[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 129 (Thursday, July 5, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35500-35503]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-16763]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration


Discretionary Cooperative Agreements To Support Rural Pickup 
Truck Safety Initiative

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

ACTION: Announcement of discretionary cooperative agreements to 
increase seat belt and child safety seat education and use among pickup 
truck occupants in rural areas.

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SUMMARY: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) 
announces a cooperative agreement program to provide funding to two 
communities in support of the Buckle Up America (BUA) campaign. Created 
in 1997, two major goals exist for this campaign: (1) To increase the 
national seat belt use rate from 71 percent (November 2000) to 90 
percent by 2005 and (2) to decrease the number of child passenger 
fatalities (0-4 years of age) by 25 percent by 2005 (using 653 
fatalities in 1996 as a baseline). NHTSA solicits applications from 
rural community-based organizations or coalitions interested in 
developing and implementing a community demonstration project 
characterized by a public information and education program coupled 
with highly visible law enforcement efforts designed to increase seat 
belt and child restraint use among pickup truck occupants in rural 
areas. Rural organizations or rural community-based coalitions that 
promote injury prevention and safety programs are encouraged to apply. 
For the purposes of this notice, the word community can be interpreted 
to mean a single community, a county, or a specific geographic area 
that meets the population criteria specified in this notice.

DATES: Applications must be received by the office designated below on 
or before 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, August 9, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Applications must be submitted to the National Highway 
Traffic Safety Administration, Office of Contracts and Procurement 
(NAD-30), ATTN: Rose Watson, 400 7th Street, S.W.. Room 5301, 
Washington, DC 20590. All applications submitted must include a 
reference to NHTSA Cooperative Agreement Program No. DTNH22-01-H-05266.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: General administrative questions may 
be directed to Rose Watson, Office of Contracts and Procurement, by e-
mail at [email protected], or by telephone at (202) 366-9557. 
Programmatic questions should be directed to Mr. Edward Pacchetti, 
Occupant Protection Division (NTS-12), NHTSA, 400 7th Street, S.W., 
Room 5118, Washington, D.C., 20590, by e-mail at 
[email protected], or by phone at (202) 366-5198. Interested 
applicants are advised that no separate application package exists 
beyond the contents of this announcement.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Motor vehicle crashes are the single leading cause of death for 
Americans 1-24 years of age and the third leading cause of death for 
Americans 25-44 years of age. In 1999, traffic crashes claimed over 
41,000 lives and produced over three million injuries. These crashes 
resulted in approximately $150 billion in economic costs, including $17 
billion in medical care and emergency services expenses and $107 
billion in lost productivity and property loss. In April 1997, the 
Buckle Up America (BUA) Campaign was established to increase the seat 
belt and child safety seat use rate nationwide. The BUA Campaign 
advocates a four-part strategy: (1) Building public-private 
partnerships; (2) enacting strong legislation; (3) maintaining high 
visibility enforcement; and (4) conducting effective public education. 
Central to the campaign's success is the implementation of two major 
law enforcement mobilizations each year. These mobilizations, known as 
Operation ABC: America Buckles Up Children, are held in conjunction 
with the Air Bag & Seat Belt Safety Campaign in May and November, 
during the Memorial Day and Thanksgiving Day holidays.
    According to NHTSA data, there were 6,125 fatalities among pickup 
truck occupants in 1999. One major reason for this high number of 
fatalities is the relative lack of seat belt and child restraint use 
among pickup truck occupants. Research has shown that seat belts reduce 
the risk of fatal injury by 60 percent for light truck occupants; this 
effectiveness increases to 80 percent in rollover crashes of these 
vehicles. Despite this evidence showing seat belt effectiveness, pickup 
truck occupants continue to have significantly lower rates of use than 
occupants of other vehicle types. The national seat belt use rate among 
pickup truck occupants in November 2000 was only 59 percent, compared 
to 74 percent for passenger car occupants. The rate of seat belt use 
among pickup truck occupants varies significantly among geographical 
regions: 68 percent in the West, 58 percent in the Midwest, 56 percent 
in the South, and 45 percent in the Northeast. Nationwide, 69 percent 
of light truck occupants killed in 1999 were unrestrained, compared to 
51 percent of passenger car occupants who were killed during that same 
year while unrestrained. NHTSA data further reveal that 41 percent of 
light truck occupants killed in 1999 were ejected from their vehicles, 
compared to 21 percent of passenger car occupants killed in 1999.
    For the purposes of the two demonstration projects to be awarded, 
NHTSA is focusing on initiatives to increase seat belt use among pickup 
truck occupants in rural communities. Sixty-one percent of traffic 
fatalities (25,453 of 41,611 total fatalities) occurred on rural 
roadways in 1999. A 1996 NHTSA report showed that a larger proportion 
of fatal crashes in rural areas involve light trucks compared to fatal 
crashes in urban areas (21 percent and 14 percent, respectively). 
Another NHTSA report referencing State data recounted that young, rural 
male pickup drivers in Kentucky and Texas consistently had low rates of 
seat belt use. This latter report suggested that there were numerous 
obstacles to overcome when conducting outreach to this population. Such 
obstacles included the false belief that being unbelted in a crash is 
actually safer than being belted, social norms that discourage belt 
use, and a fatalistic view of life that questions the effectiveness of 
seat belts. Another problem that has

