[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 151 (Wednesday, August 6, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46651-46653]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-20022]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

[USCG 2003-14928]


Information Collection Under Review by the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB): 1625-0003, Lifesaving, Report of Recreational-Boating 
Accident

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.

ACTION: Request for comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this 
request for comments announces that the Coast Guard has forwarded one 
Information Collection Report (ICR), on Lifesaving, Report of 
Recreational-Boating Accident, to the Office of Information and 
Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
for review and comment. Our ICR describes the information we seek to 
collect from the public. Review and comment by OIRA ensures that we 
impose only paperwork burdens commensurate with our performance of 
duties.

DATES: Please submit comments on or before September 5, 2003.

ADDRESSES: To make sure that your comments and related material do not 
enter the docket [USCG 2003-14928] more than once, please submit them 
by only one of the following means:
    (1)(a) By mail to the Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department 
of Transportation, room PL-401, 400 Seventh Street SW., Washington, DC 
20590-0001. (b) By mail to OIRA, 725 17th Street NW., Washington, DC 
20503, to the attention of the Desk Officer for the Coast Guard. 
Caution: Because of recent delays in the delivery of mail, your 
comments may reach the Facility more quickly if you choose one of the 
means described below.
    (2)(a) By delivery to room PL-401 at the address given in paragraph 
(1)(a) above, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except 
Federal holidays. The telephone number is 202-366-9329. (b) By delivery 
to OIRA, at the address given in paragraph (1)(b) above, to the 
attention of the Desk Officer for the Coast Guard.
    (3) By fax to (a) the Facility at 202-493-2251 and (b) OIRA at 202-
395-5806, or e-mail to OIRA at [email protected] attention: Desk 
Officer for the Coast Guard.
    (4)(a) Electronically through the Web Site for the Docket 
Management System at http://dms.dot.gov. (b) OIRA does not have a 
website on which you can post your comments.
    (5) Electronically through Federal eRule Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
    The Facility maintains the public docket for this notice. Comments 
and material received from the public, as well as documents mentioned 
in this notice as being available in the docket, will become part of 
this docket and will be available for inspection or copying at room PL-
401 (Plaza level), 400 Seventh Street SW., Washington, DC, between 9 
a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. You 
may also find this docket on the Internet at http://dms.dot.gov.
    Copies of the complete ICR are available for inspection and copying 
in public dockets. They are available in docket USCG 2003-14928 of the 
Docket Management Facility between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through 
Friday, except Federal holidays; for inspection and printing on the 
internet at http://dms.dot.gov; and for inspection from the Commandant 
(G-CIM-2), U.S. Coast Guard, room 6106, 2100 Second Street SW., 
Washington, DC, between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, 
except Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Barbara Davis, Office of Information 
Management, 202-267-2326, for questions on this document; Dorothy 
Beard, Chief, Documentary Services Division, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 202-366-5149, for questions on the docket.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

Public Participation and Request for Comments

    We encourage you to participate in this request for comment by 
submitting comments and related materials. We will post all comments 
received, without change, to http://dms.dot.gov, and they will include 
any personal information you have provided. We have an agreement with 
DOT to use the Docket Management Facility. Please see DOT's ``Privacy 
Act'' paragraph below.
    Submitting comments: If you submit a comment, please include your 
name and address, identify the docket number for this request for 
comment [USCG-2003-14928], indicate the specific section of this 
document to which each comment applies, and give the reason for each 
comment. You may submit your comments and material by electronic means, 
mail, fax, or delivery to the Docket Management Facility at the address 
under ADDRESSES; but please submit your comments and material by only 
one means. If you submit them by mail or delivery, submit them in an 
unbound format, no larger than 8\1/2\ by

[[Page 46652]]

11 inches, suitable for copying and electronic filing. If you submit 
them by mail and would like to know that they reached the Facility, 
please enclose a stamped, self-addressed postcard or envelope. We will 
consider all comments and material received during the comment period. 
We may change this proposed rule in view of them.
    Viewing comments and documents: To view comments, as well as 
documents mentioned in this preamble as being available in the docket, 
go to http://dms.dot.gov at any time and conduct a simple search using 
the docket number. You may also visit the Docket Management Facility in 
room PL-401 on the Plaza level of the Nassif Building, 400 Seventh 
Street SW., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through 
Friday, except Federal holidays.
    Privacy Act: Anyone can search the electronic form of all comments 
received in dockets by the name of the individual submitting the 
comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf of an 
association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review the Privacy 
Act Statement of DOT in the Federal Register published on April 11, 
2000 (65 FR 19477), or you may visit http://dms.dot.gov.

