[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 139 (Friday, July 20, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39889-39890]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-14094]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[U.S. DOT Docket Number NHTSA-2007-28138]


Reports, Forms, and Recordkeeping Requirements

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

ACTION: Request for extension of a currently approved 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 proposed collections of information, including 
extensions and reinstatement of previously approved collections.
    This document describes one collection of information for which 
NHTSA intends to seek OMB approval.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before September 18, 2007.

ADDRESSES: Comments must refer to the docket notice numbers cited at 
the beginning of this notice and be submitted to Docket Management, 
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 
Washington, DC 20590 by any of the following methods.
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     Agency Web site: http://dms.dot.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments on the Docket Management System.
     Fax: (202) 493-2251.
     Mail: Docket Management Facility; U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., West Building Ground 
Floor, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590.
     Hand Delivery/Courier: 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., West 
Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590, between 9 
a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. 
Telephone: 1-800-647-5527.
    Instructions: All submissions must include the agency name and 
docket number for this proposed collection of information. Note that 
all comments received will be posted without change to http://dms.dot.gov including any personal information provided.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments received, go to http://dms.dot.gov at any time or to Room W12-
140 on the ground level of the DOT Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, 
SE., West Building Ground Floor, Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 
p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Complete copies of each request for 
collection of information may be obtained at no charge from Hisham T. 
Mohamed, NHTSA, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., West Building, Room W43-
437 (fourth floor), NVS-131, Washington, DC 20590. Mr. Mohamed's 
telephone number is (202) 366-0307. Please identify the relevant 
collection of information by referring to its OMB Control Number.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 
before an agency submits a proposed collection of information to OMB 
for approval, it must first 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 regulation (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 used;
    (iii) How to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected;
    (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.
    In compliance with these requirements, NHTSA asks for public 
comments on the following proposed collections of information:
    Title: 49 CFR part 575, 104; Uniform Tire Quality Grading Standard.
    OMB Control Number: 2127-0519.
    Affected Public: All passenger car tire manufacturers and brand 
name owners offering passenger car tires for sale in the United States.
    Form Number: The collection of this information uses no standard 
form.
    Abstract: Part 575 requires tire manufacturers and tire brand 
owners to submit reports to NHTSA regarding the UTQGS grades of all 
passenger car tire lines they offer for sale in the United States. This 
information is used by consumers of passenger car tires to compare tire 
quality in making their purchase decisions. The information is provided 
in several different ways to insure that the consumer can readily see 
and understand the tire grade: (1) The grades are molded into the 
sidewall of the tire so that they can be reviewed on both the new tire 
and the old tire that is being replaced; (2) a paper label is affixed 
to the tread face of the new tire that provides the grade of that 
particular tire line along with an explanation of the grading system; 
(3) tire manufacturers provide dealers with brochures for public 
distribution listing the grades of all of the tirelines they offer for 
sale; and (4) NHTSA compiles the grading information of all 
manufacturers' tirelines into a booklet that is available to the public 
both in printed form and on the Web site.
    Estimated Annual Burden: NHTSA estimates that a total of 89,730 
man-hours are required to write the brochures, engrave the new 
passenger car tire molds, and affix the paper labels to the tires. 
Based on an average hourly rate of $22 per hour for rubber workers in 
the United States, the cost to the manufacturers is $1,974,060 to 
perform those items listed above. The largest portion of the cost 
burden imposed by the UTQGS program arises from the testing necessary 
to determine the grades that should be assigned to the tires. An 
average of 125 convoys, driven 7,200 miles each, consisting of four 
vehicles and four drivers, are run each

[[Page 39890]]

year for treadwear testing. NHTSA estimates it cost $0.60 per vehicle 
mile including salaries, overhead and reports. This brings the annual 
treadwear testing cost to $2,160,000. For the traction testing, it is 
estimated that 1,900 tires are tested annually with an estimated cost 
of $38,000 for use of the government test facility. Using a factor of 
3.5 times to cover salary and overhead of test contractors, the 
estimated cost of traction testing is $133,000. A separate temperature 
grade testing for tires is required, since the test will not be an 
extension of the high speed performance test of 49 CFR 571.109 which is 
required for safety certification. Section 571.109 is replaced by Sec.  
571.139, which has different test speeds. For the temperature testing, 
it is estimated that 1,900 tires are tested annually with an estimated 
average cost per test of $423. Therefore, the estimated UTQGS 
temperature annual testing is $803,700. Thus the total estimated cost 
for UTQGS testing is $3,096,700. The cost of printing the tread labels 
is approximately 21,890,000 and estimate for printing brochures is at 
$999,000. This yields a total annual financial burden of approximately 
$25,985,700 (approximately $26 million) on the tire manufacturers.
    Estimated Annual Burden to the Government: The estimated annual 
cost of UTQGS to the Federal government is $1,278,000. The cost 
consists of approximately $152,000 for data management $730,000 for 
enforcement testing, and about $396,000 for general administration of 
the program.
    Number of Respondents: There are approximately 163 individual tire 
brands sold in the United States. The actual number of respondents is 
much less than 163 due to company acquisitions, mergers, and in most 
cases, the manufacturer will report for the various individual brand 
names that they produce tires for. The actual number of respondents is 
about 65 individual responses.
    Comments are invited on: Whether the proposed collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the Department, including whether the information will have practical 
utility; the accuracy of the Department's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed information collection; ways to enhance the quality, utility 
and clarity of the information to be collected; and ways to minimize 
the burden of the collection of information on respondents, including 
the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of 
information technology.

    Issued on: July 16, 2007.
Stephen R. Kratzke,
Associate Administrator for Rulemaking.
[FR Doc. E7-14094 Filed 7-19-07; 8:45 am]
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