[[Page 35501]]

been identified among pickup truck occupants is the practice of riding 
in the cargo areas of these vehicles. Each year, almost 200 people die 
as a result; approximately half of those who die are children and 
teenagers. These data underscore the importance of program activity 
designed to increase seat belt and child restraint seat use among 
pickup truck occupants in rural areas.

Objectives

    The principal purpose of this cooperative agreement program is to 
increase seat belt and child restraint use among pickup truck occupants 
in rural communities. Cooperative Agreements will be awarded in two 
geographically separate communities for this purpose. Each project will 
consist of a two-part strategy of public information and education 
supported by a highly visible law enforcement component. The objective 
of increasing restraint use and decreasing fatalities and injuries of 
pickup truck occupants will be met by:
    1. Developing and Implementing a Community-Wide Public Information 
and Education Campaign. The cooperative agreement recipient will be 
expected to coordinate an intense, community-wide public information 
and education campaign that focuses on the effectiveness of seat belts 
and child safety seats in preventing deaths and injuries in motor 
vehicle crashes. This campaign should convey the importance of being 
properly restrained whenever riding in any vehicle, but the need for 
pickup truck occupants to be properly restrained at all times shall be 
given special emphasis due to the low seat belt use rate of these 
occupants compared to occupants of other vehicle types. This campaign 
will utilize culturally relevant messages for rural pickup truck 
occupants that encourage seat belt and child safety seat use on every 
trip. The dangers of allowing passengers to ride in pickup truck cargo 
areas should also be highlighted. Most importantly, the public 
information and education campaign will convey the message that seat 
belt use and child restraint laws in the community are enforced. The 
recipient will be expected to form partnerships with representatives in 
educational, judicial, law enforcement, public health, and media 
agencies and organizations within the community to disseminate these 
campaign messages. Additional partnerships with local emergency medical 
services and local business communities should also be developed. 
Partnerships should also be developed with organizations representing 
diverse populations within the community. Such agencies and 
organizations can then work within their respective professional areas 
to provide education and generate support for the campaign.
    2. Periodic ``Waves'' of High Visibility Enforcement. In addition 
to the community-based public information and education campaign 
described above, a plan that emphasizes periodic waves of high 
visibility enforcement of seat belt and child restraint laws will be 
developed. To forge such a plan, this cooperative demonstration project 
should seek assistance from the Governor's SHSA representative, State 
police, and local law enforcement officials in the demonstration 
community. It is important to emphasize that during the law enforcement 
component of the project, law enforcement activities shall focus on 
increasing restraint use equally among occupants of all vehicle types, 
not solely among pickup truck occupants. Enforcement activities shall 
include, but not be limited to, participation in the national Operation 
ABC Mobilizations held each May and November.
    The case for conducting high visibility enforcement of seat belt 
and child restraint laws is well documented. An example of the combined 
approach of law enforcement and media saturation is South Carolina's 
Click It or Ticket Campaign, initiated in November 2000. During a 14-
day period, over 200 law enforcement agencies participated in a 
monumental enforcement effort that was coupled with frequent media 
messages. Ninety-five percent of motorists surveyed reporting reading, 
seeing, or hearing Click It or Ticket messages by the final week of the 
campaign. As a result, seat belt use increased significantly--from 66 
percent to 74 percent. Seat belt use among males, a key pickup truck 
driver population, increased from 59 percent to 68 percent. This 
increase in seat belt use contributed to a 30 percent reduction in 
fatalities in South Carolina compared to the same period during 1999. 
On the community level, an example of a successful initiative using 
media saturation and enforcement strategies to increase seat belt use 
occurred in Elmira, New York. During an intense media and enforcement 
campaign in October 1999, the seat belt use rate increased from 63 
percent to 90 percent in three weeks. A report documenting Elmira's 
success can be accessed at http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/outreach/traftech/tt246.htm.

