[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 180 (Thursday, September 17, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55903-55904]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-23294]



[[Page 55903]]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-2014-0025]


Request for Comments on New Information Collection

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 is being submitted to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comments.

DATES: Written comments should be submitted by October 19, 2015.

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 Julie Kang, Ph.D., Vehicle Safety 
Research, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), U.S. 
Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, 
DC 20590. Dr. Kang's telephone number is (202) 366-5195.

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 with a 60-day 
comment period soliciting comments on the following information 
collection was published on March 13, 2014 (79 FR 14335).
    NHTSA received one comment from the Insurance Institute for Highway 
Safety (IIHS) on the proposed information collection. In NHTSA's 
original proposed study, each driver would have experienced a one week 
baseline period and two one week periods where each driver would use 
each technology. IIHS stated a within-subject design may result in a 
carryover effect in which changes in behavior resulting from exposure 
to the first technology may influence behavioral responses to the 
second technology in a subsequent week. IIHS's concern is that the 
reinforcement contingencies drivers learn with the first technology may 
carry over to a subsequent phase of study and potentially confound the 
measurement of the second technology's effect on belt use. Based on 
IIHS's suggestion, NHTSA has changed the experimental design from a 
within-subjects design (32 participants, 3 weeks) to a between-subject 
design (48 participants, 3 weeks). In this between-subject design 
experiment, each participant will only experience one of the two seat 
belt interlock technologies. This new design holds reasonable 
statistical analysis power and clears out the concern of the behavior 
carry-on effect.
    OMB Control Number: Not assigned.
    Title: Recruitment and Debriefing of Human Subjects for Field Test 
of Vehicle Occupant Protection Technologies.
    Form Numbers: None.
    Type of Review: New Information Collection.
    Background: NHTSA's mission is to save lives, prevent injuries, and 
reduce economic losses resulting from motor vehicle crashes. Increasing 
seat belt use is one of the agency's highest priorities. Seat belt use 
has shown an increasing trend since 1995, accompanied by a steady 
decline in the percentage of unrestrained passenger vehicle occupant 
fatalities during daytime. In 2013, the nationwide seat belt use 
reached 87 percent for drivers and front seat passengers.\1\ Despite 
gains in seat belt usage, data from the 2011 Fatality Analysis 
Reporting System (FARS) indicates that 52 percent of all passenger 
vehicle crash fatalities \2\ were unbelted occupants.\3\ The age group 
21 to 24 had the highest percentage of unrestrained occupants killed: 
2,172 fatalities, of which 1,385 (64 percent) were unrestrained. The 
second highest percentage of unrestrained passenger vehicle occupant 
fatalities was 63 percent among 25- to 34-year-olds.\3\ Use of lap/
shoulder seat belts reduces the risk of fatal injury to front-seat 
passenger car occupants by 45 percent and the risk of moderate-to-
critical injury by 50 percent. In 2011 alone, seat belts saved an 
estimated 11,949 lives.\3\
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    \1\ Pickrell, T.M., & Liu, C. (2014, January). Seat Belt Use in 
2013--Overall Results. (Traffic Safety Facts Research Note. Report 
No. DOT HS 811 875). Washington, DC: National Highway Traffic Safety 
Administration.
    \2\ The 2012 and 2013 data on the percent of unrestrained 
passenger vehicle occupant fatalities during daytime is not yet 
available.
    \3\ NHTSA. (2013, June) Occupant Protection (Traffic Safety 
Facts 2011 Data. Report No.DOT HS 811 729). Washington, DC: National 
Highway Traffic Safety Administration. http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/811729.pdf
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    The proposed study will examine seat belt use, users' acceptance of 
emerging vehicle technologies designed to increase seat belt use, the 
likelihood of and potential strategies to circumvent the system, and 
unintended consequences. The study method consists of a field 
operational test to collect objective and subjective data about two 
prototype technologies developed by automakers to increase seat belt 
use. In response to comments received during the 60-day comment period, 
NHTSA has changed the experimental design, from a within-subjects 
design (32 participants, 3-week) to a between-subject design (48 
participants, 3-week). This new design holds reasonable statistical 
analysis power and clears out the concern of the behavior carry-on 
effect. A total of 48 drivers from two age groups would be recruited to 
participate in the study, 24 non-seat belt users (12 young drivers; 12 
middle-aged drivers), and 24 part-time users (12 young drivers; 12 
middle-aged drivers). The study sample would have equal numbers of male 
and female drivers from each age group. The research team acknowledges 
that it may be difficult to recruit non-users given the high seat belt 
use rate in Michigan (more than 90 percent). As a result, the research 
team will also draw from the University of Michigan Transportation 
Researh Institute's (UMTRI) previous field operational test study 
participant pool of low seat belt users. This pool of previous 
participants have indicated that they would be willing do other 
studies; therefore, it is expected that this strategy will greatly 
expedite the recruitment process. The estimated burden hours are shown 
for a maximum of 391 respondents to respond to the recruitment 
advertisements. The number of call-ins was calculated based on:

