[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 238 (Monday, December 13, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69582-69583]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-32105]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
[U.S. DOT Docket No NHTSA-99-6519]


Reports, Forms, and Record Keeping Requirements

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

ACTION: Request for public comment on proposed collection of 
information.

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SUMMARY: Before a Federal Agency can collect certain information from 
the public, it must receive approval from the Office of Management and 
the Budget (OMB). Under procedures established by the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995, before seeking OMB approval, Federal Agencies 
must solicit public comment on proposed information collections, 
including extensions and reinstatements of previously approved 
collections. This document describes one collection of information for 
which NHTSA intends to seek OMB approval.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before February 11, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Comments must refer to the docket notice number cited at the 
beginning of this notice and be submitted to Docket Management, Room 
PL-401, 400 Seventh Street, SW, Washington, DC 20590. It is requested, 
but not required that two copies of the comment be provided. The Docket 
section is open weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Marvin Levy, Ph.D., Contracting 
Officer's Technical Representative, Office of Research and Traffic 
Records (NTS-31), Washington, DC 20590, telephone (202) 366-5597.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 
before an agency submits a proposed collection of information to OMB 
for approval, it must publish a document in the Federal Register 
providing for a 60-day comment period and otherwise consult with 
affected agencies and members of the public concerning each proposed 
collection of information. The OMB has promulgated regulations 
describing what must be included in such a document. Under OMB's 
regulations (at 5 CFR 1320.8(d)), an agency must ask for public comment 
on the following:
    (i) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for 
the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including 
whether the information will have practical utility;
    (ii) The accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed collection of information, including the validity of the 
methods and assumptions;
    (iii) How to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and
    (iv) How to minimize the burden of the collection of information on 
those who are to respond, including the use of appropriate automated, 
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic 
submission of responses.
    In response to these requirements, NHTSA asks for public comment on 
the following proposed collection of information:
Five State Survey of Alcohol Targets of Opportunity
    Type of Request: New information collection requirement.
    OMB Clearance Number: None.
    Form Number: This collection of information uses no standard forms.
    Requested expiration date of approval: February 28, 2003.

Summary of the Collection of Information

    The Partners in Progress goal is to reduce the number of alcohol 
related fatalities from 15,935, in 1998, to 11,000 by the year 2005. In 
support of this goal, five states were awarded cooperative agreements 
by NHTSA to demonstrate and evaluate the effectiveness of traffic 
safety programs that combine increased law enforcement efforts with 
substantial publicity about these programs. These states were selected 
because of their potential for reducing the substantial

[[Page 69583]]

number or percentage of alcohol related fatalities occurring each year 
within their state.
    The objective of this survey is to determine the extent to which 
these five programs impact the awareness, attitudes, and driving 
behavior of motorists. It is anticipated that changes in enforcement 
levels should be reflected by changes in driver awareness, attitudes 
and behavior. For example, a state that doubles or triples their 
alcohol enforcement activities and provides substantial publicity might 
expect that respondents report a greater degree of awareness of these 
efforts as compared to before the program began. It may be expected 
that respondents would report they came in contact with law enforcement 
more frequently and drive after drinking less often once the program 
began. In addition, the survey will provide information on driver 
awareness and acceptability of specific enforcement techniques being 
used as well as data regarding a new national alcohol media campaign 
called ``You drink and drive, You Lose''. The information to be 
collected by this survey is not available to NHTSA through any other 
source.
    Within each state, the survey will be administered in three waves 
(prior to the intervention effort, at the mid-point, and at the end the 
effort) by telephone to a probability sample of the driving age public 
(aged 16 years or older as of their last birthday). Participation by 
respondents is strictly voluntary. The interview is anticipated to 
average 8-10 minutes in length. Interviewers will use computer assisted 
telephone interviewing to reduce survey administration time and to 
minimize data collection errors. A Spanish-language questionnaire and 
bi-lingual interviewers will be used to reduce language barriers to 
participation. All respondents' results will remain anonymous and 
completely confidential. Participant names and telephone numbers used 
to reach the respondents are separated from the data records prior to 
their entry into the analytical database.

Description of the Need for the Information and Proposed Use of the 
Information

    More than 305,000 persons were reported injured and nearly 16,000 
persons died in alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes during 1998 
(Traffic Safety Facts: 1998, NHTSA-National Center for Statistics and 
Analysis). NHTSA is committed to the development of effective programs 
to reduce the incidence of these crashes. Recently, NHTSA awarded 
cooperative agreements, valued at approximately $1,000,000 each, to 
five states--Pennsylvania, Georgia, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Texas. 
Each state is responsible for implementing the enforcement and 
publicity programs and conducting both process and impact evaluations. 
Data to be collected include number and types of police stops made, and 
changes in alcohol-related violations and crashes. In order to reduce 
the work requirements for each state and to create sets of survey data 
that can be readily compared among the states, a separate award was 
made to a survey firm having expertise in conducting random telephone 
surveys. Thus, the survey data to be collected comprise only one part 
of the entire data set that will be assessed. The entire data set will 
be used to properly plan and evaluate new enforcement programs directed 
at reducing alcohol-impaired driving. States found to have implemented 
effective programs in countering the driving after drinking problem 
will prepare a Best Practices Guide that highlights the major features 
of their programs. These Guides will be disseminated among states that 
want to implement an improved alcohol enforcement program.
    The findings from this proposed data collection will assist NHTSA 
in addressing the problem of alcohol-impaired driving and in 
formulating programs and recommendations to Congress. NHTSA will use 
the findings to help focus current programs and activities to achieve 
the greatest benefit, to develop new programs to decrease the 
likelihood of drinking and driving behaviors, and to provide 
informational support to states, localities, and law enforcement 
agencies that will aid them in their efforts to reduce drinking and 
driving crashes and injuries. It should be noted that during the past 
decade NHTSA has conducted surveys on drinking and driving attitudes 
and behavior but these were from nationally represented samples and not 
related to specific statewide enforcement activities. Also, some survey 
data about an enforcement effort were collected years ago in one of the 
targeted states--Tennessee--but these data cannot be used within the 
context of the present study.

Description of the Likely Respondents (Including Estimated Number, 
and Proposed Frequency of Response to the Collection of 
Information)

    Under this proposed collection, a telephone interview averaging 
approximately 8-10 minutes in length would be administered to each of 
1,000 randomly selected members of the general public age 16 and older, 
in each of the five states in this study, at three different times over 
an 18 month period. A total of 15,000 individuals will be interviewed 
over the course of this study. Interviews would be conducted with 
persons at residential phone numbers selected using random digit 
dialing. No more than one respondent per household would be selected, 
and each sample member would complete just one interview. Businesses 
are ineligible for the sample and would be not be interviewed. After 
each wave is completed and the data analyzed, the findings will be 
disseminated to each state for review.

Estimate of the Total Annual Reporting and Record Keeping Burden 
Resulting From the Collection of Information

    NHTSA estimates that respondents in the sample would require an 
average of 8.5 minutes to complete the telephone interview. Thus, the 
number of estimated reporting burden on the general public would be a 
total of 2,125 hours for all three waves of the proposed survey. The 
respondents would not incur any reporting or record keeping cost from 
the information collection.
Rose A. McMurray,
Associate Administrator, Traffic Safety Programs.
[FR Doc. 99-32105 Filed 12-10-99; 8:45 am]
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