[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 122 (Monday, June 25, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33737-33739]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-15813]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-2001-9595]


Motorcycle Safety Improvement Plan

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

ACTION: Request for comments.

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SUMMARY: This document announces the availability of a draft planning 
document that describes the agency's current and planned activities to 
reduce the deaths and injuries associated with motorcycle crashes. 
Since reaching an historic low in the number of motorcyclist fatalities 
in 1997 (2,116), motorcyclist fatalities have increased 27 percent to 
2,680 in 2000. This continued a rising trend in motorcycle deaths that 
is in stark contrast to the general decline witnessed in previous 
years. Consequently, NHTSA concluded that a renewed national effort is 
needed at all levels--federal, state, and community--in order to once 
again begin to reduce the levels of motorcycle crashes, fatalities, and 
injuries in the U.S. New, effective programs would therefore need to be 
undertaken to achieve these outcomes:
     Improved rider and passenger safety;
     Safer motorcycles;
     Improved motorcycle crash data collection and analysis; 
and
     A safer riding environment.
    NHTSA intends to continue to serve as a leader and major partner in 
motorcycle safety. Therefore, this plan has been developed to respond 
to and support the framework of National Agenda for Motorcycle Safety 
(DOT-HS 809 156, November 2000). The plan reflects a coordinated 
agency-wide planning effort that also involved our sister agency, the 
Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), to address roadway and related 
environment safety issues related to improved safety for motorcyclists 
on the nation's roadways. For each of the defined actions, the plan 
provides background information, describes current agency activities, 
and presents proposed activities to achieve the goal of improving 
motorcycle safety. NHTSA seeks public review and comment on this draft 
plan. Comments received will be evaluated and incorporated, as 
appropriate, into the planned agency activities.

DATES: Comments must be received no later than August 9, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons may obtain a copy of the draft plan by

[[Page 33738]]

downloading a copy of the document from the Docket Management System, 
U.S. Department of Transportation, at the address provided below, or 
from NHTSA's website at http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people /injury/
pedbimot/motorcycle. Alternatively, interested persons may obtain a 
copy of the document by contacting the agency officials listed in the 
section titled, For Further Information Contact, immediately below.
    Submit written comments to the Docket Management System, U.S. 
Department of Transportation, PL 401, 400 Seventh Street, SW., 
Washington, DC 20590-0001. Comments should refer to the Docket Number 
(NHTSA-2001-9595) and be submitted in two copies. If you wish to 
receive confirmation of receipt of your written comments, include a 
self-addressed, stamped postcard.
    Comments may also be submitted to the docket electronically by 
logging onto the Docket Management System website at http://dms.dot.gov. Click on ``Help & Information'' to obtain instructions for 
filing the comment electronically. In every case, the comment should 
refer to the docket number.
    The Docket Management System is located on the Plaza level of the 
Nassif Building at the Department of Transportation at the above 
address. You can review public dockets there between the hours of 9 
a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. You 
can also review comments on-line at the DOT Docket Management System 
web site at
http://dms.dot.gov/.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joey Syner, Safety Countermeasures 
Division, Traffic Safety Programs, NTS-15, National Highway Traffic 
Safety Administration, Room 5118, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, 
DC 20590. Telephone: 202-366-1770. Email: [email protected] or 
Delmas Johnson, Office of Strategic and Program Planning, NPP-10, 
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Room 5208, 400 Seventh 
Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590. Telephone: 202-366-1574. Email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Motorcycle safety is a priority for NHTSA 
because motorcycle deaths and injuries are an important and difficult 
challenge in the public health issue of traffic safety. Thus, the 
agency will remain a major participant in improving motorcycle safety. 
The growth in the motorcycle problem calls for new program actions to 
supplement existing initiatives. As mentioned, the motorcyclist 
fatality level increased in recent years, growing by almost 8 percent 
in 2000, following a similar annual increase of 8 percent from 1997 to 
1999. This accounted for an estimated 2,680 motorcyclist deaths in 2000 
(based on preliminary estimates), compared to 2,472 riders killed in 
1999, along with another 50,000 injured.
    Historically, there have in fact been periods of major improvement 
in motorcycle safety since federal laws and programs were first enacted 
about 35 years ago. But upward trends in the recent past sound a 
warning that the effects of earlier improvements are waning. And this 
unfortunate reversal is occurring just as other major safety trends, 
such as traffic deaths for other vehicle types, are for the most part 
showing an encouraging trend downward. In spite of the safety 
community's best efforts, crash data indicate unmistakably that riding 
a motorcycle continues to be a risky endeavor. It is in fact the most 
hazardous means of travel in the United States.
    Efforts by the motorcycle community to improve safety face a 
difficult situation. Although national data show that trends in crashes 
involving motorcycles shift to some degree over time, the big issues 
surrounding motorcycle safety--such as rider protection during crashes, 
the need for good training, and the impairing effects of alcohol--are 
extant from year to year. As a result, motorcycle crashes tend to be 
over-represented in the overall crash picture. In 1999, motorcyclists 
represented less than 2 percent of all registered vehicles in the 
United States and accounted for only 0.4 percent of vehicle miles 
traveled, but crashes involving motorcycles accounted for 6 percent of 
total traffic fatalities on U.S. roadways. The effects of a crash 
involving a motorcycle can often be devastating. NHTSA estimates that 
80 percent of motorcycle crashes continue to result in rider injury or 
death. Agency data show that these high fatality and injury rates 
result from both a higher incidence of crash involvement and as the 
higher risk of injury and death associated with motorcycle crashes.
    The emergence of a broadly-supported National Agenda for Motorcycle 
Safety [DOT HS 809 156, November 2000] represents a significant event 
in the history of motorcycle safety. In 1998, cooperation got underway 
between the Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) and NHTSA, along with 
important motorcycling groups, for the purpose of shaping a national 
safety agenda--the recently released National Agenda for Motorcycle 
Safety [Agenda]. The Agenda serves as a comprehensive, national 
blueprint which all interests can use to promote motorcycle safety. 
Developing this framework involved participation by experts in 
industry, research, safety, training, and rider communities (including 
law enforcement, health care, media, insurance companies). The result 
was a collaborative document that examines components of motorcycle 
safety programs at federal, state and local levels, and offers 
strategies for broad-based support and action.
    The Agenda was a crucial resource in helping to guide development 
of this NHTSA motorcycle safety plan demonstrating the agency's 
commitment to several of the recommendations in the Agenda.