Regulatory History

    This request constitutes the 30-day notice required by OIRA. The 
Coast Guard has already published [68 FR 22407 (April 28, 2003)] the 
60-day notice required by OIRA. That notice elicited two (2) comments. 
Both comments supported Coast Guard efforts to update the Boating 
Accident Report (BAR) form and noted the form is well organized and 
includes greater detail. General comments emphasized the revised BAR 
form will improve data collection, thus allowing the Coast Guard and 
other boating safety organizations to better address the causes of 
boating accidents and fatalities. The Coast Guard provided written 
responses to comments submitted by the Professional Paddlesports 
Association and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources in 
correspondence dated July 22, 2003.
    The first comment submitted by the Professional Paddlesports 
Association (PPA) that was relevant to the BAR form requested the 
addition of ``Canoe/Kayak Touring'' in the ``Activity at Time of 
Accident'' section of the report form. The Coast Guard concurs and 
plans to modify the form in the near future.
    The Ohio Department of Natural Resources provided a number of 
comments in regard to the revised BAR form data elements. Relevant 
comments are summarized as follows:

Completion of the BAR Form by a Trained Law Enforcement Officer.

    The operator of the vessel is required to submit the casualty or 
accident report to the appropriate reporting authority in compliance 
with 33 CFR, Part 173, Subpart C--Casualty and Accident Reporting, 
Sec.  173.55. If the operator cannot submit the report, the owner 
shall. Professionally trained law enforcement officers and accident 
investigators file reports for practically all fatal and many serious 
non-fatal injury accidents.

Revised Wind Speed Categories.

    The revised BAR form uses the Beaufort scale to measure wind speed 
in the marine environment with greater precision. As with the previous 
BAR form, the revised form retains numeric wind speed categories to 
enable comparisons across previous years. The Coast Guard concurs with 
a recommendation to change the lowest speed for the second category to 
start at one (1) mph instead of zero (0) and plans to modify the 
revised BAR form in the near future.

Operator Experience, Telephone Numbers, Equipment/Machinery Failure, 
and Activity at Time of Accident Form Elements

    A comment questioned use of the term ``Other'' and requested space 
on the form for including additional information for a number of BAR 
form elements. In response, the Coast Guard includes categories termed 
``Other'' in order to capture unique information that enables analysts 
to uncover patterns and/or emerging accident trends. The revised BAR 
form has room to include additional information in the Accident 
Description section.

Exposure (Boat Use) Information. How Would a Non-owner/Operator Be Able 
to Provide This Information?

    The Coast Guard intends to include exposure questions that will 
help uncover the estimated number of hours the vessel operator involved 
in the accident operated the vessel over the past twelve (12) months. 
The comment offers alternative language for collecting exposure 
information that the Coast Guard will consider in efforts to capture a 
national estimate of boat use.

Identification of More Than Two Vessels

    In compliance with 33 CFR, Part 173, Subpart C--Casualty and 
Accident Reporting, Sec.  173.55, the operator of each vessel is 
required to submit a casualty or accident report to the appropriate 
reporting authority. Thus, each vessel operator involved in an accident 
is required to file a complete accident report form.

Layout of the BAR Form

    On page three (3), the operator is not to provide information in 
the ``For Agency Use'' section. Pages five and six would not be 
required for accidents that involve only damage to the vessel and/or 
personal property. Essentially, pages five and six serve as an addendum 
and are only used for accidents that involve injuries and/or 
fatalities.

Instructions Provided Are too Complex in the Accident Description 
Section For an Operator

    In an effort to ensure the privacy of boat operators involved in 
reported accidents, the Coast Guard is attempting to minimize the 
amount of personal information provided in the Accident Description 
section. The Coast Guard also plans to work with State agency personnel 
responsible for processing accident reports so the information 
contained in the Accident Description section is entered into an 
information management system (BARD-Web) in a standard uniform format.

Direction Provided on the Location of the Coast Guard PFD Approval 
Numbers and the Term ``Other'' as an Option for Injured Status

    The Coast Guard concurs and will revise the BAR form in the near 
future.

Adding Options for ``Racing'' and ``Cruising/Pleasure Boating'' Under 
Victim Activity

    This information is currently captured under the heading ``Accident 
Events and Contributing Factors''.

Request for Comments

    The Coast Guard invites comments on the proposed collection of 
information to determine whether the collection is necessary for the 
proper performance of the functions of the Department. In particular, 
the Coast Guard would appreciate comments addressing: (1) The practical 
utility of the collection; (2) the accuracy of the Department's 
estimated burden of the collection; (3) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility, and clarity of the information that is the subject of the 
collection; and (4) ways to minimize the burden of collection on 
respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology.
    Comments, to DMS or OIRA, must contain the OMB Control Number of 
the ICR addressed. Comments to DMS must

[[Page 46653]]

contain the docket number of this request, USCG 2003-14928. Comments to 
OIRA are best assured of having their full effect if OIRA receives them 
30 or fewer days after the publication of this request.

Information Collection Request

    Title: Lifesaving, Report of Recreational-Boating Accident.
    OMB Control Number: 1625-0003.
    Type of Request: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Affected Public: Operators of recreational vessels involved in 
accidents.
    Form: CG-3865.
    Abstract: The information collected from this report helps the 
Coast Guard to identify possible manufacturers' defects in boats or 
equipment, develop boat-manufacturing standards, formulate rules on 
safety, support programs in boating-safety education and awareness, and 
publish accident statistics.
    Annual Estimated Burden Hours: The estimated burden is 3,250 hours 
a year.

    Dated: July 29, 2003.
Clifford I. Pearson,
Director of Information and Technology.
[FR Doc. 03-20022 Filed 8-5-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-15-P