[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 145 (Monday, July 29, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60967-60969]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-16633]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-NHTSA-2023-0062]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Request for 
Comment; National Traffic Safety Survey

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. The National 
Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) proposes to conduct a new 
information collection, the National Traffic Safety Survey, a national 
probability sample of approximately 6,001 adults aged 18 and older per 
survey administration. This information will be used to better 
understand the public's behavior and attitudes regarding traffic safety 
issues including seat belts, distracted driving, new and emerging 
vehicle technologies, and traffic safety and enforcement. A Federal 
Register Notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments on the 
following information collection was published on May 17, 2024. NHTSA 
received one comment in support of the proposed information collection.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before August 28, 2024.

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 Christine Watson, Ph.D., Office of 
Behavioral Safety Research (NPD-320), 202-366-7345, 
[email protected], National Highway Traffic Safety 
Administration, W46-474, U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New 
Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590. 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.
    Title: National Traffic Safety Survey.
    OMB Control Number: New.
    Form Numbers: NHTSA Forms #1805, 1805-S, 1806, 1806-S, 1807, 1807-
S, 1808, 1808-S, 1809, 1809-S, 1810, 1810-S.
    Type of Request: Request for 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) proposes to collect information 
from the public to better understand the public's behavior and 
attitudes regarding traffic safety issues including seat belts, 
distracted driving, new and emerging vehicle technologies, and traffic 
safety and enforcement. Data would be collected by web and mail among a 
national probability sample of approximately 6,001 adults aged 18 and 
older per survey administration. NHTSA is proposing to conduct the full 
survey twice, two years apart, and conduct a pilot survey involving 250 
individuals that would occur before the first full administration of 
the survey. Participation by respondents would be voluntary. Survey 
topics include key driving behaviors and experiences, behaviors, 
attitudes, and knowledge around seat belt use, distracted driving, new 
vehicle technologies, traffic safety, and traffic safety enforcement.
    As part of the NTSS, NHTSA will send out six different version of 
the survey. Each of the surveys will contain a set of core questions 
that will be asked across all surveys and a combination of two 
additional sections consisting of questions related to seat belts, 
distracted driving, new vehicle technologies, or traffic safety and 
traffic safety enforcement. Based on the target of collecting 6,001 
completed surveys,

[[Page 60968]]

NHTSA estimates that the full administration of the survey will include 
approximately 1,000 completed surveys for each of the six versions. In 
conducting the proposed research, the survey would use computer-
assisted web interviewing (i.e., a programmed, self-administered web 
survey) to minimize recording errors, as well as optical mark 
recognition and image scanning for the paper and pencil survey to 
facilitate ease of use and data accuracy. A Spanish-language survey 
option would be used to minimize language barriers to participation. 
Surveys would be conducted with respondents using an address-based 
sampling design that encourages respondents to complete the survey 
online. Although web would be the primary data collection mode, a paper 
questionnaire would be sent to households that do not respond to the 
web invitations. Any Personally Identifiable Information (PII) would be 
removed as only a de-identified dataset will be delivered to NHTSA. 
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.
    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 
authorizes the Secretary of Transportation (NHTSA by delegation) 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; accident causation and investigations; and human 
behavioral factors and their effect on highway and traffic safety.
    A primary way NHTSA identifies problems and supports the 
development of effective countermeasures is through conducting 
nationally representative surveys of public attitudes, knowledge, and 
self-reported behaviors regarding various traffic safety topics. NHTSA 
has conducted seven previous iterations of the Motor Vehicle Occupant 
Safety Survey (MVOSS) to ascertain critical information on driver and 
passenger attitudes and behaviors related to safety; the MVOSS was most 
recently administered in 2016.\1\ However, recent advances in vehicle 
safety technologies, increases in portable electronic device use, and 
changes in attitudes towards enforcement have all changed the driving 
environment, and there is a need to collect up-to-date information 
about the public's attitudes and behavior on these traffic safety 
topics to better inform programs aimed at improving the safety of all 
road users. The NTSS is the ``next generation'' of NHTSA's previous 
MVOSS, expanded across more traffic safety topics to increase relevance 
to current and future traffic safety issues. NTSS will deliver highly 
relevant, actionable data on current and future topics in traffic 
safety that support the agency's mission to save lives, prevent 
injuries, and reduce economic costs resulting from traffic crashes.
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    \1\ Bailly, K., Martin, K. & Block, A. (2019, December). 2016 
Motor vehicle occupant safety survey: Volume 1, Methodology report 
(Report No. DOT HS 812 851). National Highway Traffic Safety 
Administration. https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/43610.
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    NHTSA will use the information collected from the NTSS to produce a 
technical report that presents the results of the survey, as well as a 
publicly available dataset that does not contain any PII. 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 PII. The technical report will be shared with State 
highway safety offices, local governments, policymakers, researchers, 
educators, advocates, and others who may use the data from this survey 
to support their work.
    60-Day Notice: A Federal Register notice with a 60-day comment 
period soliciting public comments on the following information 
collection was published on May 17, 2024 (89 FR 43505). One 
organization, the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies 
(NAMIC), provided comments.
    NAMIC expressed support for the project, specifically, that the 
information collection is ``necessary for the proper performance of the 
functions of the agency'' and that ``the information will have 
practical utility.'' NAMIC also suggested that insurance industry 
representatives may be able to provide input on potential applications 
of results from the proposed information collection.
    Affected Public: Participants will be English- and Spanish-speaking 
U.S. adults (18 years old and older).
    Estimated Number of Respondents: Participation in this study will 
be voluntary, with 6,001 participants sampled from all 50 States and 
the District of Columbia using address data from the most recent U.S. 
Postal Service (USPS) computerized Delivery Sequence File (DSF) of 
residential addresses. An estimated 28,700 households will be contacted 
and invited to participate. No more than one respondent will be 
selected per household. Prior to the main survey, a pilot survey will 
be administered to test the survey and the mailing protocol and 
procedures. Participation in the pilot study will be voluntary, with 
approximately 250 participants sampled from all 50 States and the 
District of Columbia using address data from the most recent USPS 
computerized DSF of residential addresses. An estimated 1,200 
households will be contacted and invited to participate in the pilot 
study. No more than one respondent will be selected per household.
    Frequency: The study will be conducted up to two times during the 
three-year period for which NHTSA is requesting approval, with a small 
pilot study occurring several months before the study's full launch.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: To estimate the annul burden 
of the information collection request, NHTSA first estimated the total 
number of respondents that would complete each of the six surveys over 
the course of the three-year period for which NHTSA is seeking 
approval. Assuming that there will be 250 respondents to the pilot 
survey and 6,001 respondents in each of the two full administrations of 
the survey, NHTSA estimates a total of 12,252 respondents in the three-
year period, or approximately 4,084 per year. With this estimate, NHTSA 
estimates that, on average, approximately 681 respondents will complete 
each of the six surveys annually.
    The first survey administration will be a pilot survey will assess 
the entire survey administration system prior to launching the full 
survey and will include an experimental condition examining the 
effectiveness of different messaging techniques used in contact 
materials to increase survey response rates. The pilot administration 
will survey approximately 250 randomly selected respondents. This will 
be followed by a first administration of the survey with approximately 
6,001 randomly selected respondents during the main data collection 
effort. NHTSA may exercise an option to survey

