[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 38 (Monday, February 27, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11621-11622]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-4367]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[U.S. DOT Docket Number NHTSA-2011-0169]


Reports, Forms, and Recordkeeping Requirements

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

ACTION: Request for public comment on proposed collection and 
consolidation of existing 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 
extension, reinstatement and consolidation of previously approved 
collections.
    This document describes a new collection of information for which 
NHTSA intends to seek OMB approval concerning recommendations from 
vehicle manufacturers regarding child restraint systems (CRS) that fit 
in their individual vehicles. Furthermore, NHTSA plans to combine the 
new information collection with an existing collection for obtaining 
vehicle information for consumer information purposes (OMB Control 
number 2127-0629).

DATES: Comments must be received on or before April 27, 2012.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments to the docket number identified in 
the heading of this document by any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments.
     Mail: Docket Management Facility, M-30, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, West Building, Ground Floor, Rm. W12-140, 1200 New 
Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590.
     Hand Delivery or Courier: West Building Ground Floor, Room 
W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern 
Time, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
     Fax: (202) 493-2251.
    You may call the Docket Management Facility at 202-366-9826.
    Instructions: For detailed instructions on submitting comments, see 
the Public Participation heading of the Supplementary Information 
section of this document. Note that all comments received will be 
posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov, including any 
personal information provided.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Complete copies of each request for 
collection of information may be obtained at no charge from Johanna 
Lowrie, U.S. Department of Transportation, NHTSA, Room W43-410, 1200 
New Jersey Ave. SE., Washington, DC 20590. Ms. Lowrie's telephone 
number is (202) 366-5269. 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., in submission of 
responses).
    In compliance with these requirements, NHTSA asks for public 
comment on the additional information the agency is proposing to 
collect under the existing collection of information:
    Title: Consolidated Vehicle Information for the General Public.
    OMB Control Number: 2127-0629.
    Affected Public: Manufacturers that sell motor vehicles under 
10,000 pounds in the United States.
    Abstract: NHTSA's mission is to save lives, prevent injury and 
reduce motor vehicle crashes. Consumer information programs are an 
important tool for improving vehicle safety through market forces and 
providing caregivers information about child seats that fit in their 
vehicles.
    On February 25, 2011, NHTSA published in the Federal Register a 
``Request for comments'' notice (76 FR 10637) describing in detail a 
new consumer information program, as part of the New Car Assessment 
Program, to help parents and caregivers find a child restraint system 
(``child safety seat'') that fits their vehicle. Under the new program, 
NHTSA will make available on the agency's Web site, www.safercar.gov, 
information from vehicle manufacturers as to the specific child safety 
seats the manufacturers recommend for individual vehicles. NHTSA also 
plans to use these recommendations when responding to public inquiries. 
The agency anticipates that this new program will provide consumer 
service by offering guidance on vehicle-CRS matchups and making it 
easier for parents and caregivers to select a child safety seat that 
fits in their vehicle.
    The agency has attempted to coordinate and reduce the reporting 
burden associated with this new information collection effort by 
incorporating the new provisions into the currently approved 
collection, ``Vehicle Information for the General Public'' (OMB Control 
Number 2127-0629). For over 30 years, NHTSA has been providing 
consumers with vehicle

[[Page 11622]]

safety information such as frontal and side crash results, rollover 
propensity and the availability of a wide array of safety features 
provided on each vehicle model. In addition, the agency has been using 
this safety feature information when responding to consumer inquiries 
and analyzing rulemaking petitions that requested the agency to mandate 
certain safety features.
    NHTSA also has an information collection to obtain data related to 
motor vehicle compliance with the agency's Federal motor vehicle safety 
standards. Although the consumer information collection data is 
distinct and unique from this compliance data, respondents to both 
collections are the same. Thus, the consumer information collection 
procedure is closely coordinated with the compliance collection to 
enable responders to assemble the data more efficiently. The burden is 
further eased by sending the respondents electronic forms that they 
complete and electronically return to the agency. For the expansion of 
the information collection to include CRS recommendations, the agency 
asks that respondents provide a list of child safety seats that fit in 
their vehicles at the same time they supply the vehicle safety 
information to further minimize the burden. The following table 
provides the estimated annual burden hours, assuming full participation 
in the program.