NHTSA Involvement

    NHTSA will be involved in all activities undertaken as part of the 
cooperative agreement program and will:
    1. Provide a Contracting Officer's Technical Representative (COTR) 
to participate in the planning and administration of the cooperative 
agreements and to coordinate activities between the cooperative 
agreement recipients and NHTSA;
    2. Provide information and technical assistance from government 
sources, within available resources and as determined appropriate by 
the COTR; and
    3. Act as a liaison between the cooperative agreement recipients 
and with other government and private agencies as appropriate.

Availability of Funds and Period of Support

    It is anticipated that two cooperative agreements, in the amount of 
$175,000 each, will be awarded to provide for a performance period of 
15 months. The application should address what is proposed and can be 
accomplished during this period which includes evaluation and 
preparation of the final report. NHTSA estimates that the award of the 
two cooperative agreements will occur by September 30, 2001.
    Federal monies allocated for cooperative agreements are not 
intended to cover all of the costs that will be incurred in the process 
of completing a demonstration project. Therefore, applicants should 
describe their commitment of financial and/or in-kind resources that 
will be used to complete their proposed demonstration project. 
Allowable uses of federal funds shall be governed by the applicable 
federal cost principles.

Eligibility Requirements

    To be eligible to participate in this cooperative agreement 
program, an applicant must be an agency or organization serving a rural 
area that is poised to conduct a community-wide public information and 
education campaign and to participate in or coordinate law enforcement 
mobilizations designed to increase seat belt and child restraint use. 
Community-based coalitions or organizations that promote injury 
prevention, especially traffic safety may apply. Such rural community 
coalitions/organizations include, but are not limited to: law 
enforcement agencies, public health and safety organizations, education 
organizations, media groups, organizations representing diverse 
populations, local private-sector organizations, and non-profit 
organizations. Applicants must represent a rural demonstration

[[Page 35502]]

community with a population of at least 75,000 but not exceeding 
150,000 based upon Census 2000 data of the U.S. Census Bureau. Also, 
the community should not be closer than 100 miles to a major 
metropolitan area, which is defined as a city of more than 250,000 
people.

Application Procedure

    Each applicant must submit one original and two copies of their 
application package to: NHTSA, Office of Contracts and Procurement 
(NAD-30), ATTN: Rose Watson, 400 7th Street, S.W., Room 5301, 
Washington, D.C. 20590. Submission of four additional copies will 
expedite processing, but is not required. Applications must be typed on 
one side of the page only. Applications must include a reference to 
NHTSA Cooperative Agreement Program No. DTNH22-01-H-05266. Only 
complete application packages received by 2 p.m. on Thursday, August 9, 
2001 will be considered.

