[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 125 (Friday, June 30, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42421-42424]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-13902]



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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-2023-015]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Automated 
Vehicle Transparency and Engagement for Safe Testing (AV TEST) 
Initiative

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

ACTION: Notice and request for comments on a request for approval for 
extension with modification of a currently 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) 
abstracted 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. The information 
collection described in this document is for NHTSA's Automated Vehicle 
Transparency and Engagement for Safe Testing (AV TEST) Initiative, 
which involves the collection of voluntarily-submitted information from 
entities involved in the testing of vehicles equipped with automated 
driving systems (ADS) and from States and local authorities involved in 
the regulation of ADS testing. The purpose of this collection is to 
provide information to the public about ADS testing operations in the 
United States and applicable State and local laws, regulations, and 
guidelines. A Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period 
soliciting comments on the information collection was published on 
April 6, 2023 (83 FR 20608). NHTSA received 3 comment submission and a 
brief summary and NHTSA's response to those comments is provided in 
this document.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before July 31, 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 Chris Wiacek, Office of Data 
Acquisition, (NSA-100), Room W53-478, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, 
Washington, DC 20590. Mr. Wiacek's telephone number is (202) 366-4801. 
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 
OMB.
    A Federal Register notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting 
public comments on the following information collection was published 
on April 6, 2023.
    Title: Automated Vehicle Transparency and Engagement for Safe 
Testing (AV TEST) Initiative.
    OMB Control Number: 2127-0748.
    Form Number: NHTSA Form 1586--AV TEST Tracker eForm; NHTSA Form 
1587--AV TEST Onboarding Form.
    Type of Request: Request for approval for extension with 
modification of a currently approved information collection.
    Type of Review Requested: Regular.
    Length of Approval Requested: Three years from the date of 
approval.
    Summary of the Collection of Information: The U.S. Department of 
Transportation (DOT), National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 
(NHTSA) was established by Congress to save lives, prevent injuries, 
and reduce economic costs due to motor vehicle crashes through 
education, research, safety standards, and enforcement activity. DOT 
and NHTSA are fully committed to reaching an era of crash-free roadways 
through the deployment of innovative lifesaving technologies. The 
prevalence of automotive crashes in the United States underscores the 
urgency to develop and deploy lifesaving technologies that can 
dramatically decrease the number of fatalities and injuries on our 
Nation's roadways.
    NHTSA believes that Automated Driving System (ADS) technology, 
including technology contemplating no human driver at all, has the 
potential to significantly improve roadway safety in the United States. 
This technology remains substantially in development phases with 
companies across the United States performing varying levels of 
development, research, and testing relating to the performance of 
various aspects of ADS vehicle technologies. While much of these 
development operations occur in private facilities and closed-course 
test tracks, many stakeholders have progressed to conducting ADS 
vehicle testing on public roads or in public demonstrations. Moreover, 
to regulate such operations in their jurisdictions, many local 
authorities, such as States and cities, have passed laws governing ADS 
vehicle testing on public roads. These statutes, regulations, and 
ordinances vary, ranging from operational requirements to mandating the 
submission of periodic reports detailing ADS vehicle operation.
    Description of the Need for the Information and Proposed Use of the 
Information: The AV TEST Initiative seeks to enhance public education 
and engagement with public ADS vehicle testing by coalescing 
information regarding respondents' various testing operations or 
requirements into a centralized resource. This information collection 
seeks voluntarily-provided information from entities performing ADS 
testing about their operations and information from local authorities 
about requirements or recommendations for such operations. NHTSA 
maintains a digital platform on its website \1\ that collects 
information from respondents and makes the information about ADS 
operations and applicable State and local requirements and 
recommendations available to members of the public.
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    \1\ https://www.nhtsa.gov/automated-vehicle-test-tracking-tool.
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    The program supports two main objectives. The first objective is to 
provide the public with access to geographic visualizations of testing 
at the national, State, and local levels. This information is displayed 
on a graphic of the United States, with projects overlaid on the 
geographic areas in which the testing project is taking place. By 
clicking on a testing location, members of the public see additional 
information about the operation and the ADS operator. Additional 
information may include basic information about the ADS operator, a 
brief statement about the entity, specific details of the testing 
activity, high-level (non-confidential) descriptions of the vehicles 
and technology, photos of the test vehicles, the dates on which testing 
occurs, frequency of vehicle operations, the

