Agency Information Collection Activities; Emergency Approval of a New Information Collection: Motorcoach Passenger and Driver Survey: Motorcoach Safety and Pre-Trip Safety Awareness and Emergency Preparedness Information

Kelly Leone
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
October 18, 2011

[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 201 (Tuesday, October 18, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64423-64424]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-26936]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA-2011-0279]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Emergency Approval of a 
New Information Collection: Motorcoach Passenger and Driver Survey: 
Motorcoach Safety and Pre-Trip Safety Awareness and Emergency 
Preparedness Information

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice and request for information.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, FMCSA 
announces that the Information Collection Request (ICR) described below 
will be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for 
emergency approval. FMCSA requests approval of this ICR by 30 days from 
the publication of this notice. The purpose of this information 
collection is to assess the current levels of voluntary compliance by 
motorcoach operators to provide pre-trip safety awareness and emergency 
preparedness information to passengers and to obtain passenger opinions 
of the implementation of the pre-trip program and any recommended 
improvements. The Department of Transportation (DOT) and FMCSA will use 
this data to further inform future policy and regulatory decisions, as 
well as other initiatives to improve motorcoach safety in the United 
States.

DATES: Please send your comments by November 17, 2011.

ADDRESSES: All comments should reference Federal Docket Management 
System (FDMS) Docket Number FMCSA-2011-0297. Interested persons are 
invited to submit written comments on the proposed information 
collection to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office 
of Management and Budget. Comments should be addressed to the attention 
of the Desk Officer, Department of Transportation/Federal Motor Carrier 
Safety Administration, and sent via electronic mail to http://www.regulations.gov or faxed to (202) 395-7245, or mailed to the Office 
of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, 
Docket Library, Room 10102, 725 17th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20503.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dee Williams, Office of Policy, Plans, 
and Regulations, Strategic Planning and Program Evaluation Division 
Chief, U.S.

[[Page 64424]]

Department of Transportation, Federal Motor Carrier Safety 
Administration, 6th Floor, West Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., 
Washington, DC 20590-0001. Telephone: (202) 493-0192; E-mail Address: 
dee.williams@dot.gov. Office hours are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday 
through Friday, except Federal Holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: Motorcoach Passenger and Driver Survey: Motorcoach Safety 
and Pre-Trip Safety Awareness and Emergency Preparedness Information.
    OMB Control Number: 2126-XXXX.
    Type of Request: New information collection.
    Respondents: Motorcoach passengers and drivers.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 1,050 respondents.
    Estimated Time per Response: 10 minutes.
    Form Numbers: Form MCSA-5868, Motorcoach Passenger Survey: Pre-Trip 
Safety Awareness and Emergency Preparedness Information--To collect 
motorcoach passengers' responses during five one-shot in-person survey 
events.
    Form MCSA-5869, Motorcoach Driver Survey: Pre-Trip Safety Awareness 
and Emergency Preparedness Information--To collect motorcoach drivers' 
responses during five one-shot in-person survey events.
    Expiration Date: N/A. This is a new information collection.
    Frequency of Response: One-time.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 175 hours [1,050 respondents x 10 
minutes/60 minutes = 175 hours].

Background

    Due to several recent fatal motorcoach crashes, Congress, DOT, 
specifically FMCSA, and other Federal oversight agencies, including the 
National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), are increasing their 
scrutiny over the motorcoach industry and the enforcement of and 
compliance with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs). 
NTSB issued a Safety Recommendation to DOT, H-99-08, requiring 
motorcoach operators to provide passengers with pre-trip safety 
awareness information. This recommendation resulted from NTSB's 
investigation of two motorcoach crashes from the late 1990s which 
revealed that passengers felt a general sense of panic not knowing what 
to do on a motorcoach in the case of an emergency. The intent of the 
recommendation is to empower passengers to take their personal safety 
into their own hands in the event of an imminent hazard or emergency 
situation. To address the recommendations issued by NTSB, FMCSA formed 
a work group that included representatives from the motorcoach 
industry, motorcoach manufacturers, insurance industry, safety 
consulting industry, trade associations, State agencies, and other 
Federal regulatory agencies. The work group decided to address the 
recommendation by having the motorcoach industry provide pre-trip 
safety briefings on a voluntary basis.
    FMCSA is concerned about the accuracy of self-reported data 
provided by motorcoach operators and requires third party validation of 
industry efforts to provide this information to passengers, as well as 
the effectiveness of the means by which the information is being 
provided. Currently, compliance is measured during FMCSA's National 
Passenger Carrier Strike Forces. The data received from these Strike 
Forces has shown increased adoption levels, however this data is based 
solely on input from the motorcoach companies and not actual 
passengers. FMCSA would like to verify that voluntary compliance 
continues to increase, using different sources, and also collect 
information on the effectiveness of compliance. FMCSA intends to use 
this data to address passenger concerns and to provide NTSB and 
Congress with additional data on voluntary compliance levels.
    The goals and objectives of this survey are to assess the current 
levels of voluntary compliance by motorcoach operators and to obtain 
passenger opinions of the implementation of the pre-trip safety 
awareness and emergency preparedness information. This will help 
eliminate any self-reporting biases by the motorcoach companies; and 
determine whether the pre-trip safety information is being provided and 
if it is effective. The Form MCSA-5868 will be used to survey 
motorcoach passengers and the Form MCSA-5869 will be used to survey 
motorcoach drivers. The DOT and FMCSA will use this data to further 
inform future policy and regulatory decisions, as well as other 
initiatives to improve motorcoach safety in the United States.

Public Comments Invited

    The Agency requests emergency processing of this information 
request. The information collection is essential to FMCSA's safety 
mission: to reduce crashes, injuries, and fatalities involving large 
trucks and buses. Expedited review is necessary so FMCSA can use the 
results to further inform Departmental and Agency efforts currently 
underway to improve passenger safety. In light of recent fatal crashes, 
FMCSA believes delay in collection of this information could result in 
harm to motorcoach passenger safety. You are asked to comment on any 
aspect of this information collection, including: (1) Whether the 
proposed collection is necessary for the performance of FMCSA's 
functions; (2) the accuracy of the estimated burden; (3) ways for FMCSA 
to enhance the quality, usefulness, and clarity of the collected 
information; and (4) ways that the burden could be minimized without 
reducing the quality of the collected information.

    Issued on: October 12, 2011.
Kelly Leone,
Associate Administrator for Research and Information Technology.
[FR Doc. 2011-26936 Filed 10-17-11; 8:45 am]
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