Application Contents

    1. The application package must be submitted with OMB Standard Form 
424 (Rev. 7-97), Application for Federal Assistance, including 424A, 
Budget Information-Nonconstruction Program, and 424B Assurances-
Nonconstruction Programs, with the required information filled in and 
the certified assurances included. The OMB Standard Forms SF-424, SF-
424A and SF424B may be downloaded directly from the OMB Internet 
website at http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/grants/. While the Form 424-A 
deals with budget information, and Section B identifies Budget 
Categories, the available space does not permit a level of detail which 
is sufficient to provide for a meaningful evaluation of the proposed 
costs. A supplemental sheet should be provided which presents a 
detailed breakdown of the proposed costs (direct labor, including labor 
categories, level of effort and rate; direct material, including 
itemized equipment; travel and transportation, including projected 
trips and number of people traveling; subcontracts/subgrants with 
similar cost detail, if known; and overhead costs), as well as any 
resources which the applicant and/or other coalition participant 
proposes to contribute in support of this effort.
    2. The application package must also include a program narrative 
statement which does not exceed 20 pages, excluding letters of 
endorsement and resumes, and which addresses the following:
    a. A description of the rural demonstration community which 
includes demographic information and a description of law enforcement 
agencies that have traffic enforcement jurisdiction in the community. 
The proportion of pickup trucks in the demonstration community in 
relation to other vehicle types (passenger cars, minivans and SUVs) in 
that community should be provided based on data regarding the number of 
registered vehicles in the community.
    b. A detailed explanation of the proposed plan to develop and 
conduct a community-wide public information and education campaign 
regarding the extreme importance of seat belt and child safety seat use 
among occupants of all vehicle types, but especially among pickup truck 
occupants. The plan shall identify strategies for participation in 
Operation ABC Mobilizations and plans to conduct waves of highly 
publicized seat belt and child passenger safety enforcement. A 
description of efforts to address training needs (i.e., differential 
enforcement or diversity sensitivity) should be included; such 
knowledge would help law enforcement officers in partnering with the 
community when the demonstration project is underway. This section 
shall include a list of project activities in chronological order to 
show the schedule or planned accomplishments and their target dates. 
The applicant shall identify the various participating community 
agencies/organizations and their involvement in the demonstration 
project. Letters of support from participating community partners shall 
be included. Documentation of existing public and/or political support 
must be included (e.g., endorsement of applicable law enforcement 
agencies, community health organizations, Mayor or other chief 
executive officer, etc.). In addition, a letter demonstrating support 
and coordination with State plans must be provided by the Governor's 
Representative or his/her designee in the State Highway Safety Agency 
(SHSA).
    c. An evaluation section which describes how the recipient will 
evaluate and measure the project activities and outcomes. Increases in 
observed seat belt and child safety seat use among pickup truck 
occupants are the ultimate measures of success. However, evaluation of 
the specific elements of the public education and information component 
and law enforcement component of the program should be performed to 
provide an assessment of the program's effectiveness.
    (1) Data for measuring the activities and effectiveness of the 
public information and education campaign include, but are not limited 
to: (i) Level of earned media coverage; (ii) level of paid media 
coverage, and (iii) results of pre- and post-program surveys (on-site 
or telephonic) regarding awareness of occupant restraint issues, 
especially those for pickup truck occupants. Data sources should be 
identified and collection and analysis approaches should be described. 
Sample data collection forms and instructions (in-person, telephone, 
and seat belt observation survey forms) are available from NHTSA that 
can be customized by the recipient. A booklet entitled Achieving a High 
Seat Belt Use Rate: A Guide for Selective Traffic Enforcement Programs 
is available at http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/research/index.html.
    (2) Data for measuring the activities and effectiveness of law 
enforcement efforts include, but are not limited to: (i) The number of 
seat belt and child safety seat citations issued; (ii) the number of 
officer hours or special enforcement efforts during the mobilization or 
enforcement periods, DWI arrests, and other non-traffic related crimes; 
(iii) increases in the number of law enforcement personnel trained to 
enforce occupant protection laws; (iv) community participation in 
Operation ABC Mobilizations; (v) increased perception of ongoing 
enforcement and public education activities (may be obtained from the 
on-site or telephone surveys conducted to measure effectiveness of the 
public information and education campaign in the preceding paragraph); 
(vi) incentive programs to complement enforcement efforts, and (vii) 
pre- and post-program observational seat belt surveys. Data sources 
should be identified and collection and analysis approaches should be 
described.
    d. A detailed description of the applicant's previous involvement 
in community-based coalitions to promote injury prevention and 
especially traffic safety in the past and how this experience will 
assist the applicant in the demonstration project. The applicant should 
describe any prior media campaigns and/or work with media professionals 
in conducting public outreach, as well as any past participation in 
highly publicized enforcement or participation in Operation ABC 
Mobilizations. Prior experience in working with educational, judicial, 
law enforcement, and public health and safety organizations within the 
demonstration community should be described, as well as partnerships 
with organizations representing diverse populations within the 
community.

[[Page 35503]]

    e. A personnel section which identifies the proposed project 
coordinator and other key personnel necessary to perform the public 
information campaign, enforcement activities and evaluation component 
shall be provided. This section shall include a description of their 
qualifications, the nature of their contribution, their respective 
organizational responsibilities, and the proposed level of their 
effort.

