[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 142 (Tuesday, July 26, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44494-44499]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-16022]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-2022-0042]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Notice and Request for 
Comment; Consolidated Child Restraint System Registration for Defect 
Notifications and Labeling

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

ACTION: Notice and request for comments on a request for extension of a 
currently approved information collection.

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SUMMARY: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) 
invites public comments about our intention to request approval from 
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for an extension of a 
currently approved information collection. Before a Federal agency can 
collect certain information from the public, it must receive approval 
from 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 reinstatement of previously approved collections. This 
document describes a collection of information for which NHTSA intends 
to seek OMB approval and solicits public comments on continuation of 
the requirements for the collection of information entitled 
``Consolidated Child Restraint System Registration for Defect 
Notifications and Labeling'' (OMB Control Number: 2127-0576) and the 
accuracy of the agency's revised estimates of the burden of the 
information collections.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before September 26, 2022.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by the Docket No. NHTSA--
2022-0042 through any of the following methods:
     Electronic Submissions: Go to the Federal eRulemaking 
Portal at http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions 
for submitting comments.
     Fax: (202) 493-2251.
     Mail or Hand Delivery: Docket Management, U.S. Department 
of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building, Room W12-
140, Washington, DC 20590, between 9

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a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except on Federal holidays.
    Instructions: All submissions must include the agency name and 
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. Please see the Privacy Act heading 
below.
    Privacy Act: Anyone is able to search the electronic form of all 
comments received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual 
submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf 
of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review DOT's 
complete Privacy Act Statement in the Federal Register published on 
April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477-78) or you may visit https://www.transportation.gov/privacy.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments received, go to http://www.regulations.gov or the street 
address listed above. Follow the online instructions for accessing the 
dockets via internet.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information or access 
to background documents, contact Cristina Echemendia, U.S. Department 
of Transportation, NHTSA, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building, 
Room W43-447, NRM-130, Washington, DC 20590. Cristina Echemendia's 
telephone number is 202-366-6345. Please identify the relevant 
collection of information by referring to its OMB Control Number (2127-
0576).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 
(44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), before an agency submits a proposed 
collection of information to OMB for approval, it must first 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 regulation (at 5 CFR 1320.8(d)), an agency must 
ask for public comment on the following: (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) how to enhance 
the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; 
and (d) 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 for public comments on the following proposed collection of 
information for which the agency is seeking approval from OMB.
    Title: ``Consolidated Child Restraint System Registration for 
Defect Notifications and Labeling.''
    OMB Control Number: 2127-0576.
    Form Number(s): NHTSA 1053A, NHTSA 1053B.
    Type of Request: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Type of Review Requested: Regular.
    Requested Expiration Date of Approval: 3 years from date of 
approval.
    Summary of the Collection of Information: This information 
collection provides that manufacturers of child restraint systems 
(CRSs): (1) produce registration cards, labels and printed instructions 
(brochures), (2) collect CRS owner registration information, and (3) 
create and keep registration records so that, in the event of a safety 
recall, manufacturers can provide direct notification to owners. Child 
restraint manufacturers are required to provide an owner's registration 
card for purchasers of child safety seats in accordance with title 49 
of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), part 571--section 213, 
``Child restraint systems.'' The registration card is perforated into 
two-parts (see Figures 1 and 2). The top part contains a message and 
suitable instructions to be retained by the purchaser. The bottom part 
is to be returned to the manufacturer by the purchaser. The bottom part 
includes prepaid return postage, the pre-printed name/address of the 
manufacturer, the pre-printed model and date of manufacture, and spaces 
for purchasers to fill in their name and address. Optionally, child 
restraint manufacturers are permitted to add to the registration form: 
(a) Specified statements informing child restraint system (CRS) owners 
that they may register online; (b) the internet address for registering 
with the company; (c) revisions to statements reflecting use of the 
internet to register; and (d) a space for the consumer's email address. 
For those CRS owners with access to the internet, online registration 
may be a preferred method of registering a CRS.
    In addition to the registration card supplied by the manufacturer, 
NHTSA has implemented a CRS registration system to assist those 
individuals who have either lost the registration card that came with 
the CRS or purchased a previously owned CRS. Upon the owner's request, 
NHTSA provides a substitute registration form that can be obtained 
either by mail or from the internet \1\ (see Figure 3). When the 
completed registration is returned to the agency, it is then submitted 
to the CRS manufacturer. In the absence of a substitute registration 
system, many owners of child passenger safety seats, especially any 
second-hand owners, might not be notified of safety defects and non-
compliances, and would not have the defects and non-compliances 
remedied.
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    \1\ https://www.nhtsa.gov/equipment/car-seats-and-booster-seats#car-seat-registration.
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    Child seat owner registration information is retained in the event 
that owners need to be contacted for defect recalls or replacement 
campaigns. Chapter 301 of title 49 of the United States Code specifies 
that if either NHTSA or a manufacturer determines that motor vehicles 
or items of motor vehicle equipment contain a defect that relates to 
motor vehicle safety or fail to comply with an applicable Federal Motor 
Vehicle Safety Standard, the manufacturer must notify owners and 
purchasers of the defect or noncompliance and must provide a remedy 
without charge. In title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), 
part 577, defect and noncompliance notification for equipment items, 
including child restraint systems, must be sent by first class mail to 
the most recent purchaser known to the manufacturer.
    Child restraint manufacturers are also required to provide printed 
instructions in a brochure containing step-by-step information on how 
the restraint is to be used. Without proper use, the effectiveness of 
these systems is greatly diminished. Each child restraint system must 
also have a permanent label. A permanently attached label gives ``quick 
look'' information on whether the restraint meets the safety 
requirements, recommended installation and use, and warnings against 
misuse. CRSs equipped with internal harnesses to restrain children, and 
with components to attach to a child restraint anchorage system, are 
also required to be labeled with a child weight limit for using the 
lower anchors to attach the child restraint to the vehicle. The child 
weight limit depends upon the weight of the CRS.
    Description of the Need for the Information and Proposed Use of the 
Information: CRS manufacturers are

