[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 207 (Friday, October 29, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60095-60102]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-23248]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket Number NHTSA-2020-0101]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Notice and Request for 
Comment; Reporting of Information and Documents About Potential Defects

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

ACTION: Notice and request for public comments on a reinstatement with 
modification of a previously approved collection of information.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), 
this notice announces that the Information Collection Request (ICR) 
summarized below will be submitted to the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) for review and approval. The ICR describes the nature of 
the information collection and its expected burden. The National 
Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) invites public comments 
about our intention to request Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
approval for an extension of a currently approved information 
collection for reporting of information and documents about potential 
defects. A Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period 
soliciting comments on the following information collection was 
published on December 29, 2020. No comments were received.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before November 29, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed 
information collection, including suggestions for reducing burden, 
should

[[Page 60096]]

be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget at www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. To find this particular information collection, 
select ``Currently under Review--Open for Public Comment'' or use the 
search function.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information or access 
to background documents, contact, Jeff Quandt, Trends Analysis Division 
(NEF-108), Room W48-312, National Highway Traffic Safety 
Administration, 1200 New Jersey Ave., Washington, DC 20590. Telephone: 
(202) 366-5207. Please identify the relevant collection of information 
by referring to its OMB Control Number.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), a 
Federal agency must receive approval from the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) before it collects certain information from the public, 
and a person is not required to respond to a collection of information 
by a Federal agency unless the collection displays a valid OMB control 
number. In compliance with these requirements, this notice announces 
that the following information collection request will be submitted 
OMB.
    A Federal Register notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting 
public comments on the following information collection was published 
on December 29, 2020 (85 FR 85848). No comments were received.
    Title: Reporting of Information and Documents about Potential 
Defects.
    OMB Control Number: 2127-0616.
    Form Number: 2020-28766.
    Type of Request: Reinstatement with modification of a previously 
approved information collection.
    Type of Review Requested: Regular.
    Length of Approval Requested: 3 years from date of approval.
    Summary of the Collection of Information: This notice requests 
comment on NHTSA's intention to seek approval from OMB to reinstate 
with modification a previously approved collection of information, OMB 
No. 2127-0616, covering requirements in 49 CFR 579, Reporting of 
Information and Communications about Potential Defects. part 579 
implements, and addresses with more specificity, requirements from the 
Transportation Recall Enhancement, Accountability, and Documentation 
(TREAD) Act (Pub. L. 106-414), which was enacted on November 1, 2000, 
and are codified at 49 U.S.C. 30166.
    The purpose of part 579 is to enhance motor vehicle safety by 
specifying information and documents that manufacturers of motor 
vehicles and motor vehicle equipment must provide to NHTSA with respect 
to possible safety-related defects and non-compliances in their 
products, including the reporting of safety recalls and other safety 
campaigns the manufacturers conduct outside the United States. Under 
Part 579, there are three categories of reporting requirements: (1) 
Requirements at Sec.  579.5 to submit notices, bulletins, customer 
satisfaction campaigns, consumer advisories, and other communications 
(found in Subpart A of Part 579); (2) requirements at Sec.  579.11 to 
submit information related to safety recalls and other safety campaigns 
in foreign countries (found in Subpart B of part 579); and (3) 
requirements at Sec. Sec.  579.21-28 to submit Early Warning 
Information (found in Subpart C of part 579). The Early Warning 
Reporting (EWR) requirements (49 U.S.C. 30166(m); 49 CFR part 579, 
subpart C) specify that manufacturers of motor vehicles and motor 
vehicle equipment must submit to NHTSA information, periodically or 
upon NHTSA's request, that includes specified claims for deaths and 
serious injuries, property damage data, communications from customers 
and others, and other information that assists NHTSA in identifying 
potential safety-related defects. The intent of this information 
collection is to provide early warning of such potential safety-related 
defects to NHTSA.
    Description of the Need for the Information and Proposed Use of the 
Information: The information required under 49 U.S.C. 30166 and 49 CFR 
part 579 is used by NHTSA to promptly identify potential safety-related 
defects in motor vehicles and motor vehicle equipment in the United 
States. When a trend in incidents arising from a potentially safety-
related defect is discovered, NHTSA relies on this information, along 
with other agency data, to determine whether to open a defect 
investigation.
    Affected Public: Manufacturers of motor vehicles and motor vehicle 
equipment.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: NHTSA receives Part 579 
submissions from approximately 337 manufacturers per year. Therefore, 
we estimate that there will be a total of 337 respondents to this 
information collection per year.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: When this approved information 
collection was last renewed in June 2017, NHTSA estimated the annual 
burden associated with this collection to be 49,243 burden hours. NHTSA 
is updating these estimates to better align with the current volume of 
submissions and to include reporting requirements for common green 
tires and follow-up sequences (per Sec.  579.28(l)), which were 
inadvertently omitted from the previous information collection request. 
NHTSA now estimates that the annual burden hours associated with this 
collection are 53,810 hours.
    NHTSA estimated the burdens associated with this collection by 
calculating the burden associated with submitting information under 
each subpart of Part 579. In addition to these burdens, NHTSA also 
estimates that manufacturers will incur computer maintenance burden 
hours, which are estimated on a per manufacturer basis.

