[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 122 (Tuesday, June 25, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42843-42846]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-15904]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA 2001-8677; Notice 2]


Reports, Forms, and Recordkeeping 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 
Budget (OMB). Under procedures established by the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995, before seeking OMB approval, Federal agencies must solicit 
public comment on the proposed collection of information.
    This document describes a proposed collection of information under 
the ``early warning reporting'' provisions of the Transportation Recall 
Enhancement, Accountability, and Documentation (TREAD) Act and related 
recordkeeping provisions, for which NHTSA intends to seek OMB approval.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before August 26, 2002.

ADDRESSES: Comments must refer to the docket and notice numbers cited 
at the

[[Page 42844]]

beginning of this notice and be submitted to Docket Management, Room 
PL-401, 400 Seventh Street SW., Washington, DC 20590. The Docket is 
open on weekdays from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. George Person, Office of Defects 
Investigation, NHTSA, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Room 5326, Washington, 
DC 20590. Mr. Person's telephone number is (202) 366-5210.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 
(PRA), before an agency submits a proposed collection of information to 
OMB for approval, it must publish a document in the Federal Register 
providing a 60-day comment period and otherwise consult with members of 
the public and affected agencies 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 
methodology 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.
    On December 21, 2001, NHTSA published a Notice of Proposed 
Rulemaking (NPRM) (66 FR 66190) in which it proposed to implement 
section 3(b) of the TREAD Act by requiring manufacturers of motor 
vehicles and motor vehicle equipment to submit certain information to 
aid NHTSA in promptly identifying possible safety-related defects. 
NHTSA is currently reviewing and analyzing the comments submitted in 
response to the NPRM and is developing its final rule, which may 
include revised requirements.
    In compliance with PRA requirements, NHTSA is asking for public 
comment on the collections of information proposed in the NPRM, 
including proposed recordkeeping provisions. If the final rule is 
issued before the end of the 60-day comment period for this notice, it 
would be helpful if the comments in response to this notice addressed 
the requirements adopted in the final rule.

Reporting of Information and Documents About Potential Defects; 
Retention of Records That Could Indicate Defects

    Type of Request--New Collection.
    OMB Clearance Number--None.
    Requested Expiration Date of Approval--Three years from effective 
date of final rule.
    Summary of Collection of Information--Section 3(b) of the TREAD 
Act, codified at 49 U.S.C. 30166(m), provides for NHTSA to adopt rules 
that will require manufacturers of motor vehicles and motor vehicle 
equipment to submit certain information to NHTSA, including information 
about claims and notices about deaths and serious injuries, property 
damage data, communications to customers and others, and information on 
incidents resulting in fatalities or serious injuries from possible 
defects in vehicles or equipment in the United States or in identical 
or substantially similar vehicles or equipment in foreign countries. 
The statute also authorizes NHTSA to require the submission of other 
data that may assist in the identification of safety-related defects in 
vehicles and equipment. The agency issued an NPRM on December 21, 2001 
(66 FR 66190) in which it proposed reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements to implement this section of the statute.
    Description of the Need for the Information and Proposed Use of the 
Information--The intent of the legislation is to provide NHTSA with 
``early warning'' of potential safety-related defects in motor vehicles 
and motor vehicle equipment. NHTSA will rely on the information 
provided under this rule (as well as other relevant information) in 
deciding whether to open defect investigations.
    Description of the Likely Respondents (Including Estimated Number 
and Proposed Frequency of Responses to the Collection of Information)--
All manufacturers of motor vehicles and motor vehicle equipment would 
be required to comply with quarterly reporting requirements. As 
discussed in detail in the NPRM, larger manufacturers of vehicles 
(those that produce, import, or sell 500 or more units annually in the 
United States), and all manufacturers of child restraint systems and 
tires, would be required to provide information about incidents 
identified in claims and notices involving deaths (and injuries in the 
United States). They would also have to report the number of property 
damage claims, consumer complaints, warranty claims, and field reports 
that address certain specified systems and components of their 
products. We estimate that 87 manufacturers fall within this group of 
relatively large manufacturers.
    All other motor vehicle and motor vehicle equipment manufacturers 
would only have to report information about incidents identified in 
claims and notices involving deaths. We estimate that 23,500 
manufacturers would fall within this group of smaller vehicle 
manufacturers and equipment manufacturers (other than tire or child 
restraint manufacturers).
    All manufacturers (in both categories) would be required to submit 
copies of all documents sent or made available to more than one dealer, 
distributor, or owner in the United States with respect to consumer 
advisories, recalls, or activities involving the repair or replacement 
of vehicles or equipment. However, almost all of these documents must 
already be submitted to NHTSA under an existing regulation. See 49 CFR 
573.8, which implements 49 U.S.C. 30166(f).

