[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 224 (Monday, November 24, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53053-53057]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-20653]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
[Docket No. NHTSA-2024-0056]
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the
Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Request for
Comment; Occupant Anthropometry and Seating
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 document
describes a new collection of information for which NHTSA intends to
seek OMB approval titled ``Occupant
Anthropometry and Seating.'' A Federal Register Notice with a 60-
day comment period soliciting comments on the following information
collection
[[Page 53054]]
was published on December 30, 2024. One comment was received during the
comment period. This 30-day notice includes a summary of the comment
and NHTSA's response to the comment (feedback has been incorporated
into the data collection in response to the comment).
DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before December 24, 2025.
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 Elizabeth Lafferty, Office of Vehicle
Safety Research, Human Injury Research Division NSR-220, West Building,
W46-311, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE, Washington DC 20590; Email:
[email protected]; Phone: 202-366-6222.
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: Occupant Anthropometry and Seating.
OMB Control Number: New.
Form Number(s): NHTSA Form 1824, NHTSA Form 1825, NHTSA Form 1826,
NHTSA Form 1827, NHTSA Form 1828, and NHTSA Form 1848.
Type of Request: 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: NHTSA proposes to collect
information from the public as part of a study to update obsolete
information on body size and shape, posture, and motion of vehicle
occupants. This research will support NHTSA in the development of tools
used for occupant protection during crashes, add to the body of
knowledge, and inform future agency activities; however, it is not
associated with immediate regulatory activities.
The designs of anthropomorphic test devices (ATDs, commonly known
as crash test dummies) are based on measurements of volunteers sitting
in vehicle and laboratory seats. The current generation of ATDs is
based on data gathered at University of Michigan Transportation
Research Institute (UMTRI) in the 1980s. Since that time, the U.S.
population has changed substantially, most notably due to the large
increase in body mass. Measurement technologies have also improved
dramatically with the development of fast three-dimensional surface
measurement systems. Seating configurations have also expanded from the
traditional seat posture collected in the 1980s with increased recline
angles in modern vehicles. This combination of a population size shift
and more variable seat configurations presents a clear need for updated
seated anthropometry to be collected with new advanced anthropometry
measurement capabilities.
The individual data collections, approved by the Institutional
Review Board at the University of Michigan, will each be performed
once. Study participants will be male and female licensed adult drivers
from the general public, and participation will be voluntary with
compensation. For an in-lab study, the following information
collections include (1) an online screening questionnaire; (2) a phone
call to confirm eligibility, interest, and to schedule a time in the
lab; and (3) informed consent for the in-lab study and anthropometric
measurement. A subset of the in-lab participants will be asked to
participate in an in-vehicle study to include (4) a pre-drive
questionnaire for the in-vehicle study; (5) informed consent and
anthropometric measurements for the in-vehicle study; and (6) a post-
drive questionnaire for the in-vehicle study.
This research study will gather a new database of information on
adult body size, shape, posture, and motion to support advancement in
these safety applications. This study will add to the body of the
knowledge on motor vehicle anthropometry and will support crash safety
and occupant protection through the development of human body models
(HBMs) and anthropomorphic test devices (ATDs).
Description of the Need for the Information and Proposed Use of the
Information: Early ATDs, including the Hybrid-III family that was
initially designed in the 1970s, were constructed using manually
gathered anthropometric data, such as segment lengths and
circumferences. Minimal 3D information was available, and seated
postures were approximated. In 1980, NHTSA funded a large-scale study
at UMTRI to develop anthropometric specifications for a new generation
of ATDs. The Anthropometry of Motor Vehicle Occupants (AMVO) study
gathered data and developed detailed 3D body shapes for small female,
midsize male, and large male occupants, using 5th percentile female,
50th percentile male, and 95th percentile male stature and body weight
as the target reference values. Drawing packages were developed
detailing landmark and joint locations, and physical 3D surface shells
were constructed using landmark data and minimal 3D contour
information. These data have formed the anthropometric basis for most
adult ATDs developed since that time.
AMVO had some limitations, however. Due to the limits of the
technology available at the time, a small number of participants were
measured (25 per size bin were used to create the final
specifications), and no 3D surface information was collected. Moreover,
the analysis was based on simple averaging per size bins, so no
information was provided for other occupant sizes. Additionally, the
midsize female was dropped for cost reasons, so the only female data
were gathered from very small individuals.
