[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 227 (Tuesday, November 25, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70270-70271]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-27884]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-2014-0033]


Reports, Forms, and Record Keeping Requirements; Agency 
Information Collection Activity Under OMB Review

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

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 
U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this notice announces that the Information 
Collection Request (ICR) abstracted below has been forwarded to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comments. The ICR 
describes the nature of the information collection and its expected 
burden.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before December 26, 
2014.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to the Office of Information and Regulatory 
Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, 725 17th Street NW., 
Washington, DC 20503, Attention NHTSA Desk Officer.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information or access 
to background documents, contact Lisa Gavin, Office of Crash Avoidance 
Standards (NVS-121), U.S. Department of Transportation, National 
Highway Traffic Safety Administration, West Building, W43-432, 1200 New 
Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590. Email address: 
[email protected]. Ms.

[[Page 70271]]

Gavin's telephone number is (202) 366-9291.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Before a Federal agency can collect certain 
information from the public, it must receive approval from the Office 
of Management and Budget (OMB). In compliance with these requirements, 
this notice announces that the following information collection request 
has been forwarded to OMB. A Federal Register notice soliciting 
comments on the following information collection was published on May 
27, 2014 (79 FR 30230). No comments were received on that notice.
    Title: Recruitment and Debriefing of Human Subjects for Research 
Related to Motor Vehicle Gear Selection Controls.
    OMB Control Number: 2127--New.
    Type of Request: New information collection.
    Form Numbers: 1263 and 1264.
    Requested Expiration Date of Approval: Three years from the 
approval date.
    Abstract: The introduction of electronically-controlled 
transmissions has allowed much greater freedom in the design of driver 
interfaces, with the result that drivers are being confronted with new 
and different types of gear selector controls--joysticks, push buttons, 
rotary knobs, etc. This information collection is incidental to the 
recruitment of participants for human-factors studies designed to 
measure the ability of drivers to adapt to unfamiliar types of gear-
selection controls. There is no known published usability research 
related to these new types of driver interfaces.
    The proposed studies will examine driver response to non-
traditional gear selector configurations in routine and emergency 
simulated driving scenarios, noting driver confusion, distraction and 
unintended consequences due to the unconventional gear selector 
configuration. The research method consists of driving simulations to 
collect objective and subjective data about six different gear selector 
types. Approximately 500 drivers will respond to the request for 
participants. It is estimated that of the 500 respondents, 360 will 
ultimately be recruited and participate. The estimated burden hours 
were calculated for the pre- and post-experiment questionnaires and for 
performing the driving tasks for the 500 respondents accordingly.
    Participants will be tested individually in a driving simulator 
located at the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe 
Center), which will conduct this research under an Intra-Agency 
Agreement (IAA) with NHTSA. The information being collected consists of 
that required for scheduling appointments and for balancing the subject 
sample across age groups, gender, and previous driving experience with 
various motor vehicle gear selector configurations. The experimental 
data will contain the demographic and past-experience descriptors for 
each participant, but no personally identifiable information. During or 
after the experimental sessions, participants may be queried regarding 
their perceptions and preferences about various aspects of gear-
selection controls.
    Affected Public: Participants for the driving simulator experiment 
will be selected from a list of eligible individuals who reside in the 
Boston area and have indicated to Volpe Center staff that they would 
like to participate in this experiment. All participants will be asked 
the same recruitment questions.
    Respondents: Drivers with a valid driver license.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 500.
    Estimated Number of Respondents Selected: 360.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 595 hours (1 hour and 38 minutes per 
selected respondent and 3 minutes per respondent not selected.)
    Frequency of Collection: One time.
    Comments are invited on: Whether the proposed collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the Department, including whether the information will have practical 
utility; the accuracy of the Departments estimate of the burden of the 
proposed information collection; ways to enhance the quality, utility 
and clarity of the information to be collected; and ways to minimize 
the burden of the collection of information on respondents, including 
the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of 
information technology.

    Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995; 44 U.S.C. 
Chapter 35, as amended; and 49 CFR 1.95.

R. Ryan Posten,
Associate Administrator for Rulemaking, National Highway Traffic Safety 
Administration.
[FR Doc. 2014-27884 Filed 11-24-14; 8:45 am]
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