[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 234 (Tuesday, December 6, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 76218-76219]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-31197]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-2011-0130]


Reports, Forms and Record Keeping Requirements; Agency 
Information Collection Activity Under OMB Review

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

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

[[Page 76219]]

period was published on September 8, 2011 [FR Doc. 2010-0130-0001].

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before January 5, 2012.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mike Joyce, Marketing Specialist, 
Office of Communications and Consumer Information (NPO-520), National 
Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE., W52-
238, Washington, DC 20590. Mike Joyce's phone number is (202) 366-5600 
and his email address is [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995, NHTSA published a 60-day notice for public comment on 
September 8, 2011 announcing the intent to conduct consumer research. 
All comments received were reviewed and taken into consideration when 
preparing the final ICR for OMB review. This notice announces that the 
ICR, abstracted below, has been forwarded to OMB requesting review and 
comment. The ICR describes the nature of the information collection and 
its expected burden. This is a request for new collection.
    Title: Monroney Label Consumer Research.
    OMB Number: Not Assigned.
    Type of Request: New collection.
    Abstract: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 
(NHTSA) was established by the Highway Safety Act of 1970 (23 U.S.C. 
101) to carry out a Congressional mandate to reduce the mounting number 
of deaths, injuries, and economic losses resulting from motor vehicle 
crashes on the Nation's highways. In support of this mission, NHTSA 
proposes to conduct a limited number of focus group sessions with 
members of the general public to help inform future revisions to the 
Monroney label and guide the development of a consumer education 
program. In this collection of information, NHTSA is requesting to 
explore how consumers evaluate the Monroney label, and comprehension of 
the 5-Star Safety Ratings and understand the potential tradeoffs 
consumers make among the items included on the Monroney label. The 
research will also consider the location and size of the safety rating 
label and compare with other areas of the Monroney label and explore 
adding the advanced crash avoidance safety information to the safety 
rating label. Additional areas of exploration will be evaluated, 
including:
    (i) Vehicle purchase decision-making criteria;
    (ii) Sources of vehicle safety information;
    (iii) Monroney label content, comprehension and potential 
tradeoffs; and,
    (iv) New changes to the safety rating section of the Monroney label 
to help inform future revisions.

    Description of the Need for the Information and the Proposed Use of 
the Information: NHTSA must explore how safety information impacts 
vehicle purchase decisions, where consumers look for safety information 
and how consumers use safety and other information located on the 
Monroney label in their purchase decisions, which will help inform 
future revisions to the Monroney label. Additionally, NHTSA will use 
this research to discuss potential communication channels in order to 
guide the development of a consumer education program.
    Affected Public: Passenger vehicle consumers.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 180 hours.
    Number of Respondents: 80.
    NHTSA will conduct two research phases. For the first phase, which 
this notice addresses, NHTSA will conduct one type of qualitative 
research. This research project will consist of two (2) focus groups in 
five (5) cities for a maximum of ten (10) focus group sessions, lasting 
120 minutes and will be held with eight (8) participants in each 
session. Participation by all respondents would be voluntary, and 
respondents will receive $75 for their participation. For recruiting of 
these participants, however, a total of 120 potential participants (12 
per group) will be recruited via telephone screening calls, which are 
estimated to take 10 minutes per call. Based on experience, it is 
prudent to recruit up to 12 people per group in order to ensure at 
least 8 will actually appear at the focus group facility at the 
appointed time. Thus, the total burden per person actually 
participating in the group discussions is estimated to be 130 minutes 
(10 minutes for the screening/recruiting telephone call plus 120 
minutes in the focus group discussion session). Additionally, the total 
burden per person recruited (but not participating in the discussions) 
is 10 minutes.
    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.
    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.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on: November 29, 2011.
Gregory A. Walter,
Senior Associate Administrator, Policy and Operations.
[FR Doc. 2011-31197 Filed 12-5-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P