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                                                             Vehicle safety    Vehicle-CRS fit
                                                               information       information          Total
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Estimated Annual Burden Hours.............................               800              3600              4400
Number of Respondents.....................................                21                21                21
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    The combined consumer information collected will be used on the 
agency's www.safercar.gov Web site, in the ``Purchasing with Safety in 
Mind: What to look for when buying a new vehicle'' and ``Buying a Safer 
Car for Child Passengers'' brochures, in other consumer publications, 
as well as for internal agency analyses and response to consumer 
inquiries.
    Comments are invited on (1) 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, (2) the accuracy of the Department's estimate of the burden of 
the proposed information collection, (3) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility and clarity of the information to be collected, and (4) 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.

Public Participation

How do I prepare and submit comments?

    Your comments must be written and in English. To ensure that your 
comments are correctly filed in the Docket, you must include the docket 
number of this document in your comments. Your comments must not be 
more than 15 pages long.\1\ We established this limit to encourage you 
to write your primary comments in a concise fashion. However, you may 
attach additional documents (if necessary) to your comments. There is 
no limit on the length of the attachments.
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    \1\ See 49 CFR 553.21.
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    If you are submitting comments electronically as a PDF (Adobe) 
file, we ask that the documents submitted be scanned using the Optical 
Character Recognition (OCR) process, thus allowing the agency to search 
and copy certain portions of your submissions.\2\
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    \2\ Optical character recognition (OCR) is the process of 
converting an image of text, such as a scanned paper document or 
electronic fax file, into computer-editable text.
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    Please note that pursuant to the Data Quality Act, in order for 
substantive data to be relied upon and used by the agency, it must meet 
the information quality standards set forth in the OMB and DOT Data 
Quality Act guidelines. Accordingly, we encourage you to consult the 
guidelines in preparing your comments. OMB's guidelines may be accessed 
at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/fedreg/reproducible.html. DOT's 
guidelines may be accessed at: http://dmses.dot.gov/submit/DataQualityGuidelines.pdf.

How can I be sure that my comments were received?

    If you submit your comments by mail and wish Docket Management to 
notify you upon its receipt of your comments, you may enclose a self-
addressed, stamped postcard in the envelope containing your comments. 
Upon receiving your comments, Docket Management will return the 
postcard by mail.

How do I submit confidential business information?

    If you wish to submit any information under a claim of 
confidentiality, you should submit three copies of your complete 
submission, including the information you claim to be confidential 
business information, to the Chief Counsel, NHTSA, at the address given 
above under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. When you send a comment 
containing information claimed to be confidential business information, 
you should include a cover letter setting forth the information 
specified in our confidential business information regulation.\3\
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    \3\ See 49 CFR 512.
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    In addition, you should submit a copy, from which you have deleted 
the claimed confidential business information, to the Docket by one of 
the methods set forth above.

Will the agency consider late comments?

    We will consider all comments received before the close of business 
on the comment closing date indicated above under DATES. To the extent 
possible, we will also consider comments received after that date.

How can I read the comments submitted by other people?

    You may read the materials placed in the Docket for this document 
(e.g., the comments submitted in response to this document by other 
interested persons) at any time by going to http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the online instructions for accessing the dockets. You may also 
read the materials at the Docket Management Facility by going to the 
street address given above under ADDRESSES. The Docket Management 
Facility is open between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through 
Friday, except Federal holidays.

    Authority:  44 U.S.C. 3506(c); delegation of authority at 49 CFR 
1.50.

    Issued on: February 17, 2012.
Christopher J. Bonanti,
Associate Administrator for Rulemaking.
[FR Doc. 2012-4367 Filed 2-24-12; 8:45 am]
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