Requirements Under Part 579, Subpart A

    The first component of this collection request covers the 
requirements found in Part 579 Subpart A, Sec.  579.5, Notices, 
bulletins, customer satisfaction campaigns, consumer advisories, and 
other communications. Section 579.5 requires manufactures to furnish 
(1) a copy of all notices, bulletins, and other communications sent to 
more than one manufacturer, distributor, dealer, lessor, lessee, owner, 
or purchaser, in the United States, regarding any defect in its 
vehicles or items of equipment (including any failure or malfunction 
beyond normal deterioration in use, or any failure of performance, or 
any flaw or unintended deviation from design specifications), whether 
or not such defect is safety-related and (2) a copy of each 
communication relating to a customer satisfaction campaign, consumer 
advisory, recall, or other safety activity involving the repair or 
replacement of motor vehicles or equipment, that the manufacturer 
issued to, or made available to, more than one dealer, distributor, 
lessor, lessee, other manufacturer, owner, or purchaser, in the United 
States. Manufacturers are required to submit these documents monthly. 
Section 579.5 does not require manufacturers to create these documents. 
Instead, only copies of these documents must be submitted to NHTSA, and 
manufacturers must index these communications and email them to NHTSA 
within 5 working days after the end of the month in which they were 
issued. Therefore, the burden hours are only those associated with 
collecting the documents and submitting copies to NHTSA.
    NHTSA estimates that it receives approximately 24,884 notices a 
year. We estimate that it takes about 5 minutes to collect, index, and 
send each notice to NHTSA. Therefore, we estimate that it takes 2,074 
hours for manufacturers to submit notices as required under

[[Page 60097]]

Section 579.5 (24,884 notices x 5 minutes = 124,420 minutes or 2,074 
hours).
    To calculate the labor cost associated with submitting Section 
579.5 notices, bulletins, customer satisfaction campaigns, consumer 
advisories and other communications that are sent to more than one 
dealer or owner, NHTSA looked at wage estimates for the type of 
personnel submitting the documents. While some manufacturers employ 
clerical staff to collect and submit the documents, others use 
technical computer support staff to complete the task. Because we do 
not know what percent of the work is completed by clerical or technical 
computer support staff, NHTSA estimates the total labor costs 
associated with these burden hours by looking at the average wage for 
the higher paid technical computer support staff. The Bureau of Labor 
Statistics (BLS) estimates that the average hourly wage for Computer 
Support Specialists (BLS Occupation code 15-1230) in the Motor Vehicle 
Manufacturing Industry is $31.39.\1\ The Bureau of Labor Statistics 
estimates that private industry workers' wages represent 70.2% of total 
labor compensation costs.\2\ Therefore, NHTSA estimates the hourly 
labor costs to be $44.72 for Computer Support Specialists. The labor 
cost per submission is estimated to be $3.73 ($44.72 x 5 minutes). 
NHTSA estimates the total labor cost associated with the 2,074 burden 
hours for Sec.  579.5 submissions to be $92,817.32 ($3.73 x 24,884 
submissions). Table 1 provides a summary of the burden estimates using 
the average annual submission count for monthly reports submitted 
pursuant to Sec.  579.5 and the estimated burden hours and labor costs 
associated with those submissions.
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    \1\ May 2019 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment 
and Wage Estimates, NAICS 336100--Motor Vehicle Manufacturing, U.S. 
Bureau of Labor Statistics, https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/naics4_336100.htm#15-0000. Last Accessed June 17, 2020.
    \2\ Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, U.S. Bureau of 
Labor Statistics, https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecec.t01.htm. 
Last Accessed July 30, 2020.

