[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 51 (Wednesday, March 16, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14944-14946]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-05574]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
[Docket No. NHTSA-2020-0004]
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the
Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Petitions for
Exemption From the Vehicle Theft Prevention Standard
AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA),
Department of Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice and request for comments on a reinstatement of a
previously approved information collection.
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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 has been forwarded to the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) for review and approval. The ICR describes the nature of
the information collections and their expected burden. The Federal
Register Notice with a 60-day comment period for approval of a
reinstatement of this previously approved information collection was
published on August 20, 2020. The agency received no comments.
DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before April 15, 2022.
ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed
information collection, including suggestions for reducing burden,
should 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: Carlita Ballard at the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Office of International Policy,
Fuel Economy and Consumer Programs (NRM-310), 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE,
West Building, Room W43-439, Washington, DC 20590. Ms. Ballard's
telephone number is (202) 366-5222. 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 to
OMB.
A Federal Register notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting
public comments on the following information collection was published
on August 20, 2020 (85 FR 51548).
Title: Petitions for Exemption from the Vehicle Theft Prevention
Standard (49 CFR part 543).
OMB Control Number: 2127-0542.
Type of Request: Reinstatement of a previously approved information
collection.
Type of Review Requested: Regular.
Length of Approval Requested: Three years.
Affected Public: Motor vehicle manufacturers.
Summary of Information Collection: 49 U.S.C. Chapter 331 requires
the Secretary of Transportation, and NHTSA by delegation, to promulgate
a theft prevention standard to provide for the identification of
certain motor vehicles and their major replacement parts (parts-
marking) to impede motor vehicle theft. NHTSA's theft prevention
standard at 49 CFR part 541 specifies performance requirements for
identifying numbers or symbols (generally the vehicle identification
number (VIN)) to be placed on major parts of all passenger vehicles
subject to the theft prevention standard. 49 U.S.C. 33106 allows
manufacturers who equip covered vehicles with standard original
equipment antitheft devices to petition for an exemption from the
parts-marking requirements. NHTSA may exempt a vehicle line from the
parts-marking requirement if the manufacturer installs an antitheft
device as standard equipment on the entire vehicle line for which it
seeks an exemption, and NHTSA determines that the antitheft device is
likely to be as effective in reducing and deterring motor vehicle theft
as compliance with the parts-marking requirements.
Under the current part 543, manufacturers choose how they wish to
[[Page 14945]]
demonstrate to the agency that the anti-theft device they are
installing in a vehicle line meets the requirements for exemption: By
either the factors listed in Sec. 543.6 (specific content
requirements: Detailed lists, data, and explanations) or by the
criteria listed in Sec. 543.7 (performance criteria). Section 543.6
requires the manufacturer to submit: (1) A statement that an antitheft
device will be installed as standard equipment on all vehicles in the
line for which an exemption is sought; (2) a list naming each component
in the antitheft system, and a diagram showing the location of each of
those components within the vehicle; (3) a discussion that explains the
means and process by which the device is activated and functions,
including any aspect of the device designed to facilitate or encourage
its activation by motorists, attract attention to the efforts of an
unauthorized person to enter or move the vehicle by means other than a
key, prevent defeating or circumventing the device by an unauthorized
person attempting to enter a vehicle by means other than a key, prevent
the operation of a vehicle which an unauthorized person has entered
using means other than a key, and ensure the reliability and durability
of the device; (4) the reasons for the petitioner's belief that the
antitheft device will be effective in reducing and deterring motor
vehicle theft, including any theft data and other data that are
available to the petitioner and form the basis for that belief; (5) the
reasons for the petitioner's belief that the agency should determine
that the antitheft device is likely to be as effective as compliance
with the parts-marking requirements of part 541 in reducing and
deterring motor vehicle theft, including any statistical data that are
available to the petitioner and form a basis for petitioner's belief
that a line of passenger motor vehicles equipped with the antitheft
device is likely to have a theft rate equal to or less than that of
passenger motor vehicles of the same, or similar, line which have parts
marked in compliance with part 541.
