[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 135 (Monday, July 17, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32758-32759]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-14931]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[U.S. DOT Docket No. NHTSA-2017-0052]


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 September 15, 2017.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by DOT Docket Number 
NHTSA-2017-0052 using any of the following methods:
    Electronic submissions: Go to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow 
the online 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.
    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://www.regulations.gov, including any personal 
information provided.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kathy J. Sifrit, Contracting Officer's 
Representative, Office of Behavioral Safety Research (NPD-320), 
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue 
SE., W46-466, Washington, DC 20590. Dr. Sifrit's phone number is 202-
366-0868, and her 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:
    Title: Visual Scanning Training for Older Drivers.
    Type of Request: New information collection.
    OMB Clearance Number: None.
    Form Number: NHTSA Forms 1400, 1401 and 1402.
    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 collect information 
from licensed older drivers to determine (1) their eligibility to 
participate in a study of the effectiveness of a visual scanning 
training protocol to improve driving safety, (2) their attitudes about 
the training procedures and their perceptions of its benefits, and (3) 
the driving performance during on-road evaluations to measure training 
effectiveness.
    Study participation will be voluntary and solicited through 
informational sessions delivered by a research team member to residents 
of a continuing care retirement community. The administrator of the 
host facility will post notices describing the presentation. During the 
presentation, attendees will be invited to join the research study. 
Those who indicate an interest in participating will be asked their age 
and four screening questions to determine their eligibility for the 
study. A research team member will make appointments to answer any 
questions participants may have about the study, to obtain their 
signatures on an informed consent agreement approved by an 
Institutional Review Board (IRB), and to check for color vision and 
binocular vision limitations.
    Consented study participants will be randomly assigned within age 
and gender categories to either participation in the visual scanning 
training program (four one-on-one training sessions of one-hour each) 
or to a control (placebo) activity for the same amount of time. All

[[Page 32759]]

participants will also undergo three one-hour on-road evaluations by a 
Certified Driver Rehabilitation Specialist (CDRS) over the course of 
the study. The CDRS will provide instructions to the driver about what 
route to follow and will score driving performance using standard 
procedures and criteria that are broadly accepted in the profession. 
Following the second and third evaluations, each study participant will 
receive a $100 gift card as compensation for participation for a total 
value of $200 per participant.
    Audio recordings of the scanning training sessions will be made, 
and any comments about the training offered by participants will be 
noted by research staff during review of the recordings. After 
completing visual scanning training, participants will complete a brief 
questionnaire to determine whether they believe the training will help 
them to be a safer driver, whether they would recommend the training to 
friends or relatives, and what they would pay for such training.
    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 
traffic safety programs.
    Older adults comprise an increasing proportion of the licensed 
population, and exposure-based analyses of crash risk have consistently 
shown increased rates of involvement for drivers as they age into their 
70's and beyond. Further, these crash risk studies have identified 
particular situations where older drivers are most at risk. These 
situations often require significant visual search and attention, such 
as maneuvers at intersections and in merging situations.
    As the effect of this age-related decline in visual search and 
attention on safe driving abilities has become better understood, 
researchers have developed different strategies and techniques to 
ameliorate it. The visual scanning training protocol that is the focus 
of this study was designed to be delivered by a generalist occupational 
therapist (OT). The OT would conduct the one-on-one sessions in a 
clinical setting, targeting visual field expansion, simultaneous 
processing of multiple visual stimuli, and ocular skill (visual search 
routine) exercises. NHTSA's study ``Validation of Rehabilitation 
Training Programs for Older Drivers'' (DOT HS 811 749; April 2013) 
provided a preliminary analysis of the training's effectiveness. While 
these results were encouraging, the research team concluded that 
widespread promotion of this intervention would require additional 
evidence.
    Following efforts to refine and streamline the training protocol, a 
larger sample of healthy older drivers will receive the updated 
training program. The study will measure effectiveness of the training 
by comparison of CDRS road test scores to a control group while also 
gauging drivers' attitudes and perceptions about the training 
experience. The original training program developer and supporting 
research team will direct and perform this study.
    Description of the Likely Respondents (Including Estimated Number, 
and Proposed Frequency of Response to the Collection of Information)--
Responds will be residents of a continuing care retirement community. 
Residents interested in participating will be excluded if they have 
been advised to alter or restrict driving by a physician/health care 
professional; if they require use of any adaptive vehicle controls 
(e.g., hand controls or left foot accelerator); if they have color 
vision problems; or if they do not hold a valid driver's license. We 
anticipate screening 135 residents to recruit 90 older drivers for the 
study with 60 between the ages of 70 and 79 and 30 ages 80 or older. A 
roughly equal distribution of males and females will be sought within 
each age cohort. Overall, 45 older drivers will be randomly assigned to 
the treatment group (visual scanning training protocol) and 45 to the 
control (placebo) group (internet search strategies for locating 
information and resources to improve driving safety).
    The screening of the estimated 135 respondents will occur once. The 
response to informed consent and check for vision limitations for the 
90 participants occurs just once, but the study requires participation 
in the subsequent four training sessions and three on-road driving 
evaluations. The 45 participants who received the training will 
complete a brief one-time questionnaire about attitudes and beliefs 
about the training program administered at the end of the training 
protocol.
    Estimate of the Total Annual Reporting and Record Keeping Burden 
Resulting from the Collection of Information--The total estimated 
burden for this information collection is 689 hours and 15 minutes. The 
estimated 135 post-presentation sign-up interactions to learn the age 
of interested candidates and ask the questions about exclusion criteria 
will average 3 minutes in length for an estimated total burden of 6 
hours and 45 minutes. All of the 90 participants will attend a 30-
minute meeting to obtain informed consent and check for color and 
binocular vision limitations, four one-hour training sessions, and 
three one-hour on-road evaluations for an estimated total burden of 675 
hours. The 45 treatment group participants also will be asked to 
complete a ten-minute questionnaire to collect attitudes and beliefs 
about the visual scanning training protocol for a total estimated 
burden of 7 hours and 30 minutes. Participants will incur no costs from 
the data collection, and participants will incur no record keeping 
burden and no record keeping cost from the information collection.

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

    Issued in Washington, DC on July 7, 2017.
Jeff Michael,
Associate Administrator, Research and Program Development.
[FR Doc. 2017-14931 Filed 7-14-17; 8:45 am]
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