                                                 Table 1--Burden Estimates for Sec.   579.5 Submissions
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                                                                     Estimated
             Average annual Sec.   579.5 submissions                 burden per    Average  hourly   Labor cost per    Total burden    Total labor costs
                                                                     submission       labor cost       submission         hours
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24,884..........................................................       5 minutes           $44.72            $3.73            2,074       $92,817.32 or
                                                                                                                                                $92,817
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Requirements Under Part 579, Subpart B (Foreign Reporting)

    The second component of this information collection request covers 
the requirements found in Part 579 Subpart B, ``Reporting of Safety 
Recalls and Other Safety Campaigns in Foreign Countries.'' Pursuant to 
Sec.  579.11, whenever a manufacturer determines to conduct a safety 
recall or other safety campaign in a foreign country, or whenever a 
foreign government has determined that a safety recall or other safety 
campaign must be conducted, covering a motor vehicle, item of motor 
vehicle equipment, or tire that is identical or substantially similar 
to a vehicle, item of equipment, or tire sold or offered for sale in 
the United States, the manufacturer must report to NHTSA not later than 
5 working days after the manufacturer makes such determination or 
receives written notification of the foreign government's 
determination. Section 579.11(e) also requires each manufacturer of 
motor vehicles to submit, not later than November 1 of each year, a 
document that identifies foreign products and their domestic 
counterparts.
    In order to provide the information required for foreign safety 
campaigns, manufacturers must (1) determine whether vehicles or 
equipment that are covered by a foreign safety recall or other safety 
campaign are identical or substantially similar to vehicles or 
equipment sold in the United States, (2) prepare and submit reports of 
these campaigns to the agency, and (3) where a determination or notice 
has been made in a language other than English, translate the 
determination or notice into English before transmitting it to the 
agency.
    NHTSA estimates that there is no burden associated with determining 
whether an individual safety recall covers a foreign motor vehicle or 
item of motor vehicle equipment that is identical or substantially 
similar to those sold in the United States because manufacturers can 
simply consult the list that they are required to submit each year. 
Therefore, the only burden associated with making the determination of 
whether a foreign safety recall or other safety campaign is required to 
be reported to NHTSA is the burden associated with creating the annual 
list. NHTSA continues to estimate that it takes approximately 9 hours 
per manufacturer to develop and submit the list. The 9 hours are 
comprised of 8 attorney hours and 1 hour for IT work. NHTSA receives 
these lists from 101 manufacturers, on average, resulting in 909 burden 
hours (101 vehicle manufacturers x 8 hours for attorney support = 808 
hours) + (101 vehicle manufacturers x 1 hour for IT support = 101 
hours).
    NHTSA estimates that preparing and submitting each foreign defect 
report (foreign recall campaign) requires 1 hour of clerical staff and 
that translation of determinations into English requires 2 hours of 
technical staff (note: This assumes that all foreign campaign reports 
require translation, which is unlikely). Between 2016 and 2018, NHTSA 
received a yearly average of 227 foreign recall reports. NHTSA 
estimates that in each of the next three years, NHTSA will receive, on 
average, 227 foreign recall reports. NHTSA estimates that each report 
will take 3 hours (1 hour to prepare by a clerical employee and 2 hours 
for translation). Therefore, NHTSA estimates that the burden hours 
associated with submitting these reports will be 681 hours (3 hours per 
report x 227 reports).
    Therefore, NHTSA estimates the total annual burden hours for 
reporting foreign safety campaigns and substantially similar vehicles/
equipment is 1,590 hours (909 hours for submitting annual lists + 681 
hours for submitting foreign recall and safety campaign reports). This 
is an increase of 444 burden hours from our previous estimate (1,590 
hours for current estimate--1,146 hours for previous estimate). Table 2 
provides a summary of the estimated burden hours for Part 579 Subpart B 
submissions.

[[Page 60098]]



