[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 39 (Tuesday, February 28, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12718-12720]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-04037]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-2022-0045]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Request for 
Comment; Influence of Drivers' Internal Reasoning on Speeding

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

ACTION: Notice and request for comments on a proposed 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. This ICR is for a 
new collection of information for which NHTSA intends to seek OMB 
approval for a one-time voluntary survey of licensed drivers regarding 
speeding. A Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period 
soliciting comments on the following information collection was 
published on October 25, 2022. NHTSA received comments from one 
organization and two individuals, which we address below.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before March 30, 2023.

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: For additional information or access 
to background documents, contact Stacy Jeleniewski, Ph.D., Office of 
Behavioral Safety Research (NPD-310), (202) 366-2752 (office), (202) 
981-3173 (cell), [email protected], National Highway Traffic 
Safety Administration, W46-491, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, 
DC 20590.

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.
    Title: Influence of Drivers' Internal Reasoning on Speeding.
    OMB Control Number: New.
    Form Number: NHTSA Form 1659.
    Type of Request: Approval of a New Information Collection.
    Type of Review Requested: Regular.
    Length of Approval Requested: Three years from date of approval.
    Summary of the Collection of Information: NHTSA is seeking approval 
to conduct a survey of 1,500 licensed drivers in Washington State age 
18 and older regarding speeding. The study will coordinate with the 
Washington Traffic Safety Commission and Washington Department of 
Licensing to survey drivers in the State who received one or more 
speeding convictions in the last three years and drivers not convicted 
of speeding in that same time-frame. Participation in the study will be 
voluntary. The study will use a self-administered web-based survey with 
a paper survey option available. The survey will include general and 
speeding-specific questions about moral reasoning (judgments about 
rightfulness and wrongfulness), legal reasoning (judgments about 
lawfulness and unlawfulness), and attitudes and perceptions of laws, 
enforcement, and sanctions. Past speeding behavior and intent to speed 
in the future will also be assessed.
    In conducting the proposed research, the survey will use computer-
assisted web interviewing (i.e., a programmed, self-administered, web 
survey) to facilitate ease of use and maximize data accuracy. Although 
web will be the primary data collection mode, a paper questionnaire 
will be sent to households that do not respond to the web invitations. 
The proposed survey will be anonymous, and the survey will not collect 
any personal identifying information. This collection only requires 
respondents to report their answers; there are no record-keeping costs 
to the respondents. Individuals receiving a survey invitation will 
receive compensation in return for their activities.
    The results of this research will assist NHTSA in better 
understanding how to develop successful programs to improve driver 
safety. The technical report will be distributed to a variety of 
audiences interested in improving highway safety. This collection will 
inform the development of countermeasures, particularly in the areas of 
communications and outreach intended to reduce speeding.
    Description of the Need for the Information and Proposed Use of the 
Information: NHTSA was established to reduce the number of deaths, 
injuries, and economic losses resulting from motor vehicle crashes on 
the Nation's highways. As part of this statutory mandate, NHTSA is 
authorized to conduct research as a foundation for the development of 
traffic safety programs. Title 23, United States Code, Section 403 
gives the Secretary of Transportation (NHTSA by delegation) 
authorization to use funds appropriated to conduct research and 
development activities, including demonstration projects and the 
collection and analysis of highway and motor vehicle safety data and 
related information, with respect to all aspects of highway and traffic 
safety systems and conditions relating to vehicle, highway, driver, 
passenger, motorcyclist, bicyclist, and pedestrian characteristics; 
crash causation and investigations; and human behavioral factors and 
their effect on highway and traffic safety. Speeding behavior is an 
area for which NHTSA has developed comprehensive programs to meet its 
injury reduction goals. The major components of speeding safety 
programs are education, enforcement, and outreach, with legislative 
efforts added to the mix.
    Speeding continues to be a major safety problem. In 2019, speeding 
was a contributing factor in 26% of fatal, 12% of injury, and 9% of 
property-damage-only crashes. Motor vehicle crashes in 2019 where at 
least one driver was speeding accounted for 9,478 fatalities. That same 
year, 326,000 people were injured in speeding-related traffic

