[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 227 (Tuesday, November 25, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66153-66155]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-29386]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-2003-16318]


Vehicle Weight, Fatality Risk and Crash Compatibility of Model 
Year 1991-99 Passenger Cars and Light Trucks; Technical Report

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 
Department of Transportation.

ACTION: Request for comments on technical report.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces NHTSA's publication of a technical 
report describing relationships between a vehicle's mass and type and 
its rate of involvement in fatal crashes. The report's title is Vehicle 
Weight, Fatality Risk and Crash Compatibility of Model Year 1991-99 
Passenger Cars and Light Trucks.

DATES: Comments must be received no later than March 24, 2004.

ADDRESSES:
    Report: You may obtain a copy of the report free of charge by 
sending a self-addressed mailing label to Publications Ordering and 
Distribution Services (NAD-51), National Highway Traffic Safety 
Administration, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590. A 
summary of the report is available on the Internet for viewing on line 
at http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/rules/regrev/evaluate/809662.html. The 
full report is available on the Internet in PDF format at http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/rules/regrev/evaluate/pdf/809662.pdf.
    Comments: You may submit comments [identified by DOT DMS Docket 
Number NHTSA-2003-16318] by any of the following methods:
    [sbull] Web site: http://dms.dot.gov. Follow the instructions for 
submitting comments on the DOT electronic docket site.
    [sbull] Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
    [sbull] Mail: Docket Management Facility; U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Nassif Building, Room PL-401, 
Washington, DC 20590-001.
    [sbull] Hand Delivery: Room PL-401 on the plaza level of the Nassif 
Building, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC, between 9 am and 5 
pm, Monday through Friday, except Federal Holidays.
    [sbull] Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments.

[[Page 66154]]

    You may call Docket Management at 202-366-9324 and visit the Docket 
from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Charles J. Kahane, Chief, Evaluation 
Division, NPO-321, Office of Planning, Evaluation and Budget, National 
Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Room 5208, 400 Seventh Street, 
SW, Washington, DC 20590. Telephone: 202-366-2560. FAX: 202-366-2559. 
E-mail: [email protected].
    For information about NHTSA's evaluations of the effectiveness of 
existing regulations and programs: Visit the NHTSA Web site at http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov and click ``Regulations & Standards'' underneath 
``Car Safety'' on the home page; then click ``Regulatory Evaluation'' 
on the ``Regulations & Standards'' page.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The technical report uses logistic 
regression analyses to calibrate crash fatality rates per billion miles 
traveled for model year 1991-99 passenger cars, pickup trucks, SUVs and 
vans during calendar years 1995-2000--by vehicle weight, vehicle type, 
driver age and gender, urban/rural, and other vehicle, driver and 
environmental factors--a cross-sectional analysis of the fatality rates 
of existing vehicles. The ``crash'' fatality rate for a model includes 
fatalities to occupants of that model, occupants of the other vehicles 
that model collides with, and any pedestrians. These analyses suggest 
that, after controlling for driver age/gender, urban/rural, annual 
mileage, and other factors:
    [sbull] The association between vehicle weight and overall crash 
fatality rates in the heavier MY 1991-99 LTVs (light trucks and vans) 
was not significant.
    [sbull] In three other groups of MY 1991-99 vehicles `` the lighter 
LTVs, the heavier cars, and especially the lighter cars `` fatality 
rates increased as weights decreased.
    [sbull] MY 1996-99 pickup trucks and SUVs had, on the average, 
higher fatality rates than MY 1996-99 passenger cars or minivans of 
comparable weight.
    Logistic regression analyses of fatalities per billion miles in 
two-vehicle collisions show that MY 1991-99 LTVs were more aggressive 
than MY 1991-99 cars when they struck other vehicles. The analyses show 
correlations between occupants' fatality risk in the struck car and the 
frontal height-of-force and rigidity of the striking LTV.
    The technical report supersedes a 1997 NHTSA study on this topic 
titled Relationship of Vehicle Weight to Fatality and Injury Risk in 
Model Year 1985-93 Passenger Cars and Light Trucks (DOT HS 808 569, 
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/rules/regrev/evaluate/808569.html.) A 
request for comments on that notice was published in the Federal 
Register on June 26, 1997 (62 FR 34491).