--A 93 percent seat belt use rate in Michigan, so it takes about 343 
call-ins to find the 24 non-seat belt users for screening purposes;
--It is estimated at least 50 percent of the part-time seat belt users 
from previous studies will participate in the current study (pulling 
from those who have indicated that they would be interested in 
participating in future studies), so it takes about 48 call-ins to find 
24 part-time seat belt users.

    Each driver will be presented with one baseline condition and one 
vehicle occupant protection technology. Each condition will last one 
week. Therefore, each participant will drive the research vehicles for 
two weeks. A data acquisition system will record system state (i.e., 
door, ignition, driver seat belt buckle) and video inside the vehicle 
cabin. The University of Michigan

[[Page 55904]]

Transportation Research Institute, in collaboration with the Virginia 
Tech Transportation Institute and Montana State University, Western 
Transportation Institute, will conduct this study under a research 
contract with NHTSA.

    Description of the Need for the Information and Proposed Use of the 
Information: The collection of information consists of: (1) An 
eligibility questionnaire, (2) a demographic questionnaire; and (3) 
post-study questionnaires. In the revised study design, minor changes 
were also made to the three instruments to reflect the study changes. 
Example changes include deleting the question asking for driver's 
social security number in the demographic questionnaire, and adding 
more open-end questions in the post-study questionnaires.
    The information to be collected will be used to:
     Eligibility questionnaire(s) will be used to obtain self-
reported driving history information. Individuals interested in 
participating in the study will be asked to provide information about 
their driving history. People who have been convicted of felony motor 
convictions will be excluded. Individuals who pass the initial 
screening will be asked to provide their driver's license number and 
consent to review their driving records to confirm self-reported 
driving history information. Drivers' consent and driving license 
numbers will be used to obtain official driving records from the state 
of Michigan. Individuals will be excluded from participating in the 
study if they refuse to grant UMTRI permission to review their public 
driving records or if they have been convicted of felony motor 
convictions in the last 2 years. This exclusion criterion is used to 
reduce the liability risk of providing participants with research 
vehicles.
     Demographic questionnaire will be used to obtain 
demographic information to confirm that the study group includes 
participants from various groups (e.g., age; gender; part-time seat 
belt users or those who sometimes wear their belts; non-users or those 
who never wear a seat belt; etc. Other demographic information will be 
collected to describe the study sample (e.g., annual travel distance).
     Post-study questionnaire(s) will be used to get 
information about drivers' beliefs and attitude towards each occupant 
protection technology tested, and to identify potential problems 
associated with each system. These questionnaires will also be used to 
assess perceived usability of the systems in terms of acceptance and 
satisfaction, as well as willingness to have this technology in their 
vehicle. Each driver will complete a post-study questionnaire once, at 
the end of the second week.
    Respondents: Michigan drivers with a valid driver license.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 50 to 391.
    Estimated Number of Responses: One to three responses per person, 
17 to 85 questions total.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 10 to 45 minutes per respondent 
(95.2 hours total).
    Estimated Frequency: One-time for the eligibility; demographic 
questionnaire; and the post-study questionnaire.

                                                             Table 1--Estimated Burden Hours
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                                                                                                            Estimated                          Total
                                                            Number of     Frequency of      Number of      individual    Total estimated  annualize cost
                       Instrument                          respondents      responses       questions        burden        burden hours   to respondents
                                                               \4\                                          (minutes)                           \5\
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Eligibility questionnaire..............................             391               1              17              10             65.2        $1377.60
Demographic questionnaire..............................              60               1              23               5              5            105.70
Post-study questionnaire...............................              50               1              45              30             25            528.50
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    Total..............................................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............             95.2         2011.80
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\4\ The number of respondents in this table includes drop-out rates.
\5\ Estimated based on the mean hourly rate for Michigan (all occupations) is $21.14 as reported in the May 2011 Occupational Employment and Wage
  Estimates, Bureau of Labor Statistics. http://www.bls.gov/oes/oes_dl.htm

    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 Department's 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; 5 CFR part 1320; and 49 CFR 1.95.

    Issued in Washington, DC.
Nathaniel Beuse,
Associate Administrator for Vehicle Safety Research.
[FR Doc. 2015-23294 Filed 9-16-15; 8:45 am]
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