[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 53 (Monday, March 20, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16724-16726]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-05569]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-2022-0018]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Request for 
Comment; Title: FMVSS Considerations for Vehicles With Automated 
Driving Systems: Seating Preference Study

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: 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 is a new 
collection of information to conduct an experiment to gather both 
objective and subjective data regarding occupant/passenger seat 
preference in Automated Driving System-Dedicated Vehicles (ADS-DVs). A 
Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting 
comments on the following information collection was published on March 
7, 2022. No relevant comments were received.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before April 19, 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 Debbie Sweet, Office of Vehicle Safety 
Research (NVS-010), (202) 366-7179, National Highway Traffic Safety 
Administration, W46-413, U.S. Department of Transportation, 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 OMB.
    Title: FMVSS Considerations for Vehicles with Automated Driving 
Systems: Seating Preference Study.
    OMB Control Number: New.
    Form Number(s): NHTSA Forms 1624, 1625, and 1626.

                 Table 1--Forms To Be Used in the Study
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NHTSA Form 1624...................  Eligibility Questionnaire--FMVSS
                                     Considerations for Vehicles with
                                     Automated Driving Systems: Seating
                                     Preference Study.
NHTSA Form 1625...................  Demographic Questionnaire--FMVSS
                                     Considerations for Vehicles with
                                     Automated Driving Systems: Seating
                                     Preference Study.
NHTSA Form 1626...................  Post Experiment Questionnaire--FMVSS
                                     Considerations for Vehicles with
                                     Automated Driving Systems: Seating
                                     Preference Study.
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    Type of Request: New collection.
    Type of Review Requested: Regular.
    Requested Expiration Date of Approval: 3 years from date of 
approval.
    Summary of the Collection of Information:
    49 U.S.C. 30181, 30182, and 30183 authorize the Secretary of 
Transportation (NHTSA by delegation) to conduct research, development, 
and testing programs, including activities related to new and emerging 
technologies that impact, or that may impact, motor vehicle safety. 
NHTSA proposes to collect information from the public regarding 
occupant/passenger seat preference in Automated Driving System-
Dedicated Vehicles (ADS-DVs). Adults aged 18 and older will participate 
in an on-road study after giving informed consent. Participants will 
ride in one passenger vehicle and two ADS-DVs on a closed test track. 
Questionnaire data will be collected at the beginning and end of 
participation for each participant. Objective data will be collected 
via the data acquisition systems installed in each study vehicle. The 
data from each participant will be

[[Page 16725]]

combined, stratified by demographic information and analyzed.
    There are four information collections for the study. The (1) 
Eligibility Questionnaire will be used to identify eligible 
participants for this study; results from this questionnaire will not 
be kept or analyzed. Candidates who are selected for the study will 
participate in a single test-track experiment and will complete two 
additional questionnaires while participating in the experiment. The 
(2) Demographic Questionnaire will be used for description of the 
participant sample (e.g., number of males and females in the dataset, 
final age range for all participants, and driving experience range for 
all participants). This is necessary to compare the sample collected to 
the general driving population. The (3) objective data collected via 
data acquisition systems installed in each study vehicle during the 
test-track experiment is necessary for collecting information about 
participants' seat selection, any seat changes during the ride, seat 
belt use, and how participants interact with the HMI. The (4) Post 
Experiment Questionnaire will be used to analyze the perceptions and 
opinions of ADS-DV technology within the participant sample, as well as 
to gather any comments regarding their seat preference and seat belt 
use. This data will be used to determine how and why participants 
choose seating preferences in ADS-DVs.