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number of vehicles participating in the project, the specific streets 
or areas comprising the testing routes, information about safety 
drivers and their training, information about engagement with the 
community and/or local government, weblinks to the company's websites 
with brief introductory statements, and a link to the company's 
Voluntary Safety Self-Assessment (VSSA).\2\
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    \2\ Voluntary Self-Assessments are described in Automated 
Driving Systems 2.0: A Vision for Safety, available at https://www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.dot.gov/files/documents/13069a-ads2.0_090617_v9a_tag.pdf. VSSAs are covered by the PRA Clearance 
with OMB Control Number 2127-0723.
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    The second objective is to provide members of the public with 
information collected from States and local authorities that regulate 
ADS operations. State and local authorities will be asked to provide 
weblinks for specific ADS-related topics, such as statutes, 
regulations, or guidelines for ADS operations, privacy-related issues, 
emergency response policies and training, or other activities that 
cultivate ADS testing. This program provides a central resource for the 
aforementioned information concerning ADS testing across the United 
States.
    Affected Public: There are two information collection components to 
this request. The first affects entities engaged in testing of ADS 
vehicles, including original manufacturers of ADS vehicles and ADS 
vehicle equipment, and operators of ADS vehicles. The second affects 
local authorities regulating testing of ADS vehicles within their 
jurisdictions, including States, cities, counties, and other 
municipalities.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: NHTSA anticipates that the 
Initiative could expand to include up to 35 State or local government 
respondents and 40 ADS developer, ADS vehicle manufacturer, or ADS 
operator respondents per year.
    Frequency: Participation is completely voluntary, and each 
participant will choose its respective degree of involvement and the 
frequency of its submissions. Therefore, the frequency of a 
participant's response may vary due to a variety of factors, such as 
the degree of the entity's participation in the initiative or the 
frequency with which each entity modifies its ADS testing operations 
or, in the case of local authorities, amends its regulations governing 
such operations.
    Number of Responses: Participation is completely voluntary, and 
each participation will choose the number and frequency of its 
submissions. Therefore, the number of responses from a participant will 
vary due to a variety of factors, such as the degree of the entity's 
participation in the initiative or the frequency with which each entity 
modifies its ADS testing operations or, in the case of local 
authorities, amends its regulations governing such operations.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: NHTSA estimates that the 
annual burden of participation will be approximately 48 hours for 
private industry respondents that include ADS operators, developers, or 
vehicle manufacturers. This total number of hours represents 
approximately four hours per month to perform data entry for testing 
projects (4 hours x 12 months = 48). Therefore, for the estimated 40 
ADS operator participants, the total burden is estimated to be 1,920 
hours per year (40 respondents x 48 hours).
    NHTSA estimates that each State or local authority respondent would 
spend approximately 10 hours responding to this collection. Therefore, 
for the estimated 35 State or local authority participants, the total 
burden is estimated to be 350 hours per year.
    The total burden for the entire information collection request is 
estimated to be 2,270 hours (1,920 hours + 350 hours). The total burden 
hours have been reduced from the original estimate of 2,520 when the 
agency first sought approval for this information collection because of 
the lower estimated participation. However, the agency believes the 
annual hours per respondent has not changed.
    The labor cost associated with this collection of information is 
derived by (1) applying the appropriate average hourly labor rate 
published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, (2) dividing by either 
0.705 \3\ (70.5%), for private industry workers, or 0.619 (61.9%), for 
state and local government workers, to obtain the total cost of 
compensation, and (3) multiplying by the estimated burden hours for 
each respondent type.
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    \3\ See Table 1. Employer Costs for Employee Compensation by 
ownership (Sep. 2022), available at https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecec.t01.htm (accessed March 14, 2023).
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    Labor costs associated with original manufacturers of ADS Vehicles 
or ADS vehicle equipment and operators of ADS vehicles are estimated to 
be $60.48 per hour for ``Project Management Specialists,'' Occupation 
Code 13-1082, ($42.64 \4\ per hour / 0.705). The labor cost per private 
industry respondent for each year for development and submission of 
information is estimated to be $2,903.04 ($60.48 x 48 hours). 
Therefore, the total annual labor cost for private industry to 
participate in the AV TEST Initiative is estimated to be $116,121.60 
($2,903.04 x 40 respondents).
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    \4\ See May 2021 National Industry-Specific Occupational 
Employment and Wage Estimates NAICS 336100--Motor Vehicle 
Manufacturing, available (accessed March 14, 2023).
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    Labor costs associated with local and regional authorities, such as 
states, counties, and cities are estimated to be $66.79 per hour for 
``Legal Support Workers,'' Occupation Code 23-2099, ($41.34 \5\ per 
hour / 0.619). The labor cost per regional authority respondent for 
each year for development and submission of information is estimated to 
be $667.90 ($66.79 x 10 hours). Therefore, the total annual labor cost 
for regional authorities to participate in the AV TEST Initiative is 
estimated to be $23,376.50 ($667.9 x 35 respondents).
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    \5\ See May 2021 National Occupational Employment and Wage 
Estimates by ownership Federal, state, and local government, 
including government-owned schools and hospitals and the U.S. Postal 
Service, available at https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/999001.htm#23-0000 (accessed March 14, 2023).
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    The total annual labor costs for all respondents, private industry, 
and regional authorities together, are estimated to be $139,499 
($116,122 + $23.377). See Table 1 below for a summary of estimated 
burden hours and estimated labor costs.

