[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 94 (Monday, May 16, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28300-28301]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-11974]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-2010-0124]


Reports, Forms, and Recordkeeping Requirements

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

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 
U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this notice announces that the Information 
Collection Request (ICR) abstracted below has been forwarded to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The ICR 
describes the nature of the information collections and their expected 
burden. The Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period was 
published on September 3, 2010, at 75 FR 54217.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before June 15, 2011.

ADDRESSES: Send comments, within 30 days, to the Office of Information 
and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, 725 17th 
Street, NW., Washington, DC 20503, Attention: NHTSA Desk Officer.
    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.
    A Comment to OMB is most effective if OMB receives it within 30 
days of publication.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kil-Jae Hong, NHTSA, 1200 New Jersey 
Avenue, SE., W52-232, NPO-520, Washington, DC 20590. Ms. Hong's 
telephone number is (202) 493-0524 and e-mail address is [email protected].
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents, go 
to http://www.regulations.gov, or the street address listed above. 
Follow the online instructions for accessing the dockets.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995, NHTSA previously conducted a public meeting and opened a 
docket for a 60-day comment period. Based upon comments at the public 
meeting and to the docket, NHTSA revised its research plan. This notice 
announces that the ICR abstracted below has been forwarded to OMB for 
review and comment. The ICR describes the nature of the information 
collections and their expected burden. This is a request for new 
collection.
    Title: 49 CFR 575--Consumer Information Regulations (section 106) 
Qualitative Research--Focus Groups.
    OMB Control Number: Not Assigned.
    Form Number: None.
    Type of Request: New collection.
    Affected Public: Passenger vehicle tire consumers and tire 
retailers.
    Requested Expiration Date of Approval: Three years from approval 
date.
    Abstract: The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA), 
enacted in December 2007, included a requirement that NHTSA develop a 
national tire fuel efficiency program to educate consumers about the 
effect of tires on automobile fuel efficiency, safety and durability. A 
critical step in developing the consumer information program is to 
conduct proper market research to understand consumers' knowledge of 
tire maintenance and performance, understand the tire purchase process 
from both the consumer and retailer's perspectives, evaluate 
comprehension of ratings, explore the clarity, meaningfulness and the 
likely resulting behaviors, and evaluate the creative and the channels 
for communication. NHTSA proposes a multi-phased research project to 
gather the data and apply analyses and results from the project to 
develop the consumer information program. The entire research plan is 
posted to this docket.
    Estimated Annual Burden: 108.
    Number of Respondents: 72.
    NHTSA will conduct two research phases. For the first phase, NHTSA 
will conduct two types of qualitative research. One research project 
will consist of two (2) focus groups in three (3) cities. Each group 
will have eight (8) participants and will last two (2) hours for a 
total of 96 participant hours. (72 potential respondents will be 
contacted for initial screening calls to determine the actual focus 
group participants. Calls should not be more than 10 minutes each for 
an estimated 12 burden hours.) This is the project which is the subject 
of this notice. For the second research project in this phase, NHTSA 
will conduct on-site interviews at various tire retailers. NHTSA 
anticipates 30 respondents, with each interview taking 30 minutes for a 
total of approximately 15 participant hours. This project is addressed 
by a separate notice published today. The results of both projects in 
this research phase will be used to finalize the content of an online 
survey NHTSA will conduct in the second research phase.
    On September 3, 2010 (75 FR 54217), NHTSA published the required 
60-day notice requesting comments on both projects in the first 
research phase.\1\ NHTSA received six comments in response to this 
notice: One unsigned, one each from LANXESS Corporation, Tire Industry 
Association (TIA), and Michelin North America and two from Rubber 
Manufacturers Association (RMA). LANXESS Corporation (a specialty 
chemicals company) and TIA indicated their support of this information 
collection request, noting the importance of providing consumers with 
related information, while the unsigned comment was opposed to this 
spending, but did not provide a reason why. RMA offered detailed 
comments on the contents of the research package. A more extensive 
discussion of the comments received and changes NHTSA has made to the 
research plan can be found in the supporting

[[Page 28301]]

statement placed in the docket for this notice.
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    \1\ NHTSA published an amendment to this notice on September 27, 
2010 (75 FR 59319) and extended the comment period in a notice 
published on November 24, 2010 (75 FR 71789).
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    The estimated annual burden hour for the focus groups is 108 hours. 
Based on the Bureau of Labor and Statistics' median hourly wage (all 
occupations) in the May 2009 National Occupational Employment and Wage 
Estimates, NHTSA estimates that it will take an average of $15.95 per 
hour for professional and clerical staff to gather data, distribute and 
print material. Therefore, the agency estimates that the cost 
associated with the burden hours is $1,722.60 ($15.95 per hour x 108 
burden hours).

Gregory A. Walter,
Senior Associate Administrator, Policy and Operations.
[FR Doc. 2011-11974 Filed 5-13-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P