[[Page 60969]]

approximately 6,001 randomly selected respondents during a second 
survey administration. For purposes of this information collection 
request, NHTSA assumes that it will conduct the second administration.
    For the pilot survey, a mass mailing using USPS DSF to 1,200 
addresses, of which 1,140 are expected to be valid contact addresses, 
is expected to reach about 250 willing respondents ages 18 and older. 
Respondents are expected to take 30 minutes to complete the survey (250 
people, 30 minutes average length, 125 hours total).
    For each survey administration, a mass mailing using USPS DSF to 
28,700 addresses, of which 27,265 are expected to be valid contact 
addresses, is expected to reach about 6,001 willing participants ages 
18 and older. As with the pilot survey, participants are expected to 
take 30 minutes to complete the survey.
    Table 1 provides an overview of the survey administrations.

                                 Table 1--Overview of the Survey Administrations
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                                                                                    Burden per
                     Information collection                          Number of       response      Total burden
                                                                    respondents      (minutes)         hours
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Pilot Survey....................................................             250              30             125
Survey Administration 1.........................................           6,001              30           3,001
Survey Administration 2.........................................           6,001              30           3,001
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................................          12,252  ..............           6,127
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    Since the survey administrations would occur over three years, 
NHTSA averaged the number of respondents responding to each of the six 
surveys over the three-year period to estimate that each of the surveys 
would have approximately 681 respondents per year. The burden estimates 
are based on this estimate.
    NHTSA estimates that each of the six versions of the survey will 
have approximately 681 respondents each year and estimates that it 
takes approximately 30 minutes to complete each survey. Accordingly, 
NHTSA estimates that each of the surveys will have a burden of 341 
hours per year, for a total of 2,046 hours of annual burden for all six 
of the surveys.
    NHTSA estimates the opportunity cost to respondents using an 
average hourly wage. The May 2022 mean hourly wage for all occupations 
in the United States was $29.76 per hour.\2\ Therefore, NHTSA estimates 
the total annual opportunity cost to be approximately $60,889 ($29.76 x 
2,046 = $60,888.96). Table 2 provides a summary of the estimated annual 
burden hours and labor costs associated with those submissions.
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    \2\ U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2023, April 25). May 2022 
National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates. U.S. Bureau of 
Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm#00-0000.

                                                            Table 2--Annual Burden Estimates
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                                                                            Burden per        Hourly                           Total
                 Information collection                      Number of       response       opportunity     Opportunity     opportunity    Total burden
                                                            respondents      (minutes)         cost        cost response       cost            hours
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Survey Version 1........................................             681              30          $29.76          $14.88      $10,148.16             341
Survey Version 2........................................             681              30           29.76           14.88       10,148.16             341
Survey Version 3........................................             681              30           29.76           14.88       10,148.16             341
Survey Version 4........................................             681              30           29.76           14.88       10,148.16             341
Survey Version 5........................................             681              30           29.76           14.88       10,148.16             341
Survey Version 6........................................             681              30           29.76           14.88       10,148.16             341
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    Total...............................................  ..............  ..............  ..............  ..............       60,888.96           2,046
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    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 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.

Nanda Narayanan Srinivasan,
Associate Administrator, Research and Program Development.
[FR Doc. 2024-16633 Filed 7-26-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P