                              Table 2--Burden Hour Estimates for Foreign Reporting
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                                             Annual  number
              Submission type                      of              Burden hours per report         Total burden
                                               submissions                                             hours
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Foreign Recall/Safety-Related Campaign                  227  1 hour clerical + 2 hours                       681
 Report.                                                      translation = 3 hours.
Annual List................................             101  8 hours attorney + 1 hour IT = 9                909
                                                              hours.
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    Total..................................  ..............  ...................................           1,590
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    To calculate the labor cost associated with Part 579 foreign 
reporting submissions, NHTSA looked at wage estimates for the type of 
personnel submitting the documents. As stated above, NHTSA estimates 
that submitting annual lists under Sec.  579.11(e) will involve 8 hours 
of attorney time and 1 hour of IT work. The Bureau of Labor Statistics 
(BLS) estimates that the average hourly wage for Lawyers (BLS 
Occupation code 23-1000) in the Motor Vehicle Manufacturing Industry is 
$95.85 \3\ and the average hourly wage for Computer Support Specialists 
(BLS Occupation code 15-1230) in the Motor Vehicle Manufacturing 
Industry is $31.39.\4\ The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that 
private industry workers, wages represent 70.2% of total labor 
compensation costs.\5\ Therefore, NHTSA estimates the hourly labor 
costs to be $136.54 for Lawyers and $44.72 for Computer Support 
Specialists. NHTSA estimates the total labor cost associated with 
submitting one annual list to be $1,137.04 ($136.54 per hour x 8 
attorney hours + $44.72 per hour x 1 IT hour) and $114,841.04 or 
$114,841 for all 101 annual lists NHTSA estimates will be submitted 
annually.
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    \3\ May 2019 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment 
and Wage Estimates NAICS 336100--Motor Vehicle Manufacturing, U.S. 
Bureau of Labor Statistics, https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/naics4_336100.htm#23-0000. Last accessed July 31, 2020.
    \4\ https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/naics4_336100.htm#15-0000. 
Last accessed July 31, 2020.
    \5\ Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, U.S. Bureau of 
Labor Statistics, https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecec.t01.htm. 
Last accessed July 31, 2020.
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    NHTSA estimates that submitting each foreign recall or safety 
campaign report involves 1 hour of clerical work and 2 hours of 
translation work. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) estimates that 
the average hourly wage for Office Clerks (BLS Occupation code 43-9061) 
in the Motor Vehicle Manufacturing Industry is $20.74 \6\ and the 
average hourly wage for Interpreters and Translators (BLS Occupation 
code 27-3091) is $27.40.\7\ The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates 
that private industry workers' wages represent 70.2% of total labor 
compensation costs.\8\ Therefore, NHTSA estimates the hourly labor 
costs to be $29.54 for Office Clerks and $39.03 for Interpreters and 
Translators. NHTSA estimates the total labor cost associated with 
submitting one foreign recall or safety campaign report to be $107.60 
($29.54 per hour x 1 Clerical hour + $39.03 per hour x 2 Translator 
hours) and $24,425.20 or $24,425 for all 227 foreign recall or safety 
campaign reports NHTSA estimates will be submitted annually.
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    \6\ May 2019 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment 
and Wage Estimates NAICS 336100--Motor Vehicle Manufacturing, U.S. 
Bureau of Labor Statistics, https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/naics4_336100.htm#43-0000. Last Accessed June 17, 2020.
    \7\ May 2019 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates 
United States, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm. Last Accessed June 17, 2020.
    \8\ Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, U.S. Bureau of 
Labor Statistics, https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecec.t01.htm. 
Last Accessed July 31, 2020.
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    Table 3 provides a summary of the labor costs associated with the 
foreign reporting requirements in Part 579, Subpart B. NHTSA estimates 
that the total labor costs associated with the annual list requirement 
and the requirement to report foreign recalls and safety campaigns is 
$139,266 ($114,841 + $24,425).

                           Table 3--Annual Labor Cost Estimates for Foreign Reporting
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   Submission type and labor       Hours per     Hourly labor   Labor cost per     Number of
           category               submission         cost         submission      submissions   Total labor cost
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Annual List-Lawyer............               8         $136.54       $1,092.32             101  $110,324.32
Annual List-Computer                         1           44.72           44.72             101  4,516.72
 Specialist.
                               ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals for Annual List....               9  ..............        1,137.04  ..............  114,841.04 or
                                                                                                 114,841
--Foreign Recall/Safety-                     1           29.54           29.54             227  6,705.58
 Related Campaign Report-
 Clerical.
--Foreign Recall/Safety-                     2           39.03           78.06             227  17,719.62
 Related Campaign Report-
 Translator.
                               ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals for Foreign Recall/               3  ..............          107.60  ..............  24,425.20 or
     Safety Campaign Report.                                                                     24,425
                               ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Total Labor Costs for   ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............  139,266.24 or
         Part 579 Subpart B                                                                      139,266
         Requirements.
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[[Page 60099]]

Requirements Under Part 579, Subpart C (Reporting of Early Warning 
Information (EWR))