                      Table 1--Summary of Estimated Burden Hours and Estimated Labor Costs
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                                                                                           Total
                                   Number of       Annual      Labor     Annual labor    estimated  Total annual
        Respondent type           respondents    hours per    cost per     cost per       burden     labor costs
                                                 respondent     hour      respondent       hours
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Original Manufacturer of ADS                40           48     $60.48       $2,903.04       1,920      $116,122
 Vehicles or ADS Vehicle
 Equipment and Operators of
 ADS Vehicles.................
State or Local Authority......              35           10      66.79         667.900         350        23,377
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    Total All Respondents.....              75  ...........  .........  ..............       2,270       139,499
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    NHTSA's estimate for the burden hours for participants remained the 
same from the April 6, 2023, notice.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Cost: NHTSA estimates that there will 
be no costs to respondents other than labor costs associated with 
burden hours.
    Summary of Public Comments: On April 6, 2023, NHTSA published a 
notice in the Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period 
soliciting comments on the information collection (88 FR 20608). NHTSA 
received a total of 3 comment submission from organizations including, 
Alliance for Automotive Innovation (Auto Innovators), Owner-Operator 
Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) and a joint submission from 
Safe Kids Worldwide and Safe Kids in Automated Vehicle Alliance (Safe 
Kids). A summary and response to the comments is provided below.
    All commenters supported the Initiative's objective to enhance 
public education and engagement with public ADS vehicle testing by 
coalescing information regarding respondents' various testing 
operations or requirements into a centralized resource including 
information collected from States and local authorities that regulate 
ADS operations. Specifically, Auto Innovators commented that providing 
the public with access to see where testing is occurring at the 
national, state, and local levels helps provide additional transparency 
and assurances for how safety, mobility and accessibility issues are 
being addressed by innovators in the AV space, which is critical for 
building public acceptance of this burgeoning technology. OOIDA 
supported the objectives of the AV TEST Initiative by stating, it 
provides the public with direct and easy access to information about AV 
testing and development, along with information from states regarding 
activity, legislation, regulations, and local involvement in automation 
on our roadways. Safe Kids stated NHTSA's information and data 
collection under the AV TEST Initiative provides a mechanism to keep 
the public and safety advocates informed about automated vehicle 
testing activities to be conducted on public roads throughout the 
country.
    The agency did not receive specific comments on the burden of the 
data collection, however OOIDA and Auto Innovators provided additional 
comments on how the agency may enhance the Initiative.
    OOIDA stated the voluntary nature of AV TEST has not been effective 
in producing the necessary safety data to implement informed regulatory 
policies for autonomous vehicles. The AV TEST Initiative's voluntary 
structure prevents the program from best accomplishing its goals and 
NHTSA must require mandatory data transparency from manufacturers 
because it will help educate consumers, the industry, and regulators 
about the actual reliability and performance of autonomous technology.
    In response, the agency's objective of the AV TEST Initiative is to 
provide members of the public with a centralized database of high-level 
information about ADS testing activities and State and local laws, 
recommendations, and initiatives. It is, therefore, outside of the 
scope of the project to make any reporting mandatory or to expand the 
collection to include safety information or information that NHTSA 
would use to evaluate the safety of ADS operations.
    The Auto Innovators provided further comments specific to the AV 
TEST Initiative and how data is presented to the public. The Auto 
Innovators stated that it is important that NHTSA conduct periodic 
reviews to verify the accuracy of information that is made available on 
