[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 109 (Thursday, June 6, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34154-34156]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-13415]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[U.S. DOT Docket No. NHTSA-2013-0070]


Reports, Forms, and Record Keeping Requirements

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

ACTION: Request for public comment on proposed 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 
extensions and reinstatements of previously approved collections.
    This document describes the collection of information for which 
NHTSA intends to seek OMB approval.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before August 5, 2013.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by DOT Docket ID Number 
NHTSA-2013-0070 using any of the following methods:
    Electronic submissions: Go to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow 
the on-line instructions for submitting comments.
    Mail: Docket Management Facility, M-30, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., West Building Ground Floor, 
Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590.
    Hand Delivery: West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New 
Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday 
through Friday, except Federal holidays.
    Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
    Instructions: Each submission must include the Agency name and the 
Docket number for this Notice. Note that all comments received will be 
posted without change to http://

[[Page 34155]]

www.regulations.gov including any personal information provided.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Alan Block, Contracting Officer's 
Technical Representative, Office of Behavioral Safety Research (NTI-
131), National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 1200 New Jersey 
Avenue SE., W46-499, Washington, DC 20590. Mr. Block's phone number is 
202-366-6401 and his email address is [email protected]

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 
before an agency submits a proposed collection of information to OMB 
for approval, it must 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 regulations (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; and
    (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 public comment on 
the following proposed collection of information:

Implementation of a Youth Traffic Safety Survey

    Type of Request--New information collection requirement.
    OMB Clearance Number--None.
    Form Number--NHTSA Form 1199.
    Requested Expiration Date of Approval--3 years from date of 
approval.
    Summary of the Collection of Information--The National Highway 
Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) proposes to conduct a survey of 
young drivers ages 16 through 20 concerning traffic safety issues 
affecting young people in that age range. The survey would use Web as 
the primary response mode and mail as a second response mode. The 
sample would be drawn from driver license databases of States that 
choose to participate in the study. NHTSA would seek participation by 
eight States, two per Census Region. Contact with prospective 
respondents would be conducted through the mail. Young drivers would be 
asked to go to a designated Web site to take the survey. Follow up 
mailings would include as a second response option a paper version of 
the questionnaire that respondents can fill out and mail back. The 
survey would also provide the capability for the interview to be 
conducted by telephone if the prospective respondent requests that 
option. The questionnaire would cover topics such as general driving 
behavior, driver education and graduated driver licensing, parental 
oversight of driving, distraction and driving, drinking and driving, 
seat belt use, speeding and racing, crash experience, and traffic 
violations.
    The survey would first be pilot-tested in a single State. One 
purpose of the pilot test would be to determine if it is feasible to 
administer the full version of the questionnaire to all respondents, or 
whether the questionnaire would need to be split into two shorter 
versions. The average amount of time for respondents to complete the 
full version of the questionnaire is estimated to be 25 minutes. The 
average amount of time estimated to complete the shorter versions is 15 
minutes. The pilot test would compare the response rates of groups 
receiving the different questionnaire versions. Combined with other 
test conditions being used to assess survey administration issues, 
there would be a total of 9 respondent groups whose response rates 
would be compared.
    The survey would be conducted primarily on-line, with the on-line 
technology serving to reduce length and minimize recording errors. Each 
respondent would be assigned a unique randomly generated PIN (Personal 
Identification Number) that must be used to access the questionnaire on 
the Web site. The personally identifiable information used to contact 
respondents would be held separately from the information provided by 
respondents to the survey so that no connection can be made between the 
two. No personally identifiable information would be collected during 
the interviews.
    Description of the Need for the Information and Proposed Use of the 
Information--NHTSA was established to reduce the number of deaths, 
injuries, and economic losses resulting from motor vehicle crashes on 
the Nation's highways. As part of this statutory mandate, NHTSA is 
authorized to conduct research as a foundation for the development of 
motor vehicle standards and traffic safety programs.
    Young drivers 16- to 20-years old are especially vulnerable to 
death and injury on our roadways, with traffic crashes being the 
leading cause of death for teenagers in America. It is essential that 
NHTSA be proactive in addressing young driver traffic safety. As a 
data-driven organization, this means collecting and analyzing quality 
data to identify the nature of young driver traffic safety problems, to 
guide development of intervention approaches, and to evaluate the 
effectiveness of interventions. While crash and fatality databases are 
invaluable sources of data applicable to these tasks, they do not tell 
the entire story. Attitudes, perceptions, knowledge, beliefs, 
preferences, and related factors often play a role in how the 
circumstances underlying a crash evolved. Situational and experiential 
factors also figure into the equation. Taking a comprehensive approach 
to preventing young driver crashes requires an understanding of this 
contextual information in order to fully assess the young driver crash 
problem and identify specific problems while also locating strategic 
points for intervention. This survey responds to those information 
needs.
    This survey will fill in gaps in the information that NHTSA has 
regarding young drivers, and will be used by the agency to help guide 
its strategic planning of activities to improve traffic safety of 
people in this age group. States that participate in the survey will be 
provided with a snapshot picture of attitudes, knowledge, and self-
reported driving-related behavior of young people in their State that 
they can use in their own traffic safety planning activities, and that 
they can disseminate to their local jurisdictions. The aggregated data 
across States will provide a status report on where young drivers stand 
with regards to key traffic safety issues for use by traffic safety 
professionals and other concerned individuals in planning, developing, 
refining, and implementing measures to improve young driver safety.
    Description of the Likely Respondents (Including Estimated Number, 
and Proposed Frequency of Response to the Collection of Information)--A 
maximum of 100 licensed drivers ages 18 through 20 would be recruited 
to participate in usability tests to identify any problems with self-
administration of the Web-based questionnaire. Sixteen- and

