[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 23 (Tuesday, February 4, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6671-6672]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-02241]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA--2014-0014]


2014-2018 Strategic Plan

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

ACTION: Notice of public listening session and request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is 
currently finalizing its 2014-2018 strategic plan, and announces that 
it will hold a public listening session to solicit public comment on 
emerging or potential traffic safety problems and solutions. Public 
feedback will assist the agency in preparing to meet the challenges it 
faces in the next 5 years on improving motor vehicle and traffic safety 
in the United States. This notice invites comments, suggestions and 
recommendations from all individuals and organizations that have an 
interest in motor vehicle and highway safety, consumer programs (e.g., 
fuel economy, vehicle theft, odometer fraud, tire performance) 
administered by the agency, and/or other NHTSA activities. NHTSA will 
give a brief overview of the plan, and then interested organizations 
will be provided 10 minutes to present comments to the agency. 
Alternately, organizations and individuals may provide comments to the 
docket.

DATES: The listening session will be held on February 24, 2014, from 
8:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m., EDT. If all participants have had an opportunity 
to comment, the session may conclude earlier. Pre-registration is 
required for in-person participation. Register by emailing your name, 
organization and contact information to [email protected] 
by February 19, 2014. Written comments must be submitted by February 
24, 2014.

ADDRESSES: The listening session will be held at the U. S. Department 
of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590. In 
addition to attending the session in person, the Agency offers several 
ways to provide comments as enumerated below. You may submit comments 
bearing the Federal Docket Management System Docket ID NHTSA-2014-0014 
using any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments.
     Mail: Send comments to: Docket Management Facility, U.S. 
Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., West 
Building, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590.
     Fax: Written comments may be faxed to (202) 366-2106
     Hand Delivery: If you plan to submit written comments by 
hand or courier, please do so at 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., West 
Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, Washington, DC between 9 a.m. and 
5 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, except federal holidays.
    Whichever way you submit your comments, please remember to mention 
the agency and the docket number of this document within your 
correspondence. Please note that all comments received will be posted 
without change to http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal 
information provided. Please see the ``Privacy Act'' heading below.
    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 comments (or signing the comments, 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://DocketInfo.dot.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information concerning the 
listening session, please contact Melanie O'Donnell, Office of 
Governmental Affairs, Policy, and Strategic Planning, NHTSA (telephone: 
202-366-0689 or email: [email protected]). Register by emailing 
your name, organization and contact information to [email protected] by February 19, 2014.
    If you need sign language assistance to participate in this 
listening session, contact Ms. O'Donnell by February 17, 2014, to allow 
us to arrange for such services. NHTSA cannot guarantee that 
interpreter services requested on short notice will be provided.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NHTSA requests comments, suggestions and 
recommendations that will assist the agency in assessing and 
understanding the potential effects and implications that changes in 
demographic, economic, environmental, institutional, and technological 
factors will have on motor vehicle and highway traffic safety. The 
agency is particularly interested in learning about emerging or 
potential safety problems, gaps in current strategies and approaches, 
and in receiving recommendations for addressing traffic safety problems 
effectively. NHTSA will consider all comments received but may not 
necessarily include all comments into the strategic plan due to 
inconsistency with NHTSA's mission, budget constraints, and data driven 
priority areas.

I. Background

    NHTSA was established as the successor to the National Highway 
Safety Bureau in 1970, to carry out safety programs under the National 
Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966 (Chapter 301 of Title 49, 
United States Code) and the Highway Safety Act of 1966 (Chapter 4 of 
Title 23, United States Code). The agency also administers consumer 
programs established by the Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Saving 
Act of 1972 (Part C of Subtitle VI (Chapters 321, 323, 325, 327, 329 
and 331) of Title 49, United States Code). NHTSA's mission is to save 
lives, prevent injuries, and reduce traffic-related health care and 
other economic costs due to road traffic crashes through education, 
research, safety standards, and enforcement activity.
    In order to address these public health issues and economic costs 
of highway crashes, the agency seeks to improve public health by 
helping to make highway travel safer. The agency develops, promotes and 
implements educational, regulatory, enforcement and emergency medical 
service programs aimed at ending preventable tragedies and reducing the 
economic costs associated with motor vehicle use and highway travel. A 
multi-disciplinary approach that draws upon diverse fields such as 
epidemiology, engineering, biomechanics, emergency medicine, the social 
sciences, human factors, economics, education, law enforcement, and 
communication science to address one of the most complex and 
challenging public health problems facing our society.
    NHTSA is a leader in collecting and analyzing motor vehicle crash 
data, in conducting research, and in developing countermeasures 
designed to prevent and mitigate vehicle crashes, thereby reducing 
associated fatalities and traumatic injury. The agency improves traffic 
safety through its regulation and enforcement of motor vehicle and 
motor

[[Page 6672]]

vehicle equipment; develops evidence-based education and enforcement 
programs and promotes their use by States, localities, and other safety 
partners; sponsors critical research; conducts innovative projects to 
improve traffic and motor vehicle safety; provides leadership in 
understanding and assessing the safety impact of advanced technologies; 
and, works to develop harmonized international safety standards. All 
aspects of engineering, education, enforcement and evaluation are 
incorporated into programs to address the challenges of crash and 
injury prevention involving people, vehicles, and the roadway 
environment.

II. Meeting Participation and Information NHTSA Seeks From the Public

    The listening session is open to the public. NHTSA will open the 
meeting by providing a brief presentation on the current status of the 
strategic plan. Speakers' remarks will be limited to 10 minutes each. 
Pre-registration is required for in-person participation. Register by 
emailing your name, organization and contact information to [email protected] by February 19, 2014. For questions contact 
Melanie O'Donnell at [email protected] or 202-366-0689. In-
person participants need to bring photo identification and should plan 
to arrive 45 minutes before the session starts to allow time to clear 
building security. The public may submit material to the NHTSA staff at 
the session for inclusion in the public docket, NHTSA-2014-0014.

Chan Lieu,
Director, Office of Governmental Affairs, Policy and Strategic 
Planning.
[FR Doc. 2014-02241 Filed 2-3-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P