the AV TEST initiative portal, and that it is up to date. This may 
include spot check outreach to select organizations to provide updates 
on the status of their operations, or other updates to the data where 
the information is known to no longer be accurate (for example, if an 
AV tester were to cease operations).
    In response, the agency agrees with the Auto Innovators and 
believes accurate data serves the intent of the Initiative to enhance 
public education and engagement with public ADS vehicles. However, 
NHTSA notes that data submitted as part of the AV TEST Initiative may 
become stale. For example, because the AV TEST Initiative is voluntary, 
an ADS operator could provide information on an ADS operation and never 
update NHTSA when the operation is completed. Although we provide a 
mechanism for participants to change the status of test sites from 
active to inactive or completed, participants may not update the status 
of an operation. NHTSA does reach out to program participants about 
operations that has not been updated for an extended period of time. In 
addition, we have provided participants the ability to remove out-of-
date information and archive the data, which removes it from the AV 
TEST web page.
    Furthermore, because the information submitted by participants is 
voluntary, before information is transferred to the public website the 
agency reviews the submissions for any obvious errors or concerns and 
will contact the participants accordingly prior to approval for 
publication if any concerns are identified. The agency also does a 
general periodic review for information that is out-of-data such as 
removing participants from the public website when we become aware the 
entity is no longer testing and has ceased operations.
    The Auto Innovators also recommended NHTSA consider repurposing or 
rebranding the AV TEST initiative to emphasize not only the testing of 
AVs, but also to capture the transition from testing to real-world 
deployment. This is unlikely to create any additional burden in terms 
of the information provided as part of the AV TEST initiative but is 
likely an important distinction to make in building public acceptance 
and confidence in new technology. This could perhaps be achieved by 
using different colors and/or patterns to enable users to distinguish 
between testing and deployment in the online visualization tool.
    In response, the agency believes the AV TEST Initiative needs to 
evolve over time as the technology progresses and the ADS developers 
transition their operations to have changing interaction with the 
public beyond testing and demonstration. Currently, the AV TEST 
Initiative provides participants the options to identify testing 
operations where the vehicles are providing a service to the public, 
however, currently specific to testing and not real-world deployment. 
As recently as May 10th, 2023, the agency held a workshop with

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participants where we rolled out changes made to the AV TEST website 
based upon earlier feedback from participants to improve the conveyance 
of information to the public. We encourage participants and the public 
to contact the agency on ways to further improve the AV TEST 
experience.\6\ Prior to committing resources, the agency would like 
further information on the need and scope of the real-world deployment 
of ADS vehicles.
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    \6\ [email protected].
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    Lastly, Auto Innovators suggested, NHTSA should proactively 
encourage states to share information on statewide AV policies or 
initiatives as part of the AV TEST program, as this information is not 
only critical for public transparency, but also an important resource 
for manufacturers that need to develop systems to account for 
operational and policy related differences between regions.
    In response, the agency has proactively reached out to states and 
encouraged them to participate in this voluntary program. In discussion 
with the states, the agency recognizes that each state has their own 
priorities with respect to ADS vehicles and may have limited resources 
or interest to participate in AV TEST. The agency continues to 
encourage state participation, however, as noted earlier this is a 
voluntary program.
    NHTSA appreciates the commenters' input and will keep this input in 
mind when considering future approaches to ADS technologies.
    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.

Chou-Lin Chou,
Associate Administrator, National Center for Statistics and Analysis.
[FR Doc. 2023-13902 Filed 6-29-23; 8:45 am]
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