Over the past 20 years, HBMs have become an important addition to
the biomechanics toolkit. Using the same logic that was applied to
selecting body sizes for ATDs, the HBMs have typically been targeted to
the same stature and body weight reference values as were used in AMVO.
However, unlike the averaging process used in AMVO, most HBMs have been
developed using data primarily or entirely from a single individual. A
consequence of this approach is that HBM development has not provided
meaningful additions to the anthropometric data available to
characterize vehicle occupants.
In the decades since AMVO, UMTRI has conducted a large number of
studies of occupant posture and body shape and has developed
advancements in both measurement and analysis methodology. Of
particular importance, rather than averaging data to create a
representation of a single body size, UMTRI has developed continuous
statistical models that can generate accurate specifications for a wide
range of sizes and shapes (for examples, see http://HumanShape.org).
Simultaneously analyzing both landmark locations and 3D body shapes has
enabled the development of
[[Page 53055]]
parametric human body modeling, in which HBMs are morphed to represent
people with widely varying size and shape.
Concurrent with the development of parametric HBMs, crash injury
data analyses have highlighted the potential benefits of these new
tools. In particular, the field data indicate that female occupants
experience higher risks of some injuries in certain types of crashes.
Notably, lower-extremity injury risks are markedly higher for female
drivers than for male drivers in frontal impacts. Detailed
anthropometric and posture data for female drivers could help to
elucidate the causes of this difference. Crash injury data also show
that individuals with high body mass are at higher risks of some
injuries, possibly due to differences in the interaction with the
restraint systems. Minimal data are available to describe the seated
postures and body shapes of this cohort, which is increasingly
important in the U.S.
60-Day Notice: A Federal Register notice with a 60-day comment
period soliciting public comments on the following information
collection was published on December 30, 2024 (89 FR 106741). During
the public comment period for the 60-day notice, NHTSA received one
comment from the Partnership for Dummy Technology and Biomechanics
(PDB).
NHTSA appreciates PDB's thoughtful and constructive engagement. PDB
``highly appreciates the intension [sic] of NHTSA to update fundamental
anthropometric data'' and provided detailed comments regarding (1) the
study design, (2) the in-lab study, and (3) the in-vehicle study. NHTSA
values the depth and thoroughness of PDB's input and has carefully
considered their recommendations.
Regarding the study design, PDB emphasized that participant body
sizes should represent the overall population and recommended ensuring
a sufficient number of participants at characteristic percentiles (5th,
50th, and 95th) for males and females. They also recommended
considering age alongside anthropometry because age influences seating
position. NHTSA agrees with these points and the sample design will
reflect selection criteria intended to ensure population representation
and inclusion of specific characteristics. In a currently funded
effort, UMTRI is reanalyzing data from over 400 seated subjects across
varied anthropometries, sexes, and ages. Identified gaps and low sample
sizes from these data were used to develop a participant recruitment
matrix within a task implementation plan for this ICR. Participants
will be 18 years of age and older, with ages distributed across three
bins (20-39, 40-59, and 60-80 years). This collection aims to obtain
about half the participants in the middle bin to address relatively
small numbers of subjects in that age range in earlier studies. Stature
will span from below the 5th percentile to above the 95th percentile
for adult women and men in the U.S. population (1498 to 1875 mm).
Recruitment will use three stature bins with approximately 2x
oversampling in the tails to ensure robust statistical power for
regression modeling. BMI will be sampled in three bins, with 50% of
participants having BMI >30 kg/m2 (roughly 40% of U.S. adults) and
about one-sixth with BMI >40. Age, stature, and BMI will be
approximately independent, though exact equivalence of age
distributions within bins may be constrained by sampling challenges.
PDB recommended including second-row seat position measurements
alongside driver and front passenger positions. NHTSA concurs that
second-row positioning data are important. Although second-row seats
are not included among the six mockup seats selected for in-lab data
collection in the task implementation plan, the test conditions will
incorporate fixed seat back angles typical of second- and third-row
seats, including highly reclined conditions. NHTSA believes these test
conditions address PDB's intent and satisfies their suggestion.
