[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 106 (Friday, June 1, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32712-32713]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-13249]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-2012-0070]


Technical Report: Evaluation of the Enhancing Vehicle-to-Vehicle 
Crash Compatibility Agreement: Effectiveness of the Primary and 
Secondary Energy-Absorbing Structures on Pickup Trucks and SUVs

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

ACTION: Request for comments on technical report.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces NHTSA's publication of a Technical 
Report reviewing and evaluating the Enhancing Vehicle-to-Vehicle Crash 
Compatibility Agreement. The report's title is: Evaluation of the 
Enhancing Vehicle-to-Vehicle Crash Compatibility Agreement: 
Effectiveness of the Primary and Secondary Energy-Absorbing Structures 
on Pickup Trucks and SUVs.

DATES: Comments must be received no later than October 1, 2012.

ADDRESSES: Report: The technical report is available on the Internet 
for viewing in PDF format at http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/811621.pdf. You may obtain a copy of the report free of charge by 
sending a self-addressed mailing label to Nathan K. Greenwell (NVS-
431), National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Room W53-440, 
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590.
    Comments: You may submit comments [identified by Docket Number 
NHTSA-2012-0070] by any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments.
     Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
     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: 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.
    You may call Docket Management at 202-366-9826.
    Instructions: For detailed instructions on submitting comments, see 
the Procedural Matters section of this document. Note that all comments 
received will be posted without change

[[Page 32713]]

to http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information 
provided.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nathan K. Greenwell, Mathematical 
Statistician, Evaluation Division, NVS-431, National Center for 
Statistics and Analysis, National Highway Traffic Safety 
Administration, Room W53-440, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, 
DC 20590. Telephone: 202-366-2570. Email: [email protected].
    For information about NHTSA's evaluations of the effectiveness of 
existing regulations and programs: You may see a list of published 
evaluation reports at http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/cats/listpublications.aspx?Id=226&ShowBy=Category and if you click on any 
report you will be able to view it in PDF format.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Enhancing Vehicle-to-Vehicle Crash 
Compatibility Agreement (EVC) was established in 2003 as a voluntary 
measure to reduce occupant fatalities of passenger cars in crashes with 
light trucks and vans, including pickup trucks, SUVs, minivans, and 
full-size vans, generically abbreviated as LTVs. Manufacturers agreed 
upon voluntary standards for LTVs to reduce the height mismatches 
between these LTVs and passenger cars. NHTSA statistically compared 
car-occupant fatality risk in crashes with pickup trucks and SUVs, 
referred throughout the report as light trucks, built just before and 
just after self-certification to the agreement based on FARS and Polk 
data from 2002 to 2010. Overall, there was a statistically significant 
8-percent reduction in car-occupant fatalities of passenger cars after 
light trucks self-certified to the agreement. However, for pickup 
trucks and SUVs separately, the effectiveness is inconsistent. Pickup 
trucks experienced a non-significant increase of 5-percent likelihood 
of occupant fatalities of passenger cars, while SUVs were associated 
with a significant 17-percent reduction. Furthermore, a supplementary 
non-parametric analysis does not show fatality reduction for 
significantly more than 50 percent of the makes and models. Overall, 
these results provide some evidence that the EVC has reduced fatalities 
but are not sufficiently strong to permit an unequivocal conclusion 
that it has been effective in reducing fatality risk to car occupants.

Procedural Matters

How can I influence NHTSA's thinking on this subject?

    NHTSA welcomes public review of the technical report. NHTSA will 
submit to the Docket a response to the comments and, if appropriate, 
will supplement or revise the report.

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, please include the Docket 
number of this document (NHTSA-2012-0070) in your comments.
    Your primary comments must not be more than 15 pages long (49 CFR 
553.21). However, you may attach additional documents to your primary 
comments. There is no limit on the length of the attachments.
    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) or you may visit http://www.regulations.gov.
    Please send two paper copies of your comments to Docket Management, 
fax them, or use the Federal eRulemaking Portal. The mailing address is 
U. S. Department of Transportation, Docket Management Facility, M-30, 
West Building, Ground Floor, Rm. W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., 
Washington, DC 20590. The fax number is 1-202-493-2251. To use the 
Federal eRulemaking Portal, go to http://www.regulations.gov and follow 
the online instructions for submitting comments.
    We also request, but do not require you to send a copy to Nathan K. 
Greenwell, Mathematical Statistician, Evaluation Division, NVS-431, 
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Room W53-440, 1200 New 
Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590 (or email them to 
[email protected]). He can check if your comments have been 
received at the Docket and he can expedite their review by NHTSA.

How can I be sure that my comments were received?

    If you wish Docket Management to notify you upon its receipt of 
your comments, 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, send three copies of your complete submission, 
including the information you claim to be confidential business 
information, to the Chief Counsel, National Highway Traffic Safety 
Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590. 
Include a cover letter supplying the information specified in our 
confidential business information regulation (49 CFR part 512).
    In addition, send two copies from which you have deleted the 
claimed confidential business information to U.S. Department of 
Transportation, Docket Management Facility, M-30, West Building, Ground 
Floor, Rm. W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590, 
or submit them via the Federal eRulemaking Portal.

Will the agency consider late comments?

    In our response, we will consider all comments that Docket 
Management receives before the close of business on the comment closing 
date indicated above under DATES. To the extent possible, we will also 
consider comments that Docket Management receives after that date.
    Please note that even after the comment closing date, we will 
continue to file relevant information in the Docket as it becomes 
available. Further, some people may submit late comments. Accordingly, 
we recommend that you periodically check the Docket for new material.

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: 49 U.S.C. 30111, 30168; delegation of authority at 49 
CFR 1.50 and 501.8.

Terry Shelton,
Associate Administrator, National Center for Statistics and Analysis.
[FR Doc. 2012-13249 Filed 5-31-12; 8:45 am]
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