[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 187 (Wednesday, September 26, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Page 49254]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-24101]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-99-6583; Notice 3]


Cancellation of Public Workshop

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

ACTION: Cancellation of public workshop.

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SUMMARY: We are issuing this notice to inform the public of the 
cancellation of the public workshop for the New Car Assessment Program 
(NCAP) on Consumer Braking Information. The workshop, scheduled for 
September 26, 2001, in Washington, DC, will not be held. The agency 
strongly urges all interested parties to submit written comments to the 
subject docket by October 15, 2001. These comments, and any data that 
are submitted, will be used to assist in finalizing plans for a pilot 
program on brake testing of model year 2003 vehicles.

DATES: We are canceling the public workshop scheduled for September 26, 
2001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Jeff Woods, Office of Safety 
Performance Standards, NPS-22, National Highway Traffic Safety 
Administration, 400 Seventh Street SW, Washington, DC 20590. Telephone: 
(202) 366-6206; Fax: (202) 366-4329, email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On July 17, 2001, we published a Federal Register Notice (66 FR 
37253) requesting comments on our consumer braking information program 
for light vehicles that are currently subjected to the NCAP program. We 
also announced a public workshop for September 26, 2001, to discuss 
technical issues of this program. On September 4, 2001, the agency 
published a second notice (66 FR 46305), providing more details of the 
meeting. The purpose of the meeting was to have an open discussion on 
issues including driver variability, test surface variability, and the 
consumer information format, prior to the public preparing their formal 
comments and submitting them to the docket.
    A number of people who had planned to attend the meeting have 
contacted NHTSA to tell us that they cannot travel to Washington at 
this time. Therefore, NHTSA has decided to cancel the public meeting 
scheduled for September 26, 2001. We believe we can have an effective 
public dialogue on this subject using the normal notice and comment 
procedures.
    As stated in our July 17, 2001, Request for Comments notice, the 
comment period will close on October 15, 2001. We will review all of 
the comments regarding technical aspects of our draft test protocol and 
suggestions for methods of reporting braking information to consumers, 
and consider what additional research or testing may be appropriate in 
the near term to address any concerns that are raised. We do not have 
plans to reschedule the public meeting at this time, but will consider 
the need to do so once we have reviewed the comments that are 
submitted. We anticipate that future Federal Register notices and 
submissions to the docket will keep the public informed of our progress 
on this program, such as finalizing the test protocol and the format 
for such consumer information.

Availability of Relevant Documents

    The July 17, 2001, Request for Comments notice for the NCAP Braking 
program has been placed in the docket. To obtain that notice, you may 
either visit the docket in Washington, DC, or query the Department of 
Transportation docket website.
    The docket is located at Room PL-401, 400 Seventh Street, SW, 
Washington, DC. Docket hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through 
Friday. The Docket Management System website is http://dms.dot.gov/. 
You should search for Docket No. 6583.

Written Comments

    We urge all interested parties to provide written comments on this 
program, especially those that will help to improve the quality of the 
program. Please submit them by the comment closing date of October 15, 
2001. Comments must refer to the Docket and Notice numbers cited at the 
beginning of this notice and be submitted to: Docket Management, Room 
PL-401, 400 Seventh Street, SW, Washington, D.C. 20590. The Docket 
Section is open on weekdays from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Alternatively, you 
may submit your comments electronically by logging onto the Docket 
Management System website at http://dms.dot.gov. Click on ``Help & 
Information'' or ``Help/Info'' to view instructions for filing your 
comments electronically. Regardless of how you submit your comments, 
you should mention the docket number (6583) of this program.

    Issued on: September 21, 2001.
Noble N. Bowie,
Acting Associate Administrator for Safety Performance Standards.
[FR Doc. 01-24101 Filed 9-25-01; 8:45 am]
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