[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 11 (Wednesday, January 16, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2180-2181]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-1035]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE


Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

    DOC has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for 
clearance the following proposal for collection of information under 
the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. chapter 35).
    Agency: U.S. Census Bureau.
    Title: 2002 Vehicle Inventory and Use Survey (VIUS).
    Form Number(s): TC-9501, TC-9502.
    Agency Approval Number: None.
    Type of Request: New collection.
    Burden: 85,170.
    Number of Respondents: 135,300.
    Avg Hours Per Response: 38 minutes.
    Needs and Uses: The Census Bureau requests clearance of the forms 
it will use to conduct the 2002 Vehicle Inventory and Use Survey (VIUS) 
as part of the 2002 Economic Census. The 2002 VIUS will collect data to 
measure the physical and operational characteristics of trucks from a 
sample of approximately 135,300 trucks. These trucks are selected from 
more than 76 million private and commercial trucks registered on file 
with motor vehicle departments in the 50 states and the District of 
Columbia. The Census Bureau will collect the data for the sampled 
trucks from a questionnaire mailed to truck owners. We will publish 
physical and operational vehicular characteristics estimates for each 
state, the District of Columbia, and the United States.
    The VIUS is the only comprehensive source of information on the 
physical and operational characteristics of the Nation's truck 
population. The need for truck industry data continues to be 
increasingly important with the passage of the Motor Carrier Act of 
1980, the Clean Air Act amendments of 1990, and the Hours-of-Service 
Regulations proposal of 2000. The VIUS provides unique, essential 
information for government, business, and academia. The U.S. Department 
of Transportation, State Departments of Transportation, and 
transportation consultants compliment VIUS microdata as extremely 
useful and flexible to meet constantly changing requests that cannot be 
met with predetermined tabular publications. The microdata file enables 
them to cross-tabulate data to meet their needs. Federal, state, and 
local transportation agencies use information from the VIUS for the 
analysis of safety issues, proposed investments in new roads and 
technology, truck size and weight issues, user fees, cost allocation, 
energy and environmental constraints, hazardous materials transport, 
and other aspects of the Federal-aid highway program. The Federal 
government uses information from the VIUS as an important part of the 
framework for: (1) The national investment and personal consumption 
expenditures component

[[Page 2181]]

of the gross domestic product (GDP), (2) input-output tables, (3) 
economic development evaluation, (4) maintenance of vital statistics 
for prediction of future economic and transportation trends, (5) 
logistical requirements, (6) Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) 
transportation development requirements, and (7) regulatory impact 
analysis. Business and academia use information from the VIUS to assess 
intermodal use, conduct market studies and evaluate market strategies, 
assess the utility and cost of certain types of equipment, and 
calculate the longevity of products. VIUS information also is used to 
determine fuel demands and needs for fuel efficiency, to produce trade 
publication articles and special data arrays, and to assess the effects 
of deregulation on the restructuring of the transportation industries.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households; Businesses or other for 
profit; Not-for-profit institutions; Farms.
    Frequency: One time.
    Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
    Legal Authority: Title 13 U.S.C., section 131.
    OMB Desk Officer: Susan Schechter, (202) 395-5103.
    Copies of the above information collection proposal can be obtained 
by calling or writing Madeleine Clayton, Departmental Paperwork 
Clearance Officer, (202) 482-3129, Department of Commerce, room 6086, 
14th and Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230 (or via the 
Internet at [email protected]).
    Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information 
collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice 
to Susan Schechter, OMB Desk Officer, room 10201, New Executive Office 
Building, Washington, DC 20503.

    Dated: January 10, 2002.
Madeleine Clayton,
Departmental Paperwork Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief 
Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 02-1035 Filed 1-15-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P