Estimate of the Total Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping Burden of the 
Collection of Information in the NPRM

    The first group of approximately 87 manufacturers with relatively 
extensive quarterly reporting requirements would consist of 16 light 
vehicle manufacturers, 12 medium and heavy vehicle manufacturers, 19 
bus manufacturers, 8 trailer manufacturers, 12 motorcycle 
manufacturers, 10 tire manufacturers, and 10 child restraint system 
manufacturers.
    The second group of approximately 23,500 manufacturers would 
rarely, if ever, have to report information to the agency. This group 
includes manufacturers of motor vehicles that sold fewer than 500 
vehicles in the United States, manufacturers of original motor vehicle 
equipment, and manufacturers of replacement motor vehicle equipment 
other than child restraint systems or tires. This second group would be 
only required to report information in the rare event that they 
received a claim or notice about an incident involving a death alleging 
or proving that the death was caused by a possible defect in the 
manufacturer's product. We estimated only 8 such incidents would need 
to be reported per year from that entire group.

[[Page 42845]]

    NHTSA estimated the annual hours of burden under the NPRM proposals 
to be 957,004 hours in the first year and 18,041 hours in the second 
and third years. The first-year total consists of 938,963 first year 
start-up hours plus 18,041 first year reporting hours. Of the 938,963 
hours, 596,760 hours are associated with computer start-up activities 
and 342,203 hours are to provide the historical data. The average 
burden over the first three years would be 331,030 hours.
    In late 2001, NHTSA made some preliminary estimates of the burdens 
associated with the NPRM proposals. These were discussed in the 
preamble to the NPRM and in a Preliminary Regulatory Evaluation (PRE), 
which was issued at the same time and was available to the public. 
Several interested persons commented on those estimates in their 
comments on the NPRM. In addition, the Alliance of Automobile 
Manufacturers (Alliance), which represents most of the large light 
vehicle manufacturers, submitted supplemental estimates of the costs 
and burden hours associated with the NPRM requirements. The estimates 
in this notice have taken these comments into account.
    The hours of burden were estimated based on three primary factors. 
First, NHTSA considered the specific burden hour estimates associated 
with the various NPRM requirements that were provided by the Alliance 
and modified them where appropriate. Second, based on the average 
number of vehicles involved in recalls in 1996-2001, and a comparison 
of the number of recalled vehicles by the Alliance members with non-
Alliance manufacturers, we extrapolated the Alliance-based numbers to 
estimate the number of documents that the non-Alliance manufacturers 
would have to report on each year. Third, the agency estimated the 
number of minutes per document that the manufacturers would spend 
determining what category a particular item belonged in and entering 
that data into their data systems. The agency assumed 5 minutes per 
document, except for foreign reports on deaths, which were assumed to 
take 15 minutes per document. Burden hours were determined by 
multiplying the minutes per document times the number of documents.
    The total burden varied by manufacturer depending upon the number 
of documents that would have to be reviewed. Because the second group 
of manufacturers would be reporting so infrequently, we assumed that 
the report of each incident would be prepared manually, and that it 
would take four hours to determine what was required and to prepare the 
report. Thus, we estimated that the second group of manufacturers would 
spend 32 burden hours per year to report information on 8 incidents per 
year.

