[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 154 (Friday, August 9, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51925-51926]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-20144]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA 2001-10773; Notice 2]


Reporting of Information About Foreign Safety Recalls and 
Campaigns Related to Potential Defects

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

ACTION: Request for public comment on proposed collection of 
information.

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SUMMARY: This document describes a proposed collection of information 
under the foreign safety recall and safety campaign reporting 
requirements of the Transportation Recall Enhancement, Accountability, 
and Documentation (TREAD) Act, for which NHTSA intends to seek approval 
from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

DATES: Comments must be received on or before October 8, 2002.

ADDRESSES: Comments must refer to the docket and notice numbers cited 
at the beginning of this notice and must 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. 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.

Reporting of Information About Foreign Safety Recalls and Campaigns 
Related to Potential 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--On October 11, 2001, NHTSA 
published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) (66 FR 51907) in which 
it proposed to implement section 3(a) of the Transportation Recall 
Enhancement, Accountability, and Documentation (TREAD) Act, Public Law 
106-414, which requires a manufacturer of motor vehicles or motor 
vehicle equipment to report to NHTSA whenever it decides to conduct a 
safety recall or other safety campaign in a foreign country, or has 
been directed to do so by a foreign government, covering vehicles or 
equipment that are identical or substantially similar to vehicles or 
equipment sold or offered for sale in the United States. 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. The obligation to report this information was effective 
on the day that the TREAD Act was signed into law, November 1, 2000. 
Since that date, NHTSA has, in fact, received some notifications of 
foreign safety campaigns being conducted.
    Description of the Need for the Information and Proposed Use of the 
Information--The intent of the TREAD Act is to provide early warning of 
potential safety-related defects in motor vehicles and motor vehicle 
equipment in use in the United States. Whenever a manufacturer of motor 
vehicles or equipment decides to conduct a safety recall or other 
safety campaign in a foreign country, or has been directed to do so by 
a foreign government, covering vehicles or equipment that are identical 
or substantially similar to vehicles or equipment sold or offered for 
sale in the

[[Page 51926]]

United States, that information could indicate that a safety defect or 
noncompliance exists that requires remedial action. NHTSA will rely on 
the information provided under this rule in deciding whether to open a 
formal defect investigation or to pursue appropriate remedial action in 
the United States.
    Description of the Likely Respondents (Including Estimated Number 
and Proposed Frequency of Responses to the Collection of Information)--
The TREAD Act requires all manufacturers of motor vehicles and motor 
vehicle equipment who sell vehicles or equipment in the United States, 
and who also sell or plan to sell vehicles outside the United States, 
to comply with these reporting requirements. We estimate that there are 
a total of 23,500 manufacturers who sell vehicles or equipment in the 
United States. Of these, we estimate that fewer than 70 vehicle 
manufacturers will need to comply with the reporting requirements. 
Furthermore, we estimate that fewer than 500 reports annually will be 
submitted. In the one full year since the manufacturers began 
submitting reports (2001), there were only 234 reports submitted to the 
agency. However the final rule will specify the contents of the 
submission and may adopt the proposed requirement that manufacturers 
must submit reports for the period from November 1, 2000, to the 
effective date of the final rule. This would increase that number.
    Estimate of the Total Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping Burden of 
the Collection of Information in the NPRM--In order to provide the 
information required by this rule, manufacturers must (1) determine 
whether vehicles or equipment that are covered by a foreign safety 
recall or other safety campaign are identical or substantially similar 
to vehicles or equipment sold in the United States, (2) prepare and 
submit reports of these recalls or campaigns to the agency, and (3) 
where a determination or notice has been made in a language other than 
English, translate the determination or notice into English before 
transmitting it to the agency. Additionally, it was proposed that 
manufacturers report foreign determinations made between November 1, 
2000 and the effective date of the final rule.
    With respect to the burden of determining identical or 
substantially similar vehicles or equipment to those sold in the United 
States, the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers (the Alliance) in its 
comments on the NPRM, suggested that ``the agency should work with the 
vehicle manufacturers to establish each year a list of substantially 
similar vehicles' and that, for inclusion on the list, a vehicle must 
have `` * * * the same vehicle platform or body shell.'' Based on those 
criteria, we estimate that the annual list could be developed with 8 
hours of professional staff time. It was proposed that only vehicle 
manufacturers would be required to develop this list. (70 vehicle 
manufacturers  x  8 hours = 560 hours.)
    We estimate that preparing and submitting each foreign defect 
report will require 1 hour of clerical staff, or 500 hours annually. 
(500 defect reports  x  1 hour = 500 hours.) We estimate that 
translation of determinations into English will require 2 hours of 
technical staff, or 1,000 hours annually. Note: This assumes that all 
foreign defect reports would require translation. Therefore, this is a 
maximum number of hours because some foreign defect reports will 
already be in English. (500 defect reports  x  2 hours = 1,000 hours.) 
Accordingly we estimate the total annual burden on manufacturers to be 
2,060 hours (560 hours professional time + 500 hours clerical time + 
1,000 hours technical time).
    Estimate of the Total Annual Costs of the Collection of Information 
in the NPRM--Hourly rates for various categories of staff were provided 
to the agency recently by the Alliance in connection with another 
rulemaking. We have used those rates to estimate the total annual cost 
of this collection. We estimate that preparing the annual list would be 
done by professional staff at an average rate of $101.92 per hour. (560 
hours  x  $101.92 = $57,075.20) We estimate that clerical staff at an 
average rate of $23.99 per hour would prepare each report. (500 hours 
x  $23.99 = $11,995.00.) Finally, we estimate that technical staff at a 
rate of $73.55 per hour would perform the translation into English. 
(1,000 hours  x  $73.55 = $73,550.00.) This results in a total 
estimated annual burden of $142,570.20 ($57,075.20 + $11,995.00 + 
$73,550.00). We believe that, since manufacturers actually began 
providing the information on or about November 1, 2000, there will be 
minimal, if any, additional cost associated with reporting of campaigns 
from that date to the effective date of the final rule.
    NHTSA notes that the final rule, Reporting of Information and 
Documents About Foreign Safety Recalls and Campaigns Related to 
Potential Defects, might be issued before the end of the 60-day comment 
period for this collection of information. If this should occur, it 
would be helpful for public comments in response to this notice to 
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); delegation of authority at 49 CFR 
1.50.

Kathleen DeMeter,
Acting Associate Administrator for Safety Assurance.
[FR Doc. 02-20144 Filed 8-8-02; 8:45 am]
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