    The third component of this information collection covers the 
requirements found in Part 579 Subpart C, ``Reporting of Early Warning 
Information.'' Besides production information, there are five major 
categories requiring reporting of incidents or claims in Subpart C, 
with the specific requirements and applicability of those categories 
varying by vehicle and equipment type and, in some circumstances, 
manufacturer volume. Sections 579.21-27 require manufacturers to submit 
the following: (1) Production information; (2) reports on incidents 
involving death or injury in the United States that are identified in 
claims or notices alleging that the death or injury was caused by a 
possible defect; (3) reports on incidents identified in a claim against 
a manufacturer that involve one or more deaths in a foreign country and 
involve a vehicle or item of equipment that is identical or 
substantially similar to a vehicle or item of equipment that is offered 
for sale in the United States; (4) separate reports on the number of 
property damage claims, consumer complaints, warranty claims, and field 
reports that involve a specified system or event; (5) copies of field 
reports; and, for manufacturers of tires, (6) a list of common green 
tires (applicable to only tire manufacturers). Section 579.28(l) allows 
NHTSA to request additional related information to help identify a 
defect related to motor vehicle safety. The regulation specifies the 
time frame for reporting for each category. Foreign recalls of 
substantially similar vehicles and manufacturer communications are 
required to be submitted monthly, substantially similar vehicle 
listings are required annually, and all other report types are required 
to be submitted on a quarterly basis.

Quarterly Reporting

    Manufacturers are required to report specific information to NHTSA 
on a quarterly basis (e.g., 4 times per calendar year). Manufacturers 
are required to submit production information,\9\ non-dealer field 
reports, aggregate submissions, and death and injury submissions on a 
quarterly basis. Estimates of the burden hours and reporting costs are 
based on:
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    \9\ Low volume and equipment manufacturers are not required to 
submit production information.
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     The number of manufacturers reporting;
     The frequency of required reports;
     The number of hours required per report; and
     The cost of personnel to report.
    The number of hours for reporting ranges from 1 hour for trailer 
manufacturers to 8 hours for light vehicle manufacturers (Table 4). 
Quarterly reporting burden hours are calculated by multiplying hours 
used to report for a given category by the number of manufacturers for 
the category and by the four times per year quarterly reporting. Using 
these methods and the average number of manufacturers who report 
annually, we estimate the annual burden hours for quarterly reporting 
of production information at 5,216 hours as detailed below in Table 4.
    NHTSA assumes that 50 percent of the total burden hours are 
utilized by technical personnel while clerical staff consumes the 
remaining 50 percent. In other words, the hourly wage rate for each 
quarterly report is split evenly between technical and clerical 
personnel and a weighted hourly rate is developed from this assumption. 
Therefore, using the BLS total hourly compensation rates discussed 
above of $44.72 for a Computer Support Specialist and $29.54 for an 
Office Clerk, the weighted hourly rate is $37.13 (Technical Mean Hourly 
Wage of $44.72 x 0.5 + Clerical Mean Hourly Wage of $29.54 x 0.5). The 
estimated reporting costs are calculated as follows:

(M x Tp x $37.13 = quarterly cost of reporting) x 4 = annual 
cost of reporting*

*M = Manufacturers reporting data in the category; Tp = 
Reporting time for the category; $37.13 = Reporting labor cost 
compensation rate; 4 = Quarterly reports per year

For example, the estimated reporting cost for light vehicles is 
$42,773.76 (36 manufacturers x 8 hours x $37.13 compensation rate x 4 
quarters), and the total annual labor costs associated with quarterly 
reporting are estimated to be $193,670. Table 4 includes the estimated 
burden hours and reporting costs for production information, non-dealer 
field reports, aggregate submissions, and death and injury submissions, 
as well as the quarterly and annual labor costs associated with 
reporting.

                               Table 4--Estimated Manufacturer Annual Burden Hours and Labor Costs for Quarterly Reporting
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                                                                           Quarterly                      Quarterly
                                                           Avg. No. of     hours to    Blended hourly    labor costs    Annual burden     Annual labor
               Vehicle/equipment category                 manufacturers   report per     comp. rate          per          hours for          costs
                                                                         manufacturer                   manufacturer      reporting
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Light Vehicles..........................................            36              8          $37.13         $297.04           1,152         $42,773.76
Medium-Heavy Vehicles...................................            39              5           37.13          185.65             780          28,961.40
Trailers................................................            96              1           37.13           37.13             384          14,257.92
Motorcycles.............................................            15              2           37.13           74.26             120           4,455.60
Emergency Vehicles......................................             8              5           37.13          185.65             160           5,940.80
Buses...................................................            33              5           37.13          185.65             660          24,505.80
Tires...................................................            32              5           37.13          185.65             640          23,763.20
Child Restraints........................................            42              1           37.13           37.13             168           6,237.84
Vehicle Equipment.......................................            36              8           37.13          297.04           1,152          42,773.76
                                                         -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals..............................................  .............            40  ..............  ..............           5,216      193,670.08 or
                                                                                                                                                 193,670
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[[Page 60100]]

