[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 201 (Tuesday, October 18, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64423-64424]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-26936]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
[Docket No. FMCSA-2011-0279]
Agency Information Collection Activities; Emergency Approval of a
New Information Collection: Motorcoach Passenger and Driver Survey:
Motorcoach Safety and Pre-Trip Safety Awareness and Emergency
Preparedness Information
AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice and request for information.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, FMCSA
announces that the Information Collection Request (ICR) described below
will be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for
emergency approval. FMCSA requests approval of this ICR by 30 days from
the publication of this notice. The purpose of this information
collection is to assess the current levels of voluntary compliance by
motorcoach operators to provide pre-trip safety awareness and emergency
preparedness information to passengers and to obtain passenger opinions
of the implementation of the pre-trip program and any recommended
improvements. The Department of Transportation (DOT) and FMCSA will use
this data to further inform future policy and regulatory decisions, as
well as other initiatives to improve motorcoach safety in the United
States.
DATES: Please send your comments by November 17, 2011.
ADDRESSES: All comments should reference Federal Docket Management
System (FDMS) Docket Number FMCSA-2011-0297. Interested persons are
invited to submit written comments on the proposed information
collection to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office
of Management and Budget. Comments should be addressed to the attention
of the Desk Officer, Department of Transportation/Federal Motor Carrier
Safety Administration, and sent via electronic mail to http://www.regulations.gov or faxed to (202) 395-7245, or mailed to the Office
of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget,
Docket Library, Room 10102, 725 17th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20503.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dee Williams, Office of Policy, Plans,
and Regulations, Strategic Planning and Program Evaluation Division
Chief, U.S.
[[Page 64424]]
Department of Transportation, Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration, 6th Floor, West Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE.,
Washington, DC 20590-0001. Telephone: (202) 493-0192; E-mail Address:
[email protected]. Office hours are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday
through Friday, except Federal Holidays.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: Motorcoach Passenger and Driver Survey: Motorcoach Safety
and Pre-Trip Safety Awareness and Emergency Preparedness Information.
OMB Control Number: 2126-XXXX.
Type of Request: New information collection.
Respondents: Motorcoach passengers and drivers.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 1,050 respondents.
Estimated Time per Response: 10 minutes.
Form Numbers: Form MCSA-5868, Motorcoach Passenger Survey: Pre-Trip
Safety Awareness and Emergency Preparedness Information--To collect
motorcoach passengers' responses during five one-shot in-person survey
events.
Form MCSA-5869, Motorcoach Driver Survey: Pre-Trip Safety Awareness
and Emergency Preparedness Information--To collect motorcoach drivers'
responses during five one-shot in-person survey events.
Expiration Date: N/A. This is a new information collection.
Frequency of Response: One-time.
Estimated Total Annual Burden: 175 hours [1,050 respondents x 10
minutes/60 minutes = 175 hours].
Background
Due to several recent fatal motorcoach crashes, Congress, DOT,
specifically FMCSA, and other Federal oversight agencies, including the
National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), are increasing their
scrutiny over the motorcoach industry and the enforcement of and
compliance with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs).
NTSB issued a Safety Recommendation to DOT, H-99-08, requiring
motorcoach operators to provide passengers with pre-trip safety
awareness information. This recommendation resulted from NTSB's
investigation of two motorcoach crashes from the late 1990s which
revealed that passengers felt a general sense of panic not knowing what
to do on a motorcoach in the case of an emergency. The intent of the
recommendation is to empower passengers to take their personal safety
into their own hands in the event of an imminent hazard or emergency
situation. To address the recommendations issued by NTSB, FMCSA formed
a work group that included representatives from the motorcoach
industry, motorcoach manufacturers, insurance industry, safety
consulting industry, trade associations, State agencies, and other
Federal regulatory agencies. The work group decided to address the
recommendation by having the motorcoach industry provide pre-trip
safety briefings on a voluntary basis.
FMCSA is concerned about the accuracy of self-reported data
provided by motorcoach operators and requires third party validation of
industry efforts to provide this information to passengers, as well as
the effectiveness of the means by which the information is being
provided. Currently, compliance is measured during FMCSA's National
Passenger Carrier Strike Forces. The data received from these Strike
Forces has shown increased adoption levels, however this data is based
solely on input from the motorcoach companies and not actual
passengers. FMCSA would like to verify that voluntary compliance
continues to increase, using different sources, and also collect
information on the effectiveness of compliance. FMCSA intends to use
this data to address passenger concerns and to provide NTSB and
Congress with additional data on voluntary compliance levels.
The goals and objectives of this survey are to assess the current
levels of voluntary compliance by motorcoach operators and to obtain
passenger opinions of the implementation of the pre-trip safety
awareness and emergency preparedness information. This will help
eliminate any self-reporting biases by the motorcoach companies; and
determine whether the pre-trip safety information is being provided and
if it is effective. The Form MCSA-5868 will be used to survey
motorcoach passengers and the Form MCSA-5869 will be used to survey
motorcoach drivers. The DOT and FMCSA will use this data to further
inform future policy and regulatory decisions, as well as other
initiatives to improve motorcoach safety in the United States.
Public Comments Invited
The Agency requests emergency processing of this information
request. The information collection is essential to FMCSA's safety
mission: to reduce crashes, injuries, and fatalities involving large
trucks and buses. Expedited review is necessary so FMCSA can use the
results to further inform Departmental and Agency efforts currently
underway to improve passenger safety. In light of recent fatal crashes,
FMCSA believes delay in collection of this information could result in
harm to motorcoach passenger safety. You are asked to comment on any
aspect of this information collection, including: (1) Whether the
proposed collection is necessary for the performance of FMCSA's
functions; (2) the accuracy of the estimated burden; (3) ways for FMCSA
to enhance the quality, usefulness, and clarity of the collected
information; and (4) ways that the burden could be minimized without
reducing the quality of the collected information.
Issued on: October 12, 2011.
Kelly Leone,
Associate Administrator for Research and Information Technology.
[FR Doc. 2011-26936 Filed 10-17-11; 8:45 am]
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