[[Page 34156]]

seventeen-year-olds would not yet be included as not all steps that 
need to be carried out to allow participation by people this young 
would have been completed at this stage of the project. Those steps 
would be completed by the time the project is ready to conduct the 
pilot test, in which 6,300 young people ages 16 through 20 listed in 
the driver license database of one State would be mailed a request to 
participate in the survey. For purposes of burden estimation this 
project will assume a response rate upper limit of 50%, or a maximum of 
3,150 completed pilot test interviews.
    The final survey would be administered to young people ages 16 
through 20 listed in the driver license database of one of the States 
participating in the survey. There would be eight participating States. 
The number of respondents would depend on results of the pilot test in 
addition to the response rate. For each of the eight States, 8,000 
young drivers would be mailed the request to participate in the survey 
if the pilot test determines that it is feasible to administer the 
longer version of the questionnaire. An upper limit response rate of 
50% equates to a maximum of 4,000 completed interviews per State, or 
32,000 for the survey. But if the pilot test indicates that the 
questionnaire will need to be split into two shorter questionnaires, 
then the number of respondents would double to a maximum of 64,000 as 
8,000 requests to participate in the survey would be mailed per 
questionnaire in each State.
    Businesses are ineligible for the sample and would not be 
interviewed. All respondents would be administered the survey one time 
only.
    Estimate of the Total Annual Reporting and Record Keeping Burden 
Resulting From the Collection of Information--NHTSA estimates that the 
respondents participating in the usability testing would average 1 hour 
in carrying out that activity. The number of respondents would not 
exceed 100, producing a maximum burden of 100 hours.
    The projected 3,150 maximum completed interviews for the pilot test 
would be split among those receiving the full questionnaire (one-third 
of respondents) and those receiving the shortened versions (two-thirds 
of respondents, divided between those who get shortened Version A and 
those who get shortened Version B). The full version would require an 
average of 25 minutes for the 1,050 respondents for a burden of 437.5 
hours. The shortened versions would require an average of 15 minutes 
for the 2,100 respondents for a burden of 525 hours. The total burden 
for the pilot test would therefore be a maximum of 962.5 hours.
    If the pilot test indicates that administration of the full version 
of the questionnaire is feasible, then a maximum of 32,000 respondents 
would spend an average of 25 minutes completing the final survey, for a 
burden of 13,333.33 hours. If the pilot test instead indicates that the 
final survey will need to employ the shorter questionnaires, then a 
maximum of 64,000 respondents would spend an average of 15 minutes 
completing the survey, for a burden of 16,000 hours.
    The maximum reporting burden for the Implementation of a Youth 
Traffic Safety Survey would be 100 hours for the usability testing, 
962.5 hours for the pilot test, and 16,000 hours for the final survey 
if two questionnaires are used for a grand total of 17,062.5 hours.
    All interviewing would occur during a single calendar year. Thus 
the annual reporting burden would be the entire 17,062.5 hours. The 
respondents would not incur any reporting cost from the information 
collection. The respondents also would not incur any record keeping 
burden or record keeping cost from the information collection.

    Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A).

    Issued on: May 31, 2013.
Jeffrey Michael,
Associate Administrator, Research and Program Development.
[FR Doc. 2013-13415 Filed 6-5-13; 8:45 am]
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