[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 86 (Thursday, May 4, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26398-26399]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-6729]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Highway Administration

[Docket No. FHWA-2006-24672]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Request for Comments; 
Changes to a Currently Approved Information Collection for Highway 
Safety Improvement Programs

AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The FHWA invites public comments about our intention to 
request the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) approval for 
changes to a currently approved information collection titled Highway 
Safety Improvement Programs, which is summarized below under 
supplementary Information. FHWA is required to publish this notice in 
the Federal Register by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

DATES: Please submit comments by July 3, 2006.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by DOT DMS Docket Number 
2006-24672 to the docket Clerk, via the following methods. Mail or hand 
deliver comments to the U.S. Department of Transportation, Dockets 
Management Facility, Room PL-401, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, 
DC 20590; fax comments to 202/493-2251; or submit electronically at 
http://dms.dot.gov. All comments may be examined and copied at the 
above address from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except 
Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Kenneth Epstein, 202-366-2157, 
Office of Safety, Federal Highway Administration, Department of 
Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590. Office 
hours are from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except 
Federal holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: Highway Safety Improvement Program.
    OMB Control No: 2125-0025.
    Background: The Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient 
Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) amended 
Section 148 of Title 23 U.S.C. to establish a new ``core'' Highway 
Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) that provides funds to State 
Departments of Transportation (DOTs) to improve conditions at hazardous 
highway locations and hazardous railway-highway grade crossings on all 
public roads, including those maintained by Federal, State and local 
agencies. The existing provisions of Title 23 U.S.C. Sections 130, 
Railway-Highway Crossings Program, and 152, Hazard Elimination Program, 
as well as implementing regulations in 23 CFR 924, remain in effect. 
Included in these combined provisions are requirements for State DOTs 
to annually produce and submit to FHWA by August 31 three reports 
related to the conduct and effectiveness of their HSIPs, that are to 
include information on: (a) Progress being made to implement HSIP 
projects and the effectiveness of these projects in reducing traffic 
crashes, injuries and fatalities [Sections 148(g) and 152(g)]; (b) 
progress being made to implement the Railway-Highway Crossings Program 
and the effectiveness of the projects in that program [Sections 130(g) 
and 148(g)], which will be used by FHWA to produce and submit biennial 
reports to Congress required on April 1, beginning April 1, 2006; and, 
(c) description of at least 5 percent of the State's highway locations 
exhibiting the most severe safety needs, including an estimate of the 
potential remedies, their costs, and impediments to their 
implementation other than cost for each of the locations listed (i.e. 
the ``5 percent report'') [Section 148(c)(1)(D)]. To be able to produce 
these reports, State DOTs must have crash data and analysis systems 
capable of identifying and determining the relative severity of 
hazardous highway locations on all public roads, and determining the 
``before'' and ``after'' crash experiences at HSIP project locations. 
This information provides FHWA with a means for monitoring the 
effectiveness of these programs and may be used by Congress for 
determining the future HSIP program structure and funding levels. Per 
SAFETEA-LU, State DOTs have much flexibility in the methodology they 
use to rank the relative severity of their public road locations in 
terms of

[[Page 26399]]

fatalities and serious injuries. The list of 5 percent of these 
locations exhibiting the most severe safety needs will result from the 
ranking methodology used, and may include roadway segments and/or 
intersections. For example, a State may compare its roadway locations 
against statewide average rates of fatalities and serious injuries per 
100 million vehicle miles traveled for similar type facilities and 
determine that those segments whose rates exceed the statewide rates 
are the locations with the ``most severe'' safety needs, and then at 
least 5 percent of those locations would be included in the required 
annual report.
    Respondents: 51 State Transportation Departments, including the 
District of Columbia.
    Frequency: Annually.
    Estimated Average Burden per Response: 500 hours (This is an 
increase of 300 burden hours from the current OMB approved 200 burden 
hours. The new report will take an additional 300 hours plus the 200 
hours for the existing two reports).
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 25,500 hours (51 states at an 
average of 500 hours each).
    Public Comments Invited: You are asked to comment on any aspect of 
this information collection, including: (1) Whether the proposed 
collection is necessary for the FHWA's performance; (2) the accuracy of 
the estimated burdens; (3) ways for the FHWA to enhance the quality, 
usefulness, and clarity of the collected information; and (4) ways that 
the burdens could be minimized, including use of electronic technology, 
without reducing the quality of the collected information. The agency 
will summarize and/or include your comments in the request for OMB's 
clearance of this information collection.

    Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995; 44 U.S.C. 
Chapter 35, as amended; and 49 CFR 1.48.

James R. Kabel,
Chief, Management Programs and Analysis Division.
 [FR Doc. E6-6729 Filed 5-3-06; 8:45 am]
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