Hotel, 8401 
Westpark Drive, McLean, VA. Suggestions for specific R&D topics as 
described below and questions for the September 17, 1998, 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: In recent years, since April 1993, NHTSA has 
provided detailed information about its research and development 
programs in presentations at a series of public meetings. The purpose 
is to make available more complete and timely information regarding the 
agency's research and development programs. This is the twenty-first 
meeting in that series, and it will be held on September 17, 1998, at 
the Tysons Westpark Hotel, McLean, Virginia.
    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 August 28, 1998. 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 September 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 August 
28, 1998.
    Specific R&D topics are:

Fiscal Year 1999 R&D Research Efforts,
International Harmonized Research Activities (IHRA),

[[Page 43741]]

On-line tracking system for NHTSA's research projects, and
Crash Injury Research and Engineering Network (CIREN).

    Specific Crashworthiness R&D topics are:

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 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 and testing,
Human factors guidelines for crash avoidance warning devices,
Drowsy driver monitoring,
Driver workload assessment,
Rearend collision avoidance system guidelines,
Road departure collision avoidance system guidelines,
Intersection collision avoidance system guidelines,
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 September 2, 
1998, will be answered. The summary minutes of the meeting, copies of 
materials handed out at the meeting, and answers to the questions 
submitted for response at the meeting will be available for public 
inspection in the DOT Docket in Washington, DC, within 3 weeks after 
the meeting. Copies of this material will then be available at ten 
cents a page upon request to DOT Docket, Room PL-401, 400 Seventh 
Street, S.W., Washington, DC 20590. The DOT Docket is open to the 
public from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The summary minutes, handouts, and 
answers to the questions 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 September 4, 1998.

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.
Raymond P. Owings,
Associate Administrator for Research and Development.
[FR Doc. 98-21842 Filed 8-13-98; 8:45 am]
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