How Do I Prepare and Submit Comments?

    Your comments must be written and in English. To ensure that your 
comments are correctly filed in the Docket, please include the Docket 
number of this document (NHTSA-2001-9595) in your comments.
    Please send two paper copies of your comments to Docket Management 
or submit them electronically. The mailing address is U.S. Department 
of Transportation Docket Management, Room PL-401, 400 Seventh Street, 
SW., Washington, DC 20590. If you submit your comments electronically, 
log onto the Docket Management System website at http://dms.dot.gov and 
click on ``Help & Information'' or ``Help/Info'' to obtain 
instructions.

How Can I Be Sure That My Comments Were Received?

    If you wish Docket Management to notify you upon its receipt of 
your comments, enclose a self-addressed, stamped postcard in the 
envelope containing your comments. Upon receiving your comments, Docket 
Management will return the postcard by mail.

How Do I Submit Confidential Business Information?

    If you wish to submit any information under a claim of 
confidentiality, send three copies of your complete submission, 
including the information you claim to be confidential business 
information, to the Chief Counsel, NCC-01, National Highway Traffic 
Safety Administration, Room 5219, 400 Seventh Street, SW, Washington, 
DC 20590. Include a cover letter supplying the information specified in 
our confidential business information regulation (49 CFR part 512).

[[Page 33739]]

    In addition, send two copies from which you have deleted the 
claimed confidential business information to Docket Management, Room 
PL-401, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590.

Will the Agency Consider Late Comments?

    In our response, we will consider all comments that Docket 
Management receives before the close of business on the comment closing 
date indicated above under DATES. To the extent possible, we will also 
consider comments that Docket Management receives after that date.
    Please note that even after the comment closing date, we will 
continue to file relevant information in the Docket as it becomes 
available. Further, some people may submit late comments. Accordingly, 
we recommend that you periodically check the Docket for new material.

How Can I Read the Comments Submitted by Other People?

    You may read the comments by visiting Docket Management in person 
at Room PL-401, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC from 10 a.m. to 
5 p.m., Monday through Friday.
    You may also see the comments on the Internet by taking the 
following steps:
     Go to the Docket Management System (DMS) Web page of the 
Department of Transportation (http://dms.dot.gov).
     On that page, click on ``search.''
     On the next page ((http://dms.dot.gov/search/) type in the 
four-digit Docket number shown at the beginning of this document 
(9595). Click on ``search.''
     On the next page, which contains Docket summary 
information for the Docket you selected, click on the desired comments. 
You may also download the comments.

    Authority: 49 U.S.C. 30111, 30117, 30168; delegation of 
authority at 49 CFR 1.50 and 501.8.

William H. Walsh,
Associate Administrator for Plans and Policy.
[FR Doc. 01-15813 Filed 6-22-01; 8:45 am]
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