Early Warning Reporting (EWR) Field Data Submissions \10\
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    \10\ Field data includes incidents identified in claims or 
notices involving deaths or injuries and consumer complaint, field 
report, property damage claim and warranty claim data.
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    Table 5 provides an average annual submission count for each 
category submitted per the requirements of 49 CFR part 579, subpart C: 
reports on incidents identified in claims or notices involving death or 
injury in the United States; reports on incidents involving one or more 
deaths in a foreign country identified in claims involving a vehicle or 
item of equipment that is identical or substantially similar to a 
vehicle or item of equipment that is offered for sale in the United 
States; separate reports on the number of property damage claims, 
consumer complaints, warranty claims, and field reports that involve a 
specified system or event; copies of field reports; and, for 
manufacturers of tires; a list of common green tires; and additional 
follow-up information per 579.28(l) related to injury and fatality 
claims or comprehensive inquiries. Each reporting category has specific 
requirements and types of reports that need to be submitted and we 
state ``N/A'' where there is no requirement for that reporting 
category.

                                                                   Table 5--Annual Average of EWR Submissions by Manufacturers
                                                                                          [2016--2018]
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                                                                   Light      Heavy, med                             Emergency                                Child      Equipment
                      Category of claims                          vehicles     vehicles     Trailers   Motorcycles    vehicles      Buses        Tires      restraints      mfr.        Totals
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Incidents Involving Injury or Fatality in U.S.................       11,124           39           30          133            8           33           58          453            9       11,887
Incidents Involving Fatality in Foreign Country...............          146            6            5            2            0            1            3          167            0          330
Reports on Number of Claims Involving Specific System or Event       10,261          666           91           40            0            0        1,154           NA           NA       12,212
Mfr. Field Reports............................................       66,722       16,639           20        1,301            0            0           NA        3,727           NA       88,409
Common Green Tire Reporting...................................           NA           NA           NA           NA           NA           NA          112           NA           NA          112
Average Number of Follow-Up Sequences per 579.28(l)...........          148           10            3            5            1            1            3           17            2          190
                                                               ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals:...................................................       88,401       17,360          149        1,481            9           35        1,330        4,364           11      113,140
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The above updated submission totals represent an 12% increase from 
the previously approved information collection. Submission totals for 
each category have risen with an average of 11,887 injury and fatality 
claims in the United States (previously 9,804 claims), 330 foreign 
death claims (previously 101 claims), 12,212 claims involving specific 
system or event (previously 11,481 claims), 88,409 manufacturer field 
reports (previously 79,297 field reports), 112 common green tire 
reports, and 190 injury and fatality or comprehensive inquiry follow-up 
sequences per 579.28(l), totaling 113,140 submissions on average 
(previously estimated at 100,683 submissions).
    The agency estimates that an average of 5 minutes is required for a 
manufacturer to process each report, except for foreign death claims 
and follow-up responses. We estimate foreign death claims and follow-up 
responses per Sec.  579.28(l) require an average of 15 minutes to 
process. Multiplying the total average number of minutes by the number 
of submissions NHTSA receives in each reporting category yields the 
burden hour estimates found below in Table 6. Our previous estimates of 
Early Warning associated burden hours totaled 8,407, and we now update 
that total to 9,515 burden hours, a 13.2% increase, associated with the 
above noted claim categories.

                     Table 6--Annual Manufacturer Burden Hour Estimates for EWR Submissions
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                    Annual                                           Estimated
              Category of claims                average of EWR    Average time to  process each    annual burden
                                                  submissions             report (min)                 hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Incidents Involving Injury or Fatality in U.S.          11,887  5...............................          990.58
Incidents Involving Fatality in Foreign                    330  15..............................           82.50
 Country.
Reports on Number of Claims Involving Specific          12,212  5...............................        1,017.67
 System or Event.
Mfr. Field Reports............................          88,409  5...............................        7,367.42
Common Green Tire Reporting...................             112  5...............................            9.33
Average Number of Follow-Up Sequences per                  190  15..............................            47.5
 579.28(l).
                                               -----------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals....................................         113,140  ................................           9,515
                                                   Submissions
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


[[Page 60101]]

    Thus, the total estimated annual manufacturer burden hours for 
Sections 579.21-28 (EWR submissions and quarterly reporting) are 14,731 
hours (5,216 (Table 4) + 9,515 (Table 6).
    We have also constructed various estimates of the average five 
minutes of labor among the various occupations depending on the type of 
claim that was reviewed. Table 7 shows the estimated time allocations 
that it will take an individual to review each type of claim (in 
minutes) and the weighted hourly rate for individuals involved.

