[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 74 (Tuesday, April 17, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22834-22835]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-9159]



[[Page 22834]]

=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

[Docket No. NHTSA-2012-0043]


Reports, Forms, and Recordkeeping Requirements

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

ACTION: Request for public comment on proposed collection of 
information.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: NHTSA invites public comments about our intention to request 
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval for a new 
information collection. Before a Federal agency can collect certain 
information from the public, it must receive approval from the 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 reinstatements of previously approved collections. The collection 
involves recruitment material, participants' eligibility, and 
debriefing questionnaires. The information to be collected will be used 
to describe the study sample and gather information about participant 
experience with experiments related to the Pedestrian Safety 
Enhancement Act of 2010 (PSEA).

DATES: Written comments should be submitted by June 18, 2012.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Docket No. NHTSA-2012-
0043 through one of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments on 
the electronic docket site by clicking on ``Help'' or ``FAQ.''
     Hand Delivery: 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., West Building 
Ground Floor, Room W12-140, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern Time, 
Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
     Fax: 202-493-2251.
    Regardless of how you submit comments, you should mention the 
docket number of this document.
    You may call the Docket Management Facility at 202-366-9826.
    Privacy Act: Anyone is able to search the electronic form of all 
comments received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual 
submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf 
of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review DOT's 
complete Privacy Act Statement in the Federal Register published on 
April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477-78) or you may visit http://www.dot.gov/privacy.html.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments received, go to http://www.regulations.gov, or the street 
address listed above. Follow the online instructions for accessing the 
dockets.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lisandra Garay-Vega, 202-366-1412, 
Vehicle Safety Research, National Highway Traffic Safety 
Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey 
Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590.

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 collection of information for which 
the agency is seeking approval from OMB:
    OMB Control Number: Not assigned.
    Title: Recruitment and debriefing of human subjects for 
observational experiments to test auditory perception of vehicle 
sounds.
    Form Numbers: None.
    Type of Review: New Information Collection.
    Abstract: The Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act of 2010 (PSEA) 
requires NHTSA to conduct a rulemaking to establish a Federal Motor 
Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) requiring an alert sound for 
pedestrians to be emitted by electric vehicles or hybrid vehicles (EVs 
and HVs). The goal is to establish performance requirements for an 
alert sound that allows blind and other pedestrians to reasonably 
detect a nearby EV or HV.
    Human factors observational experiments in a laboratory setting are 
proposed to examine participants' response to different sound 
characteristics. The Volpe National Transportation Systems Center 
(Volpe Center), which is an element of the U.S. Department of 
Transportation (U.S. DOT), Research and Innovative Technology 
Administration (RITA), would conduct this research under an Inter-
Agency Agreement (IAA) with the NHTSA. The collection of information 
consists of: (1) Recruitment material and eligibility questionnaire, 
and (2) debriefing questionnaire. Information would be used to verify 
eligibility, to describe the study sample, and to gather information 
about participant experience with the experiment. Information to be 
collected includes, for example; age, gender, whether participant 
considers him/herself an independent traveler and travels regularly; 
whether the participant is legally blind or sighted; whether the 
participant self-reported to have normal hearing in both ears without 
hearing aids; whether they have normal manual dexterity in both hands 
(for prompt button pressing); and overall experience while 
participating in the experiment.
    Respondents: Legally blind and sighted volunteers to be recruited 
in the Greater Boston Area, Massachusetts. Researchers would reach out 
to local organizations that provide services to the local blind 
community such as the Carroll Center for the Blind, the Perkins School 
for the Blind, and the Bay State Council of the Blind. Participants 
would also be recruited among federal employees at the Volpe Center in 
Cambridge, MA. Participants who are not Volpe Center employees or 
members of the blind community may also be recruited from the general 
population within the Greater Boston Area through for example, 
university bulletin boards and flyers.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 90.
    Estimated Number of Responses: One response per person to each of 
10-15 questions total.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 1 minute per question per respondent 
(15 to 22.5 hours total).
    Estimated Frequency: One time.

[[Page 22835]]

    Public Comments Invited: You are asked to comment on any aspect of 
this information collection, including (a) whether the proposed 
collection of information is necessary for the Department's 
performance; (b) the accuracy of the estimated burden; (c) ways for the 
Department to enhance the quality, utility and clarity of the 
information collection; and (d) ways that the burden could be minimized 
without reducing the quality of the collected information. The agency 
will summarize and/or include your comments in the request for OMB's 
clearance of this information collection.

Tim Johnson,
Chief, Electronic Systems Safety Division, Vehicle Safety Research.
[FR Doc. 2012-9159 Filed 4-16-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P