PDB also suggested the in-vehicle study be conducted at a
consistent time of day, preferably in the morning, to reduce spine
relaxation effects from daily activities. NHTSA appreciates and
understands the rationale behind this recommendation; however, due to
time constraints and the large sample size required, the study cannot
restrict data collection to a specific time of day. NHTSA does not
expect this variation to have a significant impact on the data, but
time of day can be considered as a covariate in analyses to clearly
shed light on effects, if any.
In discussion of the laboratory study, PDB highlighted the
importance of manual data collection in addition to 3D scans and
recommended collecting the same locations measured in the first AMVO
study. NHTSA thanks PDB for this practical and helpful guidance and
agrees with both recommendations. The study will incorporate
comprehensive manual data collection of all locations from the first
AMVO study alongside 3D scans. A complete list of measurement
requirements is outlined in the task implementation plan with UMTRI and
provided in Tables 1 and 2. These tables specify measurements to be
gathered from each participant using standard manual anthropometry.
Many additional dimensions can be extracted from the 3D scans beyond
those listed. NHTSA intends to compare all new measurements from this
study to prior AMVO measurements and will use both manual measures and
3D scans to obtain comparable data.
Table 2 lists the surface landmarks used to define posture and
estimate internal joint center locations. All landmarks are measured in
the laboratory hardseat, which provides access to both anterior and
posterior landmarks; these data are used to create a subject-specific
skeletal linkage that informs interpretation of vehicle seating
conditions, where posterior landmarks below C7 are generally not
accessible. Landmark locations, including points used to quantify belt
fit, will be measured in the mockup conditions using the FARO Arm in a
comparable manner. NHTSA is confident that the study design and
measurement plan will fulfill PDB's request for thorough manual data
collection.
PDB provided a list of landmarks desired for Human Body Model (HBM)
positioning. NHTSA appreciates these recommendations and will ensure
the data collected under this ICR to provide sufficient landmark data
for positioning and orienting both HBMs and ATDs. Body landmark data
from the mockups will be analyzed using methods similar to those in
prior UMTRI publications (e.g., Park et al., 2016). First, hardseat
data will be used to estimate internal joint center locations and
construct a skeletal linkage for each subject. Next, the skeletal
linkage and surface landmarks will be used to estimate joint center
locations in each mockup condition. Regression analysis will predict
landmark locations as functions of subject characteristics (stature,
BMI, etc.) and test condition variables (seat height, seat back angle,
etc.). The VITUS laser scanner 3D data will be processed following
established methods (e.g., Park et al., 2022): props (seats, handholds,
etc.) are manually removed from the scan, an automatic surfacing
process fills holes to obtain a watertight mesh, and texture data are
used to manually digitize landmark locations in Meshlab. A standardized
template is fitted to the mesh using UMTRI-developed methods. NHTSA is
confident this collection will capture the landmark data discussed by
PDB.
[[Page 53056]]
Table 1--Manual Anthropometry Measures *
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1............ Weight 12........... Maximum Hip Breadth
2............ Stature (without 13........... Buttock Knee Length
shoes)
2.5.......... Stature (with shoes) 14........... Buttock-Popliteal
Length
3............ Erect Sitting Height 15........... Biacromial Breadth
4............ Eye Height (Sitting) 16........... Shoulder Breadth
5............ Acromial Height 17........... Chest Depth (on
(Sitting) scapula)
6............ Knee Height 18........... Chest Depth (on
spine)
7............ Tragion to Top of 19........... Bispinous (BiASIS)
Head Breadth
8............ Head Length 20........... Chest Circumference
at Axilla
9............ Head Breadth 21........... Waist Circumference
10........... Shoulder Elbow Length 22........... Hip Circumference
at Buttocks
11........... Elbow-Hand Length 23........... Upper Thigh
Circumference
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* See Hotzman et al. (2012) for definitions and measurement methods.
Table 2--Surface Landmarks
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Glabella L4Surface
Ectocanthus (corner eye) L5Surface
Center Eye (orbit under pupil) Acromion
Tragion HumeralEpiCon_Lat
Vertex Wrist_Lat
Back of Head FemoralEpiCon_Lat
Suprasternale Suprapatella
Substernale Infrapatella
C7Surface Malleolus_Lat
T4Surface ASIS_L
T8Surface ASIS_R
T12Surface PSIS_L
L1Surface PSIS_R
L2Surface Toe Tip
L3Surface Heel
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PDB recommended measuring belt routing in mockup configurations.