Section 543.7 requires manufacturers to submit a statement that the
entire line of vehicles is equipped with an immobilizer, as standard
equipment, that meets one of the following: (1) The performance
criteria of (subsections 8 through 21) of C.R.C, c. 1038.114, Theft
Protection and Rollaway Prevention (in effect March 30, 2011), as
excerpted in appendix A of this part; (2) National Standard of Canada
CAN/ULC-S338-98, Automobile Theft Deterrent Equipment and Systems:
Electronic Immobilization (May 1998); (3) United Nations Economic
Commission for Europe (UN/ECE) Regulation No. 97 (ECE R97), Uniform
Provisions Concerning Approval of Vehicle Alarm System (VAS) and Motor
Vehicles with Regard to Their Alarm System (AS) in effect August 8,
2007; or (4) UN/ECE Regulation No. 116 (ECE R116), Uniform Technical
Prescriptions Concerning the Protection of Motor Vehicles Against
Unauthorized Use in effect on February 10, 2009. Manufacturers must
also submit documentation kept to demonstrate that the device conforms
with the performance criteria and a statement that the immobilizer
device is durable and reliable.
Description of the Need for the Information and Proposed Use of the
Information: NHTSA requires this information to determine whether an
anti-theft device a manufacturer is installing in a vehicle line is
likely to be as effective in reducing and deterring motor vehicle theft
as compliance with the parts-marking requirements and therefore meets
the requirements for the grant of an exemption from part 541 parts-
marking requirements.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 12.
There are approximately 23 vehicle manufacturers that could request
an exemption per model year. For MYs 2017-2020, the agency received 32
petitions for exemption from the parts-marking requirements, with 12 of
those petitions received in the most recent year. Nine respondents
filed under Sec. 543.6 and three respondents filed under Sec. 543.7.
NHTSA anticipates that the number of petitions received in each of the
next three years will be the same as the number of petitions received
in the most recent year, i.e., approximately 12 per year.
Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 2,094.
NHTSA estimates, based on information provided by manufacturers,
that 226 hours will be required for exemptions requested under Sec.
543.6, and 20 hours for exemptions requested under Sec. 543.7. The
agency expects that, similar to 2020, nine manufacturers will choose to
file for an exemption under Sec. 543.6 and three manufacturers will
choose to file for an exemption under Sec. 543.7. The estimated total
annual burden hours are shown below:
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Average Average time
number of per petition Total annual
petitions per submittal hours
year (hours)
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Preparation and Submittal of Petition for Exemption under Sec. 9 226 2,034
543.6..........................................................
Preparation and Submittal of Petition for Exemption under Sec. 3 20 60
543.7..........................................................
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Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours:........................ .............. .............. 2,094
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The labor cost associated with the burden hours for this collection
is derived by (1) applying appropriate average hourly labor rate for
``Compliance Officers,'' Occupation Code 13-1041, published by the
Bureau of Labor Statistics,\1\ (2) dividing by 0.701 \2\ (70.1%) to
obtain the total compensation rate for private industry workers, and
(3) multiplying by the estimated labor hours for each exemption type.
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\1\ May 2018 National Occupational Employment and Wage
Estimates, United States. Business and Financial Operations
Occupations, Compliance Officers, Occupation Code 13-1041; Mean
Hourly Wage = $34.86. https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm.
Accessed Mar. 9, 2020.
\2\ See Table 1 at https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecec.t01.htm.
[[Page 14946]]
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Average time
Hourly labor per petition Labor cost/ Estimated No. Annual labor
cost submittal petition of Petitions/ cost
(hours) Year
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Preparation and Submittal of $49.73 226 $11,238.98 9 $101,151
Petition for Exemption under
Sec. 543.6...................
Preparation and Submittal of 49.73 20 994.60 3 2,984
Petition for Exemption under
Sec. 543.7...................
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Estimated Annual Labor Cost .............. .............. .............. .............. $104,135
for This Information
Collection:................
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Estimated Total Annual Burden Cost to Respondents: $0.
NHTSA estimates that there will be no costs to respondents other
than labor costs associated with burden hours.
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)
Issued in Washington, DC.
Raymond R. Posten,
Associate Administrator for Rulemaking.
[FR Doc. 2022-05574 Filed 3-15-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P