How Can I Influence NHTSA's Thinking on This Subject?

    NHTSA welcomes public review of the technical report and invites 
reviewers to submit comments about the data and the statistical methods 
used in the analyses. NHTSA will submit to the Docket a response to the 
comments and, if appropriate, additional analyses that supplement or 
revise the technical report.

How Do I Prepare and Submit Comments?

    Your comments must be written and in English. To ensure that your 
comments are correctly filed in the Docket, please include the Docket 
number of this document (NHTSA-2003-16318) in your comments.
    Your primary comments must not be more than 15 pages long (49 CFR 
553.21). However, you may attach additional documents to your primary 
comments. There is no limit on the length of the attachments.
    Please send two paper copies of your comments to Docket Management, 
submit them electronically, fax them, or use the Federal eRulemaking 
Portal. The mailing address is U.S. Department of Transportation Docket 
Management, Room PL-401, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590. 
If you submit your comments electronically, log onto the Dockets 
Management System Web site at http://dms.dot.gov and click on ``Help & 
Information'' or ``Help/Info'' to obtain instructions. The fax number 
is 1-202-493-2251. To use the Federal eRulemaking Portal, go to http://www.regulations.gov and follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments.
    We also request, but do not require you to send a copy to Charles 
J. Kahane, Chief, Evaluation Division, NPO-321, National Highway 
Traffic Safety Administration, Room 5208, 400 Seventh Street, SW., 
Washington, DC 20590 (alternatively, FAX to 202-366-2559 or e-mail to 
[email protected]). He can check if your comments have been 
received at the Docket and he can expedite their review by NHTSA.

How Can I Be Sure That My Comments Were Received?

    If you wish Docket Management to notify you upon its receipt of 
your comments, enclose a self-addressed, stamped postcard in the 
envelope containing your comments. Upon receiving your comments, Docket 
Management will return the postcard by mail.

How Do I Submit Confidential Business Information?

    If you wish to submit any information under a claim of 
confidentiality, send three copies of your complete submission, 
including the information you claim to be confidential business 
information, to the Chief Counsel, NCC-01, National Highway Traffic 
Safety Administration, Room 5219, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, 
DC 20590. Include a cover letter supplying the information specified in 
our confidential business information regulation (49 CFR Part 512).
    In addition, send two copies from which you have deleted the 
claimed confidential business information to Docket Management, Room 
PL-401, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590, or submit them 
electronically.

Will the Agency Consider Late Comments?

    In our response, we will consider all comments that Docket 
Management receives before the close of business on the comment closing 
date indicated above under DATES. To the extent possible, we will also 
consider comments that Docket Management receives after that date.
    Please note that even after the comment closing date, we will 
continue to file relevant information in the Docket as it becomes 
available. Further, some people may submit late comments. Accordingly, 
we recommend that you periodically check the Docket for new material.

How Can I Read the Comments Submitted by Other People?

    You may read the comments by visiting Docket Management in person 
at Room PL-401, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC from 10 a.m. to 
5 p.m., Monday through Friday.
    You may also see the comments on the Internet by taking the 
following steps:
    A. Go to the Docket Management System (DMS) Web page of the 
Department of Transportation (http://dms.dot.gov).
    B. On that page, click on ``search.''
    C. On the next page http://dms.dot.gov/search/ type in the four-

[[Page 66155]]

digit Docket number shown at the beginning of this Notice (16318). 
Click on ``search.''
    D. On the next page, which contains Docket summary information for 
the Docket you selected, click on the desired comments. You may also 
download the comments.

    Authority: 49 U.S.C. 30111, 30168; delegation of authority at 49 
CFR 1.50 and 501.8.

Noble N. Bowie,
Associate Administrator for Planning, Evaluation and Budget.
[FR Doc. 03-29386 Filed 11-24-03; 8:45 am]
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