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required to label each CRS and provide brochures with safety 
information and instructions on the proper use of the restraint. Such 
information would mitigate the risk of misuse and consequently reduce 
injuries to and fatalities of children in crashes. This collection 
supports the Department of Transportation's (DOT) strategic goal for 
safety, by working towards the elimination of transportation related 
deaths and injuries involving children.
    FMVSS No. 213 requires that each CRS has an owner registration form 
attached. It permits information regarding online product registration 
to be included on the owner registration form required under the 
standard. This enhances the opportunity for restraint owners to 
register their CRSs online, which may increase registration rates and 
the effectiveness of recall campaigns. Manufacturers are also permitted 
to supplement (but not replace) recall notification via first-class 
mail with email notification, which increases the likelihood that 
owners learn of a recall. Manufacturers are also required to include a 
U.S. telephone number on a CRS label for the purpose of enabling 
consumers to register their products by telephone.
    Increasing CRS registrations is an important part to protecting 
young children and infants. By registering CRSs, product manufacturers 
will to able to directly contact owners in the event of any safety 
recalls.
    Affected Public: Businesses, Individual Consumers.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 38 Manufacturers, 2,835,200 
Consumers.
    Frequency: On occasion.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 109,939 hours.
    The total burden hours for this collection consist of: (1) the 
hours spent by consumers filling out the registration form, (2) the 
hours spent collecting registration information and (3) the hours spent 
determining the maximum allowable child weight for lower anchor use and 
adding the information to the existing label and instruction manual.
    (1) Annual Burden for filling out registration card. NHTSA 
estimates that 16,000,000 CRSs are currently sold each year by 38 CRS 
manufacturers. Of the CRSs sold each year, NHTSA estimates that 
2,369,660 are registered using registration cards and 465,540 are 
registered online. A consumer spends approximately 60 seconds (1 
minute) filling out the registration form. The estimated annual number 
of burden hours for consumers to fill out the registration form is 
47,253 hours (= 2,835,200 x (60 seconds/3,600 seconds/hour)).
    (2) Annual Burden for Reporting (collecting registration 
information). Manufacturers must spend about 90 seconds (1.5 min) to 
enter the information from each returned registration card; while, 
online registrations are considered to have no burden for the 
manufacturer, as the information is entered by the purchaser. 
Therefore, the estimated annual number of burden hours for CRS 
registration information collection is 59,242 hours (= 2,369,660 x (90 
seconds/3,600 seconds/hour)).
    (3) Annual Burden for Reporting (determining maximum allowable 
child weight). About 12,400,000 of the CRSs sold each year are equipped 
with internal harnesses. About half of the CRSs equipped with internal 
harnesses sold annually (6,200,000 = 12,400,000 x 0.5) would require a 
label with the maximum allowable child weight for using the lower 
anchors. Manufacturers must spend about 2 seconds to determine the 
maximum allowable child weight for lower anchor use and to add the 
information to the existing label and instruction manual. Therefore, 
the total annual burden hours for the information on the maximum 
allowable child weight in the existing label and instruction manual is 
3,444 hours (= 6,200,000 x (2 seconds/3,600 seconds/hour)).
    The estimated total annual number of burden hours is 109,939 (= 
47,253 + 59,242 + 3,444) hours. The total estimated hour burden 
increased from 99,330 hours to 109,939 hours (a 10,609-burden hour 
increase). The increase in burden is due to an increase in CRS sales. 
In 2018, NHTSA estimated that approximately 14,500,000 CRSs are sold 
each year while NHTSA's estimate in 2022 increased to 16,000,000 CRSs.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Cost: $8,000,000.
    The total burden cost for this collection consist of printing and 
material costs of labels and registration cards.

Printing and Material Costs of Labels and Registration Cards

    The total annual cost to the respondents is estimated to be 
$8,000,000. NHTSA estimates that the printing and material cost of 
$0.20 per CRS labels and $0.30 per CRS registration card. The total 
annual cost to respondents is calculated by multiplying the printing 
and material cost ($0.50 = $0.20 + $0.30) by the estimated 16,000,000 
responses (CRSs produced) per year ($0.50 x 16,000,000). The total 
estimated annual burden costs are detailed in the table below:

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                                                          Printing and material cost
   Number of CRS produced     Printing and material cost    per CRS-- registration        Annual printing and
          annually                 per CRS--labels                   card                    material cost
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               16,000,000                        $0.20                       $0.30               $8,000,000.00
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    The total estimated burden cost increased from $0 to $8,000,000 (a 
$8,000,000 burden cost increase). The increase in burden is due to the 
addition of printing and material costs for labels and registration 
cards which had not been taken into consideration in the past.
    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 Department, including whether the information will 
have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the Department's estimate 
of the burden of the proposed information collection; (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 automated collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology.
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P

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    Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995; 44 U.S.C. chapter 
35, as amended; 49 CFR 1.49; and DOT Order 1351.29.

Raymond R. Posten,
Associate Administrator for Rulemaking.
[FR Doc. 2022-16022 Filed 7-25-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-C