Description of the Need for the Information and Proposed Use of the 
Information

    The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA's) 
mission is to save lives, prevent injuries, and reduce economic losses 
resulting from motor vehicle crashes. ADS technology is rapidly 
developing, and current Federal motor vehicle safety standards (FMVSS) 
and/or NHTSA guidance may need to be adapted to ensure this technology 
is deployed safely. Many of NHTSA's FMVSS focus on particular seating 
positions and thus, changes in seating preferences could impact those 
FMVSS. This study will provide NHTSA information about the seating 
preferences of occupants in vehicles that do not require a human driver 
in the left front seat. Several safety outcomes stem from occupant 
seating preference, which may change in the future as Automated Driving 
Systems (ADS) change seating configurations and the way people use 
vehicles. ADS-Dedicated Vehicles (ADS-DVs) are vehicles that lack 
manually operated driving controls, and therefore do not require a 
human driver or occupant to drive the vehicle or sit in the left front 
seat (the ``driver's seat'' in conventional vehicles). In conventional 
vehicles, there is the basic assumption that a human will always be in 
the left front seat while the vehicle is operating because a human 
driver would be necessary to operate those vehicles. ADS-DVs provide 
the opportunity for occupants to sit in any seat they choose in the 
vehicle. It is currently unknown where occupants may choose to sit when 
riding in an ADS-DV. Moreover, new seating configurations for occupants 
of ADS-DVs may necessitate changes to how and where information is 
presented to occupants about their responsibilities as occupants (e.g., 
closing doors, fastening seatbelts). Furthermore, occupants will need a 
human-machine interface (HMI) to provide input that they are ready for 
the ride to begin, or to request that the ride stop. At present, no 
standardized or otherwise commercially produced HMIs exist for this 
purpose. Therefore, in order to conduct the research, a prototype HMI 
will be developed. The two main goals for this study are to:
    1. Describe the occupant distribution for ADS-DVs (i.e., seating 
distribution).
    2. Use the prototype HMI to evaluate whether occupants would choose 
to initiate a ride in an ADS-DV without a seatbelt.

60-Day Notice

    A Federal Register notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting 
public comments on the information collection was published on March 7, 
2022 (87 FR 12772). NHTSA received one comment on the notice that did 
not address the information collection request or the seating 
preference study but instead addressed vehicle and road user safety in 
general. In addition to seeking public comment, NHTSA and the research 
team have publicized this study for a number of years across industry 
and consumer events. NHTSA has socialized this study through various 
means including discussion in the public-facing Annual Modal Research 
Plan FY2022-2023, discussion during the NHTSA Research Portfolio Fall 
2022 public meeting, inclusion in a presentation at the 2021 SAE 
Government Industry Meeting, and discussion with industry stakeholders 
through individual meetings and association groups. Feedback regarding 
the study was positive and supportive and assistive in refinement of 
the study including the human machine interaction design and 
presentation.
    Affected Public: Adults ages 18 and older who meet eligibility 
criteria such as holding a valid driver's license and having used a 
ride- sharing application at least once in the past year.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: An expected total of up to 100 
participants will be recruited to participate in the study. It is 
estimated that 200 respondents will be needed to identify 100 eligible 
participants.
    Frequency: One-time collection.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 268.
    The eligibility questionnaire will have a maximum of 28 questions 
and NHTSA estimates it will take approximately 20 minutes to complete. 
Therefore, NHTSA estimates the total time associated with completing 
eligibility questionnaires to be 67 hours (200 responses x 20 minutes = 
66.7 hours). Study Intake (reading study information sheet and 
obtaining participant consent, general study instruction) is expected 
to take 10 minutes to complete. Both the demographic and post-
experiment questionnaires will have a maximum of 20 questions and NHTSA 
estimates that it will take each eligible participant 10 minutes to 
complete the demographic questionnaire and 10 minutes to complete the 
post-experiment questionnaire. Therefore, NHTSA estimates the total 
burden for Study Intake to be 17 hours (100 responses x 10 minutes = 
16.67 hours), Demographic Questionnaire to be 17 hours (100 responses x 
10 minutes = 16.67 hours), and the Post Experiment questionnaire to be 
17 hours (100 responses x 10 minutes = 16.67 hours). Study 
participation (e.g., riding in study vehicles on the test track) is 
expected to take 90 minutes. The total burden hours for study 
participation are calculated to be 150 hours (100 responses x 90 
minutes = 9,000 minutes = 150 hours). Accordingly, NHTSA estimates the 
total burden hours for this information collection to be 268 hours. 
Data collection will take less than one year.
    The table below shows the estimated burden hours for this 
information collection, which accounts for the maximum number of 
expected responses and drop-outs.

[[Page 16726]]



                                             Estimated Burden Hours
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                                                                                     Estimated
                                                                  Maximum number    individual         Total
                           Instrument                             of respondents      burden         estimated
                                                                                     (minutes)     burden hours
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Eligibility Questionnaire.......................................             200              20              67
Study Intake....................................................             100              10              17
Demographic questionnaire.......................................             100              10              17
Study Participation.............................................             100              90             150
Post Experiment Questionnaire...................................             100              10              17
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................................  ..............  ..............             268
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    Estimated Total Annual Burden Cost: The only cost burdens 
respondents will incur are costs related to travel to and from the 
study location. The costs are minimal and are expected to be offset by 
the honorarium that will be provided to all research participants.
    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 1351.29.

Cem Hatipoglu,
Associate Administrator, Vehicle Safety Research, NHTSA.
[FR Doc. 2023-05569 Filed 3-17-23; 8:45 am]
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