NHTSA will incorporate belt routing into the study design and
appreciates PDB's emphasis on this point. In the task implementation
plan, drivers will be measured in a core set of conditions (middle
steering wheel position at three seat heights). A subset of
participants will be assigned to a belt matrix in which belt fit is
measured across a variety of belt anchorage locations, and another
subset will be measured in the remaining package conditions.
PDB also recommended collecting reclined postures with seat back
angles up to around 45-50 degrees. NHTSA appreciates this
recommendation and have included reclined postures up to 45 degrees in
the task implementation plan. Posture will be measured using the FARO
Arm at three seat back angles in each seat (20, 25, and 30 degrees) and
at 35, 40, and 45 degrees for each participant in one randomly assigned
seat (so highly reclined postures will be captured for approximately
\1/6\ of participants in each seat). For postures reclined >30 degrees,
NHTSA will use methods from Reed et al. (2019) to identify each
participant's preferred supported head location. While PDB suggested
angles up to about 50 degrees, NHTSA believes capturing up to 45
degrees provides sufficient coverage for the intended analyses.
PDB suggested that landmarks measured during the in-vehicle portion
match in-lab landmarks whenever possible. NHTSA agrees and incorporated
landmark matching efforts into the implementation plan. Because the ICR
will recruit subjects from the in-lab study for the in-vehicle study,
UMTRI will have comprehensive anthropometry and an accurate three-
dimensional, articulated avatar for each driver participant, enabling
fitting to vehicle 3D data and accurate whole-body posture estimation.
Seated posture, belt fit, and the position of selected vehicle
components will be recorded using a FARO Arm coordinate measurement
system and the vehicle DAS once participants are comfortably seated.
PDB also recommended using the FMVSS 208 procedure to establish a
consistent coordinate system. FMVSS 208 specifies the vehicle
centerline at the rear bumper as the coordinate system origin; in this
study, driver data will be defined in a package coordinate system
anchored to the pedals and steering wheel so results are generalizable
across vehicles. Seat back kinematics, including seat back angle
change, will also be measured. These methods align with SAE and FMVSS
practices. The collected seat H-point and vehicle interior dimensions
will be sufficient to reproduce the package configuration in simulation
or other physical mockups.
Finally, PDB asked NHTSA to consider pressure distribution on the
seat pan during static in-vehicle measurements. NHTSA appreciates the
technical rationale for this suggestion but has determined that adding
pressure distribution data collection would increase data collection
efforts substantially and would be difficult to generalize because
pressure maps depend heavily on seat design. Therefore, NHTSA will not
add pressure distribution to this ICR. NHTSA published a 60-day notice
on December 30, 2024, that stated NHTSA's intention to submit this ICR
to OMB for approval (89 FR 106741).
Affected Public: Respondents will be licensed drivers, ages 18+, in
the Ann Arbor, MI region, and willing to travel to UMTRI. Study
participants will be male and female licensed adult drivers from the
general public, and participation will be voluntary with compensation.
The screening questionnaire is provided as a Google Form through the
University of Michigan's Health Research portal and is completed online
by prospective participants. Eligible participants are those whose
answers to the Google Form questions are consistent with the inclusion
and exclusion criteria.
Eligibility requirements include the ability to read and speak
English, to drive for two hours continuously, hold a current and
unrestricted U.S. driver's license, have at least one year as a
licensed driver, drive a car daily for an average of at least 15
minutes, and be comfortable driving on the highway and local roads.
Exclusion criteria include individuals with musculoskeletal ailments,
impeding the ability to walk or sit comfortably, or musculoskeletal
deformities such as scoliosis or amputations.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 2,000. We estimate that 2,000
screening questionnaires will be filled out to obtain the needed number
of subjects. The form has 23 questions, including name, address, and
time slots available. We estimate that up to 600 individuals will need
to be contacted to obtain the needed number of 300 subjects for the lab
study. This considers that some people's schedules may not match up
with lab openings or they may not show up for their scheduled
appointment. A subset of the in-lab study participants will be asked to
participate in the in-vehicle study with the targeted 100 participants.
