[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 92 (Tuesday, May 13, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27309-27310]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-10932]


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

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[30 Day-14-13AIG]


Agency Forms Undergoing Paperwork Reduction Act Review

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has submitted 
the following information collection request to the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with 
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The notice for the proposed 
information collection is published to obtain comments from the public 
and affected agencies.
    Written comments and suggestions from the public and affected 
agencies concerning the proposed collection of information are 
encouraged. Your comments should address any of the following: (a) 
Evaluate 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; (b) Evaluate the 
accuracy of the agencies estimate of the burden of the proposed 
collection of information, including the validity of the methodology 
and assumptions used; (c) Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of 
the information to be collected; (d) Minimize the burden of the 
collection of information on those who are to respond, including 
through 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; and 
(e) Assess information collection costs.
    To request additional information on the proposed project or to 
obtain a copy of the information collection plan and instruments, call 
(404) 639-7570 or send an email to [email protected]. Written comments and/or 
suggestions regarding the items contained in this notice should be 
directed to the Attention: CDC Desk Officer, Office of Management and 
Budget, Washington, DC 20503 or by fax to (202) 395-5806. Written 
comments should be received within 30 days of this notice.

Proposed Project

    Taxi Driver Survey on Motor Vehicle Safety and Workplace Violence 
(or, Taxi Driver Survey)--New--National Institute for Occupational 
Safety and Health (NIOSH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 
(CDC).

Background and Brief Description

    Under the Public Law 91-596 (Section 20[a][1]), the National 
Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is tasked with 
conducting research relating to occupational safety and health. There 
are two types of work-related events that are the overwhelming cause of 
injury and death among taxicab drivers: Transportation-related events 
(almost exclusively highway-related) and workplace violence.
    In the United States, motor vehicle crashes remain the leading 
cause of occupational fatalities and continue to be a leading cause of 
occupational nonfatal injuries. In 1998-2002, workers in the ``Taxi 
Services'' industry had the highest rate of nonfatal motor vehicle-
related injuries treated in emergency departments (86 per 10,000 FTEs). 
Moreover, 134 of the 423 (32%) fatalities 2003-2010 in the ``Taxi and 
limousine services'' industry resulted from a motor vehicle crash.
    Workers, who operate light motor vehicles as their primary job, 
including taxi drivers, are an inadequately studied population. There 
are few reports describing the population of workers driving light 
motor vehicles, their driving patterns, or their driving behaviors. The 
road safety component of the proposed study would provide new 
scientific knowledge of a well-defined occupation whose primary job is 
to operate a taxi cab at any time of day under numerous road and 
traffic conditions. Motor vehicle safety findings from this survey will 
be disseminated globally to municipal transportation regulators through 
an established network.
    Workplace violence continues to contribute substantially to the 
public health burden of both nonfatal and fatal injury outcomes. The 
proposed study would have a workplace violence section in the survey 
that would allow the evaluation of the major types of safety equipment 
on rates of workplace violence incidents and events at the individual 
level (taxicab drivers).
    The proposed study goals are to: (1) Describe the occurrence of 
motor vehicle events among taxicab drivers, (2) describe the risk 
factors of motor vehicle events among taxicab drivers, and (3) evaluate 
events of workplace violence among taxicab drivers. In order to 
accomplish the study goals, the corresponding study objectives are: (a) 
To enumerate the occurrence of motor vehicle crashes among taxicab 
drivers, (b) identify and describe the risk factors and protective 
factors associated with road safety among taxicab drivers, and (c) 
compare workplace violence events over a twelve-month period among 
taxicab drivers by type of safety equipment installed in taxicab.
    Findings from the study will be used to develop future prevention 
initiatives for reducing work-related motor vehicle crashes. These 
prevention initiatives, such as reducing driver fatigue through shift 
work limitations, may take the form of municipal ordinances

[[Page 27310]]

promulgated by the city regulators or company-wide directives designed 
to impact road safety by a city taxi fleet. Another use of data 
collected for this study would be to serve as a baseline measure for a 
future evaluation of safety initiatives implemented at the municipal 
level. Finally, contextual data on motor vehicle crashes is not 
completely captured by current surveillance methods. Such a survey 
would provide insight into the occurrence of crashes involving 
taxicabs. Furthermore, data on driving behaviors in the context of 
safety climate and role overload can only be obtained directly from 
taxicab drivers and will provide the perspective needed for designing 
effective safety interventions.
    CDC requests OMB approval for 2 years to collect survey data using 
the Taxi Driver Survey. CDC anticipates the survey data collection will 
be conducted in Houston over several months in Summer/Fall of 2014 and 
over several months in FY 2015 for Los Angeles. The study objectives 
will be addressed using a single survey designed to capture prevalence 
and frequency of adverse motor vehicle events and injuries, road safety 
data elements and workplace violence data elements. Taxicab drivers 
will be approached and invited to participate in two cities, 550 in 
Houston and 550 in Los Angeles, it is anticipated 50 taxicab drivers in 
each city will not participate in the survey. Survey data will be 
collected from taxicab drivers in two cities, 500 in Houston and 500 in 
Los Angeles once during a 30 minute in-person interview, while taxicab 
drivers are waiting in the airport lot to pick up fares.
    The survey questions on road safety behaviors are from validated 
questionnaires used by researchers in Australia. The survey was 
administered to nine taxicab drivers in Houston to test for clarity and 
comprehensibility by taxicab drivers. The survey took 30 minutes or 
less to complete.
    The information collected will describe road safety and workplace 
violence experiences in the past 12 months. Collecting survey data on 
500 respondents in each city results in an estimated burden of 275 
hours per city. The total estimated burden is 550 hours. There is no 
cost to respondents other than their time.

                                        Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                      Average
                                                                     Number of       Number of      burden per
          Type of respondents                   Form name           respondents    responses per   response  (in
                                                                                    respondent       minutes)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Taxicab Drivers in Houston............  Taxi Driver Survey......             550               1              30
Taxicab Drivers in Los Angeles........  Taxi Driver Survey......             550               1              30
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Leroy Richardson,
Chief, Information Collection Review Office, Office of Scientific 
Integrity, Office of the Associate Director for Science, Office of the 
Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2014-10932 Filed 5-12-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P