Estimate of the Total Annual Costs of the Collection of Information in 
the NPRM

    The annual costs associated with the NPRM are estimated to be 
$88,580,141 in the first year and $1,721,877 in the second and third 
years. The average cost over the first three years would be 
$30,674,631. In the first year, start-up costs (including reprogramming 
computers) are estimated to be $65,300,000, the costs to report on 
historical information are estimated to be $21,558,264, and the costs 
to report on information for the first year are estimated to be 
$1,721,877.
    The costs were estimated based on the factors discussed in the 
prior section, using estimates for the wage rates per hour for the 
skill levels for each type of activity that would be required. Wage 
rates, including overhead, were provided by the Alliance in a docket 
submission.
    The total cost varied by manufacturer depending upon the number of 
documents that must be reviewed. Based on the assumptions described 
above, we estimated that the second group of manufacturers would spend 
$3,642 per year to report information on 8 incidents per year.

Summary Tables for Burdens and Costs Under the Requirements Proposed in 
the NPRM

    The following tables show the burden hours and costs under the NPRM 
proposals by type of manufacturer. First year start-up burden/costs 
include computer start-up costs as well as the costs of gathering and 
reporting historical information. Total first year burden/costs can be 
calculated by adding the start-up burden/costs and the annual burden/
costs.

                                      Estimated Burden Hours Under the NPRM
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                                                                                                   Average  for
                                    First year      First year      Second year     Third year     the  first 3
                                     start-up                                                          years
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Light Vehicles..................         441,251          10,463          10,463          10,463         157,547
Medium/Heavy Vehicles...........         254,432           1,440           1,440           1,440          86,251
Buses...........................          69,981           1,830           1,830           1,830          25,157
Trailers........................           7,520             715             715             715           3,222
Motorcycles.....................          59,153           1,261           1,261           1,261          20,979
Tires...........................          52,186           1,189           1,189           1,189          18,584
Child Restraints................          54,440           1,111           1,111           1,111          19,258
Equipment Manufacturers.........               0              20              20              20              20
Manufacturers with under 500                   0              12              12              12              12
 vehicle sales per year.........
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    Total.......................         938,963          18,041          18,041          18,041         331,030
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                                         Estimated Costs Under the NPRM
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                                                                                                   Average  for
                                    First year      First year      Second year     Third year     the  first 3
                                     start-up                                                          years
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Light Vehicles..................     $53,559,321        $885,653        $885,653        $885,653     $18,738,760
Medium/Heavy Vehicles...........      12,744,973         153,203         153,203         153,203       4,401,527
Buses...........................       5,799,669         206,305         206,305         206,305         213,528
Trailers........................       1,819,016          81,145          81,145          81,145         687,484
Motorcycles.....................       7,710,608         141,899         141,899         141,899       2,712,102

[[Page 42846]]

 
Tires...........................       2,046,836         127,203         127,203         127,203         809,482
Child Restraints................       3,177,531         122,781         122,781         122,781       1,181,958
Equipment Manufacturers.........             193           2,305           2,305           2,305           2,369
Manufacturers with under 500                 116           1,383           1,383           1,383           1,422
 vehicle sales per year.........
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    Total.......................      86,858,263       1,721,877       1,721,877       1,721,877      30,674,631
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    As stated above, the final rule implementing the early warning 
reporting requirements may be issued before the end of the 60-day 
comment period for this collection of information. If this should 
occur, it would be helpful if the public comments in response to this 
notice reflect the requirements adopted in the final rule. All comments 
will be taken into account in NHTSA's Supporting Statement to OMB (that 
accompanies OMB Form 83-I) to request clearance for this collection of 
information.

    Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3506(c); delegations of authority at 49 CFR 
1.50 and 501.3(c).

    Issued on: June 19, 2002.
Kenneth N. Weinstein,
Associate Administrator for Safety Assurance.
[FR Doc. 02-15904 Filed 6-24-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P