[[Page 12719]]

crashes.\1\ To address this safety problem, NHTSA has provided State 
Highway Safety Offices and safety advocates with information on 
attitudes and behaviors of drivers who speed, including changes across 
time, and classified speeder types.2 3 NHTSA is continuing 
these efforts and attempting to assist the development of more tailored 
countermeasures by conducting this new study to evaluate additional 
psychological factors that may predict speeding behavior.
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    \1\ National Center for Statistics and Analysis. (2021, 
October). Speeding: 2019 data (Traffic Safety Facts. Report No. DOT 
HS 813 194). National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
    \2\ Richard, C.M., Campbell, J.L., Lichty, M.G., Brown, J.L., 
Chrysler, S., Lee, J.D., Boyle, L., & Reagle, G. (2012, August). 
Motivations for speeding, Volume I: Summary report. (Report No. DOT 
HS 811 658). Washington, DC: National Highway Traffic Safety 
Administration.
    \3\ Schroeder, P., Kostyniuk, L., & Mack, M. (2013, December). 
2011 National Survey of Speeding Attitudes and Behaviors. (Report 
No. DOT HS 811 865). Washington, DC: National Highway Traffic Safety 
Administration.
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    In order to design countermeasures that address directly the 
factors that influence speeding behavior and intention to engage in 
this behavior, it is necessary to understand as much as possible about 
the internal reasoning of drivers who speed. Insight into factors such 
as judgments about whether speeding is morally right or wrong and 
perceptions of the legitimacy of the speed laws, enforcement, and 
sanctions can help to develop tailored and effective interventions. 
This study will examine these factors by conducting a survey of 
speeders and non-speeders. NHTSA will use the findings to assist 
States, localities, and communities in developing and refining 
countermeasures that will aid in their efforts to reduce speeding 
behavior and speeding-related crashes and injuries.
    NHTSA will disseminate the information from this study in a 
technical report. The technical report will provide aggregate (summary) 
statistics and tables as well as the results of statistical analysis of 
the information, but it will not include any personally identifiable 
information (PII). The technical report will be shared with State 
highway offices, local governments, and those who develop traffic 
safety communications that aim to reduce speeding behavior and 
speeding-related crashes.
    60-Day Notice: A Federal Register notice with a 60-day comment 
period soliciting public comments on the described information 
collection was published on October 25, 2022 (87 FR 64536). One 
organization, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), and two 
individuals provided comments. The individual comments were 
descriptions regarding the personal motivations of the writers for 
speeding and their own perceived risk on roadways. TxDOT expressed 
support for the project and recommended that the scope be expanded to 
include additional States, including Texas. TxDOT also inquired what 
roadway types will be the focus of the study.
    In response to TxDOT's recommendation to include multiple States, 
at present the study is delimited to a single State to yield uniformity 
in traffic laws. If it should become of interest to expand the scope to 
multiple States, the willingness of Texas to participate will be 
considered. In response to the specific roadway types of interest to 
the study, the study is designed to cover essentially the full range of 
driving situations so all roadway types are included.
    Affected Public: Participants are eligible for the survey if they 
are (1) licensed drivers in the State of Washington at the time the 
sample is drawn; (2) age 18 and older; (3) randomly selected from the 
total drivers in Washington State in three groups based on the number 
of speeding convictions on their driver record (0; 1; and 2+).
    Estimated Number of Respondents: Participation in this study will 
be voluntary. The study anticipates contacting up to 4,545 adult 
licensed drivers from Washington State to obtain a target sample of 
1,500 completed surveys.
    Frequency: The study will be conducted one time during the three-
year period for which NHTSA is requesting approval.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: NHTSA estimates the 
approximate time to complete the survey is 20 minutes per participant. 
Details of the burden hours for each wave in the survey are included in 
Table 1 below. When rounded up to the nearest whole hour for each data 
collection effort, the total estimated annual burden from the project 
activities for 1,500 participants is 501 hours.
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[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN28FE23.014

    Estimated Total Annual Burden Cost: Participation in this study is 
voluntary, and there are no costs to respondents beyond the time spent 
completing the questionnaires.
    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 1351.29A.

Nanda Narayanan Srinivasan,
Associate Administrator, Research and Program Development.
[FR Doc. 2023-04037 Filed 2-27-23; 8:45 am]
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