                                 Table 7--Estimated Manufacturer Time Allocation by Claim Type and Weighted Hourly Rate
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                     Estimated time (in minutes) to review a claim
                                                              ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                  Lawyer      Engineer                 Technical     Clerical
                          Claim type                              (rate:       (rate      IT  (rate:     (rate:       (rate:                   Weighted
                                                                 $136.54       $63.03       $66.82       $44.72       $29.54     Total time  hourly rate
                                                                  \11\)        \12\)        \13\)        \14\)        \15\)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Incidents Involving Injury or Fatality in U.S................            3            0            0            0            2            5       $93.74
Incidents Involving Fatality in Foreign Country..............            3           10            0            0            2           15        73.27
Reports on Number of Claims Involving Specific System or                 0            0            0            3            2            5        38.65
 Event.......................................................
Mfr. Field Reports...........................................            0            0            0            3            2            5        38.65
Green Tire Events............................................            0            0            0            0            5            5        29.54
Average Number of Follow-Up Sequences per 579.28(l)..........            3           10            0            0            2           15        73.27
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

    \11\ May 2019 National Industry-Specific Wage Estimates,--Motor 
Vehicle Manufacturing, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Lawyers 
(Code 23-1000), $95.85, https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/naics4_336100.htm#23-0000, divided by 70.2% for compensation rate, 
https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecec.t01.htm.
    \12\ May 2019 National Industry-Specific Wage Estimates--Motor 
Vehicle Manufacturing, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Engineers 
(Code 17-2000), $44.25, https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/naics4_336100.htm#17-0000, divided by 70.2% for compensation rate, 
https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecec.t01.htm.
    \13\ May 2019 National Occupational Employment and Wage 
Estimates, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Computer and Information 
Analysts (Code 15-1210), $46.91, https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm#15-0000, divided by 70.2% for compensation rate, https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecec.t01.htm.
    \14\ May 2019 National Industry-Specific Wage Estimates--Motor 
Vehicle Manufacturing, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Computer 
Support Analyst (Code 15-1230), $31.39. https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/naics4_336100.htm#15-0000, divided by 70.2% for compensation 
rate, https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecec.t01.htm.
    \15\ May 2019 National Industry-Specific Wage Estimates--Motor 
Vehicle Manufacturing, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Office 
Clerks (Code 43-9061), $20.74, https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/naics4_336100.htm#43-0000, divided by 70.2% for compensation rate, 
https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecec.t01.htm.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The total labor costs for claims documents were obtained using the 
following formula:

K x T x W = Costs for claim type *

* K = Claims submitted by industry; T = Estimated time spent on a 
claim; W = Weighted Hourly Rate.

    Table 8 shows the annual labor costs of reporting EWR information 
to NHTSA.

                              Table 8--Estimated EWR Annual Labor Costs by Category
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                Average time
                                   Annual        to process       Weighted        Estimated     Estimated annual
      Category of claims       average of EWR    each report     hourly rate   labor cost per      labor cost
                                 submissions        (min)                        submission
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Incidents Involving Injury or          11,887               5          $93.74           $7.81         $92,857.28
 Fatality in U.S.............
Incidents Involving Fatality              330              15           73.27           18.32           6,044.78
 in Foreign Country..........
Reports on Number of Claims            12,212               5           38.65            3.22          39,332.82
 Involving Specific System or
 Event.......................
Mfr. Field Reports...........          88,409               5           38.65            3.22         284,750.65
Common Green Tire Reporting..             112               5           29.54            2.46             275.71
Average Number of Follow-Up               190              15           73.27           18.32           3,480.33
 Sequences per 579.28(l).....
                              ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals...................         113,140  ..............  ..............  ..............      426,741.56 or
                                                                                                         426,742
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Computer Maintenance Burden

    In addition to the burden associated with submitting documents 
under each subpart of Part 579, NHTSA also estimates that manufacturers 
will incur computer maintenance burden hours associated with the 
information collection requirements. The estimated manufacturer burden 
hours associated with aggregate data submissions for consumer 
complaints, warranty claims, and dealer field reports are included in 
reporting and computer maintenance hours. The burden hours for computer 
maintenance are calculated by multiplying the hours of computer use 
(for a given category) by the number of manufacturers reporting in a 
category. NHTSA estimates that light vehicle manufacturers will spend 
approximately 347 hours per year on computer maintenance and that other 
vehicle manufacturers will spend about 25% as much time as light 
vehicle manufacturers on computer maintenance. Therefore, NHTSA 
estimates that medium-heavy truck, trailer, motorcycle manufacturers, 
emergency vehicle, and bus manufacturers will each spend approximately 
86.5 hours on computer maintenance each year. NHTSA estimates that tire 
manufacturers and child restraint manufacturers will also spend 86.5 
hours on computer maintenance per year. Therefore, NHTSA estimates the 
total burden for computer maintenance to be 35,415 hours per year 
(based on there being an estimated 36 light vehicle manufacturers, 39 
medium-heavy vehicle manufacturers, 96 trailer