Frequency: Once. This is a one-time collection of information with
two studies: in-lab and in-vehicle. A subset
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of the in-lab participants will be asked to participate in the in-
vehicle study. The initial pre-screening time is roughly 5 minutes and
can be done at the respondents' convenience using a device of their
choosing. The only requirement is an internet connection to access the
online pre-screening. Not all who begin this pre-screening will
complete the form in its entirety, and not everyone will meet study
criteria. Those who meet study criteria could be contacted for an
eligibility phone call prior to study enrollment.
Number of Responses: 2,000. Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours:
The annual estimated time burden to complete the collection of
information is 341 hours and an annual opportunity cost of $11,329 over
the study period. Note that these figures are slightly less than those
posted in the 60-day notice for this information collection. The 60-day
notice overestimated the total time per response for the entirety of
the in-vehicle study, which is corrected herein. Further, the 60-day
notice included a private industry workers' wage adjustment, which has
since been deemed unnecessary for this information collection's burden
estimates, as participants are engaging on their own time as volunteers
for all aspects of this study. Therefore, this monetary adjustment to
the opportunity cost per hour has been omitted.
Using the University of Michigan's Health Research portal, the
research team expects to have 2,000 participants respond to the
screening questionnaire in total. Across the three years of the study
collection, NHTSA estimates 667 respondents for the screening
questionnaire. A complete questionnaire is estimated at 5 minutes. Of
the screened individuals, we anticipate that up to 600 total (200
annually) will need to be contacted for an eligibility phone call to
obtain the needed number of 300 total participants (100 annually)
scheduled for the in-lab study. Scheduled participants who do not show
up will be replaced from the remaining pool of screened participants to
ensure a total of 300 total participants (100 annually) arrive for in-
lab measurements. After completion of the 2-hour process for informed
consented and in-lab data collection, some participants will be asked
if they are interested in the in-vehicle study. From the 300 total in-
lab participants, a total of 100 (34 annually) will be scheduled to
return to the lab for the in-vehicle study. The in-vehicle pre-drive
and post-drive questionnaires will each take 5 minutes, the informed
consent and anthropometric measurements will take 10 minutes, and the
vehicle drive itself will take 100 minutes, totaling 2 hours for the
entirety of the in-vehicle study.
To calculate the opportunity cost associated with the forms and
other relevant activities necessary for this collection of new
information, NHTSA looked at average hourly earnings for employees
across all occupations in the Ann Arbor, MI area. The Bureau of Labor
Statistics (BLS) estimates that the average hourly wage for this group
is $33.43, thus serving as the opportunity cost per hour. NHTSA
therefore estimates the total opportunity cost associated with the
1,017 burden hours to be $33,989. Annual burden cost is estimated to be
$11,329, and annual burden hours are estimated to be 341. There may be
a slight variation in the comparison of total to annual burden over the
three years due to rounding. The annual burden figures will be those
represented in ROCIS.
Table 3--Burden Estimates
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Number of Burden cost
NHSTA form No. Information collection respondents Time per Cost per Frequency of Burden hours (dollars) total/
total/annual response (min) response response total/annual annual
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1824........................ Online Screening 2,000/667 5 $2.79 1 167/56 $5,572/$1,857
questionnaire.
1825........................ Eligibility Phone Call.. 600/200 5 2.79 1 50/17 1,672/557
1826........................ Informed Consent, In-Lab 300/100 10 5.57 1 50/17 1,672/557
2110........................ In-Lab Data Collection.. 300/100 110 61.29 1 550/183 18,387/6,129
1827........................ In-Vehicle Pre-Drive 100/34 5 2.79 1 8/3 279/93
Questionnaire.
1828........................ Informed Consent, In- 100/34 10 5.57 1 17/6 557/186
Vehicle.
2111........................ In-Vehicle Data 100/34 100 55.72 1 167/56 5,572/1,857
Collection.
1848........................ In-Vehicle Post-Drive 100/34 5 2.79 1 8/3 279/93
Questionnaire.
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Total Burden/Annual .............. .............. .............. .............. 1,017/341 33,989/11,329
Burden.
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Estimated Total Annual Burden Cost: The total estimated cost to the
Government for this one-time information collection is $49,119.15, and
the annual estimated cost is $16,373.05.
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.
Cem Hatipoglu,
Associate Administrator, Vehicle Safety Research.
[FR Doc. 2025-20653 Filed 11-21-25; 8:45 am]
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