Review Process and Criteria

    Initially, each application will be reviewed to confirm that the 
applicant meets the eligibility requirements and that the application 
contains all of the information required by the Application Contents 
section of this notice. Each complete application from an eligible 
applicant will then be evaluated by a NHTSA Technical Evaluation 
Committee. The applications will be evaluated using the following 
criteria:
    1. Project Plan: The overall soundness and feasibility of the rural 
demonstration community project plan and the potential effectiveness of 
the described public information and education campaign and highly 
visible law enforcement activities to increase seat belt and child 
safety seat use among occupants of pickup trucks (50 percent).
    2. The applicant's planned partnerships with other community 
agencies/organizations promotes the requisite participation among those 
groups considered necessary to conduct an effective community 
demonstration project. In addition, the applicant's prior successful 
experience with community-based coalitions demonstrates the necessary 
organizational skills to effectively coordinate the proposed project 
(30 percent).
    3. The proposed personnel resources demonstrate effective project 
coordination capability and the requisite breadth of expertise to 
successfully perform the described activities that will result in 
increasing seat belt and child safety seat use among occupants of 
pickup trucks (20 percent).

Terms and Conditions of Award

    1. Prior to award, the recipients must comply with the 
certification requirements of 49 CFR part 20, Department of 
Transportation New Restriction on Lobbying, and 49 CFR Part 29, 
Department of Transportation Government-wide Debarment and Suspension 
(Nonprocurement) and Government-wide Requirements for Drug-Free 
Workplace (Grants).
    2. During the effective period of the cooperative agreements 
awarded as a result of this Notice, the agreements shall be subject to 
NHTSA's General Provisions for Assistance Agreements (7/95).
    3. Reporting Requirements and Deliverables:
    a. Quarterly Reports, which shall be due 15 days after the end of 
each quarter, shall be submitted to document project efforts and 
results. The reports should include up-to-date information summarizing 
accomplishments during the quarter including: data gathered to-date 
(such as earned and paid media events, observation and awareness 
surveys, and enforcement data); obstacles or problems encountered and 
proposed solutions; noteworthy activities, events or successes; and 
funds and in-kind contributions expended to date. The quarterly reports 
will form the basis for the final report to disseminate the lessons 
learned and successes of the recipient. The COTR will approve invoices 
upon receipt of each quarterly report.
    b. Draft Final Report: The recipient shall prepare a draft Final 
Report that includes a complete description of the overall project 
implementation, including a project time-line; the activities 
conducted, including partners; data collection efforts; evaluation 
methodology; and findings from the program evaluation. In terms of 
information transfer, it is important to know what worked and what did 
not work, under what circumstances, and what can be done to avoid 
potential problems in future projects. The report should provide 
information that will be helpful in assembling a ``Best Practices'' 
guide for use by other communities. The grantee shall submit the draft 
Final Report to the COTR 60 days prior to the end of the performance 
period. The COTR will review the draft report and provide comments to 
the grantee within 30 days of receipt of the document.
    c. Final Report: The grantee shall revise the draft Final Report to 
reflect the COTR's comments. The revised final report shall be 
delivered to the COTR 15 days before the end of the performance period. 
For the final report, the Grantee shall supply the COTR:

--A camera ready version of the document as printed.
--A copy, on appropriate media (diskette, Syquest disk, etc.), of the 
document in the original program format that was used for the printing 
process.

    Note: Some documents require several different original program 
languages (e.g., PageMaker was the program format for the general 
layout and design and Power Point was used for charts and yet 
another was used for photographs, etc.). Each of these component 
parts should be available on disk, properly labeled with the program 
format and the file names. For example, Power Point files should be 
clearly identified by both a descriptive name and file name (e.g., 
1994 Fatalities--chart1.ppt).

--A complete version of the assembled document in portable document 
format (PDF) for placement of the report on the world wide web (WWW). 
This will be a file usually created with the Adobe Exchange program of 
the complete assembled document in the PDF format that will actually be 
placed on the WWW. The document would be completely assembled with all 
colors, charts, side bars, photographs, and graphics. This can be 
delivered to NHTSA on a standard 1.44 diskette (for small documents) or 
on any appropriate archival media (for large documents) such as a CD 
ROM, TR-1 Mini cartridge, Syquest disk, etc.

--Four additional hard copies of the final document.

    d. The recipients may be requested to conduct an oral presentation 
of their respective project activities for the COTR and other 
interested NHTSA personnel. For planning purposes, assume that these 
presentations will be conducted at the NHTSA Office of Traffic and 
Injury Control Programs, Washington, DC. An original and three copies 
of briefing materials shall be submitted to the COTR.

    Issued on: June 28, 2001.
Rose A. McMurray,
Associate Administrator for Traffic Safety Programs.
[FR Doc. 01-16763 Filed 7-3-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P