[[Page 60102]]

manufacturers, 15 motorcycle manufacturers, 8 emergency vehicle 
manufacturers, 33 bus manufacturers, 32 tire manufacturers, and 42 
child restraint manufactures).
    To calculate the labor cost associated with computer maintenance 
hours, NHTSA looked at wage estimates for the type of personnel 
submitting the documents. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) 
estimates that the average hourly wage for Computer Support Specialists 
(BLS Occupation code 15-1230) in the Motor Vehicle Manufacturing 
Industry is $31.39.\16\ The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that 
private industry workers' wages represent 70.2% of total labor 
compensation costs.\17\ Therefore, NHTSA estimates the hourly labor 
costs to be $44.72 for Computer Support Specialists. For the estimated 
total of 35,415 annual computer maintenance burden hours, NHTSA 
estimates the associated labor costs will be approximately $1,583,736. 
Table 9 shows the annual estimated burden hours for computer 
maintenance by vehicle/equipment category and the estimated labor costs 
associated with those burden hours.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \16\ https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/naics4_336100.htm#15-0000.
    \17\ Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, U.S. Bureau of 
Labor Statistics, https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecec.t01.htm. 
Last Accessed July 31, 2020.

                               Table 9--Estimated Manufacturer Annual Burden Hours for Computer Maintenance for Reporting
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                       Hours for
                                                                                       computer         Average       Annual burden
                    Vehicle/equipment category                        Avg. No. of     maintenance    hourly labor       hours for      Total labor costs
                                                                     manufacturers        per            cost            computer
                                                                                     manufacturer                      maintenance
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Light Vehicles....................................................              36             347          $44.72             12,492        $558,642.24
Medium-Heavy Vehicles.............................................              39            86.5           44.72            3,373.5         150,862.92
Trailers..........................................................              96            86.5           44.72              8,304         371,352.88
Motorcycles.......................................................              15            86.5           44.72            1,297.5          58,024.20
Emergency Vehicles................................................               8            86.5           44.72                692          30,946.24
Buses.............................................................              33            86.5           44.72            2,854.5         127,653.24
Tires.............................................................              32            86.5           44.72              2,768         123,784.96
Child Restraints..................................................              42            86.5           44.72              3,633         162,467.76
                                                                   -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals........................................................  ..............  ..............  ..............   35,414.5; 35,415      1,583,736.44;
                                                                                                                                               1,583,736
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Based on the foregoing, we estimate the burden hours for industry 
to comply with the current Part 579 reporting requirements (EWR 
requirements, foreign campaign requirements and Part 579.5 
requirements) to be 53,810 hours per year. The total annual burden 
hours for this information collection consisting of manufacturer 
communications under Section 579.5 (Subpart A), foreign reporting 
(Subpart B), EWR submissions and reporting (Subpart C), and computer 
maintenance is outlined in Table 9 below.

      Table 9--Total Manufacturer Burden Hours for this Collection
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                           Annual burden
                     Reporting type                            hours
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subpart A: Manufacturer Communications Sec.   579.5                2,074
 (Table 1)..............................................
Subpart B: Foreign Reporting (Table 2)..................           1,590
Subpart C: EWR Submissions and Quarterly Reporting                14,731
 (Tables 4 & 6).........................................
Computer Maintenance....................................          35,415
                                                         ---------------
  Total.................................................          53,810
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The burden estimates represent an overall increase in burden hours 
of 4,567 hours. The increase in burden hours is due to increases in the 
number of submissions and modifying this request to include reporting 
for common green tires and additional information requested by NHTSA 
per Section 579.28(l) that were left out of the previous information 
collection request. The wage estimates have been adjusted to reflect 
the latest available rates from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Cost: NHTSA estimates the collection 
requires no additional costs to the respondents beyond the labor costs 
associated with the burden hours to collect and submit the reports to 
NHTSA and the labor hours and associated labor costs for computer 
maintenance.
    Public Comments Invited: You are asked to comment on any aspects of 
this information collection, including (a) 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) 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; (c) ways to enhance 
the quality, utility and clarity of the information to be collected; 
and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on 
respondents, 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.
    Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995; 44 U.S.C. Chapter 
35, as amended; 49 CFR 1.49; and DOT Order 1351.29.

Stephen A. Ridella,
Director, Office of Defects Investigation.
[FR Doc. 2021-23248 Filed 10-28-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P