[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 199 (Monday, October 17, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62922-62924]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-22423]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-2022-0080]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Notice and Request for 
Comment; Child Passenger Safety Perceptions and Practices in 
Ridesharing and Autonomous Vehicles

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

ACTION: Notice and request for comments on a request for approval of a 
new 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 a new 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 on Child 
Passenger Safety Perceptions and Practices in Ridesharing and 
Autonomous Vehicles.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before December 16, 2022.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by the Docket No. NHTSA-
2022-0080 through any of the following methods:
     Electronic Submissions: Go to the Federal e-Rulemaking 
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 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through 
Friday, except on Federal holidays. To be sure someone is there to help 
you, please call (202) 366-9322 before coming.
    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 Margaret Hendricks, Ph.D., Office of 
Behavioral Safety Research (NPD-320), (202) 366-2305, National Highway 
Traffic Safety Administration, W46-466, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590.

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: Child Passenger Safety Perceptions and Practices in 
Ridesharing and Autonomous Vehicles.
    OMB Control Number: New.
    Form Numbers: 1687, 1688, 1689, 1690.
    Type of Request: Approval of a new information collection.
    Type of Review Requested: Regular.
    Requested Expiration Date of Approval: 3 years from date of 
approval.
    Summary of the Collection of Information: The National Highway 
Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) of the U.S. Department of 
Transportation is seeking approval for a one-time voluntary information 
collection from 24 caregivers of children 8 years old or younger and 12 
licensed drivers of rideshare vehicles. The purpose of the collection 
is to describe child passenger safety (CPS) attitudes and behaviors 
from caregivers and rideshare drivers. A NHTSA contractor expects to 
provide screening questionnaires to 200 potential participants to 
determine their eligibility for the focus group study and to collect 
contact information for scheduling with a potential burden of 15 
minutes per respondent or 50 hours. From the 200 potential 
participants, the contractor will contact and enroll up to 36 
participants in the study. Six 90-

[[Page 62923]]

minute focus groups will be conducted, each with six participants. 
Including the five minutes for participants to complete informed 
consent, the burden per focus group participant is 95 minutes or 57 
hours. The total expected burden for screening, scheduling, and 
participating in the focus groups is 107 hours. A trained moderator 
will conduct separate virtual focus groups for caregivers/parents of at 
least one child 8 years old or younger who frequently use rideshare 
vehicles to transport children (two groups) and those who infrequently 
transport children in rideshare vehicles (two groups) as well as for 
rideshare drivers who frequently have child passengers 8 years old or 
younger (one group) and those who infrequently have child passengers 
(one group). The contractor will collect participants' attitudes and 
self-reported behaviors from the focus groups. NHTSA's contractor 
received Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval to conduct the focus 
groups. NHTSA will use the information to produce a technical report 
containing descriptive and qualitative assessments of caregivers/
parents' and rideshare drivers' attitudes and behaviors related to CPS 
in rideshare vehicles. NHTSA will make the technical report available 
to a variety of audiences interested in improving highway safety 
through the agency website and the National Transportation Library. 
This collection will inform the development of behavioral safety 
countermeasures, particularly in the areas of communications and 
training related to CPS in rideshare vehicles and potentially future 
vehicles with Automated Driving Systems.
    Description of the Need for the Information and Proposed Use of the 
Information: NHTSA has estimated that using a car seat reduces the risk 
of fatal injury for infants (under 1 year old) by 71 percent for 
passenger cars and by 58 percent for light trucks such as pickups, 
SUVs, and minivans. For toddlers (1 to 4 years old), the corresponding 
reductions are 54 percent and 59 percent. \1\ However, children are not 
always restrained appropriately. In 2020 there were 181 passenger 
vehicle occupant fatalities among children under 4 years old, and 31 
percent were unrestrained (based on known restraint use). In the 4-to-7 
age group, there were 207 fatalities; 43 percent were unrestrained 
(based on known restraint use).\2\
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    \1\ Kahane, C. J. (2015, January). Lives saved by vehicle safety 
technologies and associated Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, 
1960 to 2012--Passenger cars and LTVs--With reviews of 26 FMVSS and 
the effectiveness of their associated safety technologies in 
reducing fatalities, injuries, and crashes (Report No. DOT HS 812 
069). National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/812069.
    \2\ National Center for Statistics and Analysis. (2022, July). 
Occupant protection in passenger vehicles: 2020 data (Traffic Safety 
Facts. Report No. DOT HS 813 326). National Highway Traffic Safety 
Administration. https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/813326.
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    The use of ridesharing services has increased dramatically over the 
past few years. In 2018, 36 percent of U.S. adults used ridesharing 
services, such as Uber and Lyft. This percentage is more than twice the 
share of the population who used ridesharing apps in 2015.\3\ As the 
use of ridesharing vehicles increases, concerns regarding how children 
are being transported in these vehicles are emerging.
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    \3\ Pew Research Center (2019, January 4). More Americans are 
using ride-hailing apps. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/01/04/more-americans-are-using-ride-hailing-apps/.
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    Limited research has been conducted on CRS use in ridesharing 
vehicles. A study conducted by Prince, et al. showed lower rates of CRS 
use and higher rates of injuries in crashes involving taxis in New York 
City.\4\ In an online national survey of parents with children under 
eight, 59 percent reported that they transported their children 
differently when traveling in rideshare vehicles compared with private 
vehicles.\5\ Of those, 37 percent reported holding the child on their 
lap and 25 percent allowed the child to ride without a CRS. Several 
online and in-person surveys with parents and caregivers point to 
specific circumstances in which non-use of CRS is perceived as more 
acceptable, including riding in a rideshare or taxi; traveling while on 
vacation, carpooling, when traveling short distances; and finding there 
is no CRS available.6 7 8
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    \4\ Prince, P., Hines, L. M., Bauer, M. J., Liu, C., Luo, J., 
Garnett, M., & Pressley, J. C. (2019). Pediatric Restraint Use and 
Injury in New York City Taxis Compared with Other Passenger 
Vehicles. Transportation Research Record, 2673(7), 541-549. https://doi.org/10.1177/0361198119843091.
    \5\ Owens, J. M., Womack, K. T., & Barowski, L. (2019, 
September). Factors Surrounding Child Seat Usage in Rideshare 
Services (Technical Report No. 01-005). Safety through Disruption 
(Safe-D) University Transportation Center. https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/63050.
    \6\ Levi, S., Lee, H., Ren, W., Polson, A., & McCloskey, S. 
(2020, December). Awareness and availability of child passenger 
safety information resources (Report No. DOT HS 813 035). National 
Highway Traffic Safety Administration. https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/54283.
    \7\ McDonald, C., Kennedy, E., Fleisher, L., & Zonfrillo, M. 
(2018). Situational Use of Child Restraint Systems and Carpooling 
Behaviors in Parents and Caregivers.International Journal of 
Environmental Research and Public Health, 15(8),1788.https://
doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15081788.
    \8\ Niu, L., Gao, Y. M., Tian, Y., & Pan, S. M. (2019). Safety 
awareness and use of child safety seats among parents after the 
legislation in Shanghai. Chinese journal of traumatology = Zhonghua 
chuang shang za zhi, 22(2), 85-87. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cjtee.2018.08.005.
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    There also is a lack of research on best practice approaches for 
promoting child safety in rideshare vehicles, and regulatory 
inconsistencies (e.g., types of vehicles covered under restraint laws, 
severity of fines for violations of the law, age of child covered by 
child restraint laws, etc.) only contribute to the confusion on the 
part of caregivers and rideshare drivers. A better understanding of 
caregiver and rideshare driver behaviors and attitudes related to 
restraint use in rideshare services is needed to inform the development 
of public policy, regulations, enforcement measures, and educational 
campaigns.
    Affected Public: Parents of children 8 years old or younger and 
adult licensed drivers of ridesharing vehicles.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 200 potential participants with 36 
participating in focus groups.
    Frequency: This study is a one-time information collection, and 
there will be no recurrence.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: The total estimated burden 
with this collection is 107 hours. NHTSA estimates that up to 200 
potential respondents will need to be screened for eligibility by 
completing a 10-minute screening questionnaire before finding 36 people 
to participate in the focus groups. The contractor will contact the 
eligible participants to determine whether they are still interested 
and if so, to schedule a focus group for an additional potential burden 
of five minutes. As such, screening and scheduling may take up to 15 
minutes per potential participant. The goal is to schedule 36 
participants for six focus groups (four caregiver groups and two driver 
groups).
    Each focus group is estimated to last 90 minutes. Including 
informed consent, NHTSA estimates the burden as 95 minutes per 
participant. During the focus group, participants will discuss their 
experiences in traveling with children in rideshare vehicles, behavior 
with respect to using seat belts or CRSs when travelling in personal 
vehicles and rideshare vehicles, opinions regarding CPS in rideshare 
vehicles, etc. Assuming a 10-minute completion time for the recruitment 
screener questionnaire, 5 minutes for contacting and scheduling 
potential participants for the focus group sessions, 5 minutes for 
informed consent for participants, and 90 minutes

[[Page 62924]]

for participating in the focus groups the total hour burden 107 hours. 
The calculation of the total estimated burden is shown in Table 1 
below.

                                     Table 1--Estimated Burden Hours by Form
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                                                                                     Time per
              Form No.                Form name and description     Respondents     respondent      Total time
                                                                                     (minutes)        (hours)
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1687...............................  Screener and Follow-                    200              15              50
                                      Scheduling.
1688...............................  Informed Consent                         24               5               2
                                      (Caregivers).
1689...............................  Informed Consent (Drivers).              12               5               1
1690...............................  Focus Group Participation..              36              90              54
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
       Total.......................  ...........................  ..............  ..............             107
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    Estimated Total Annual Burden Cost: NHTSA estimates that there are 
no costs to respondents beyond the time spent participating in the 
study.
    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.
    Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995; 44 U.S.C. Chapter 
35, as amended; 49 CFR 1.49; and DOT Order 1351.29A.

    Issued in Washington, DC.
Nanda Narayanan Srinivasan,
Associate Administrator, Research and Program Development.
[FR Doc. 2022-22423 Filed 10-14-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P