Reports, Forms, and Record Keeping Requirements |
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John Donaldson
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
2 January 2015
[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 1 (Friday, 2 January 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 99-101]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-30728]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
[U.S. DOT Docket Number NHTSA-2011-0126]
Reports, Forms, and Record Keeping Requirements
AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA),
Department of Transportation.
ACTION: Request for public comment on proposed collection of
information.
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SUMMARY: Before a Federal agency can collect certain information from
the public, it must receive approval from the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB). Under procedures established by the Paperwork Reduction
Act of 1995, before seeking OMB approval, Federal agencies must solicit
public comment on proposed collections of information, including
extensions and reinstatement of previously approved collections.
This document describes one collection of information for which
NHTSA intends to seek OMB approval.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before March 3, 2015.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by the docket number in
the heading of this document, by any of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments on
the electronic docket site by clicking on ``Help'' or ``FAQ.''
Hand Delivery: 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., West Building
Ground Floor, Room W12-140, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern Time,
Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
Fax: 202-493-2251.
Regardless of how you submit comments, you should mention the
docket number of this document.
You may call the Docket Management Facility at 202-366-9826.
Instructions: For detailed instructions on submitting comments and
additional information on the rulemaking process, see the Public
Participation heading of the Supplementary Information section of this
document. Note that all comments received will be posted without change
to http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information
provided.
Privacy Act: Anyone is able to search the electronic form of all
comments received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual
submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf
of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review DOT's
complete Privacy Act Statement in the Federal Register published on
April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477-78) or you may visit http://www.dot.gov/privacy.html.
Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or
comments received, go to http://www.regulations.gov, or the street
address listed above. Follow the online instructions for accessing the
dockets.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kil-Jae Hong, NHTSA, 1200 New Jersey
Avenue SE., W52-232, NPO-520, Washington, DC 20590. Ms. Hong's
telephone number is (202) 493-0524 and email address is kil-jae.hong@dot.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995,
before an agency submits a proposed collection of information to OMB
for approval, it must first publish a document in the Federal Register
providing a 60-day comment period and otherwise consult with members of
the public and affected agencies concerning each proposed collection of
information. The OMB has promulgated regulations describing what must
be included in such a document. Under OMB's regulation (at 5 CFR
1320.8(d)), an agency must ask for public comment on the following:
(i) 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;
[[Page 100]]
(ii) 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;
(iii) how to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected; and
(iv) how to minimize the burden of the collection of information on
those who are to respond, 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.
In compliance with these requirements, NHTSA asks for public
comments on the following proposed collection of information for which
the agency is seeking approval from OMB:
Title: 49 CFR 575--Consumer Information Regulations (sections 103
and 105) Quantitative Research.
OMB Control Number: Not Assigned.
Form Number: None.
Affected Public: Passenger vehicle consumers.
Requested Expiration Date of Approval: Three years from approval
date.
Abstract: The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA),
enacted in December 2007, included a requirement that the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) develop a consumer
information and education campaign to improve consumer understanding of
automobile performance with regard to fuel economy, greenhouse gas
(GHG) emissions and other pollutant emissions; of automobile use of
alternative fuels; and of thermal management technologies used on
automobiles to save fuel. In order to effectively achieve the
objectives of the consumer education program and fulfill its statutory
obligations, NHTSA proposed a multi-phased research project to gather
the data and apply analyses and results from the project to develop the
consumer information program and education campaign. NHTSA has
conducted qualitative and quantitative rounds of research with
consumers to assess current levels of knowledge surrounding these
issues, explore current available fuel economy-related content for
clarity and understanding, evaluate potential consumer-facing messages
and their potential to encourage consumers to seek more fuel economy-
related information from NHTSA, and explore communications channels in
which these messages should be present. The research allowed NHTSA to
refine the fuel economy-related content and consumer-facing messaging
that will be used throughout the consumer education campaign by
identifying what relevant issues consumers care more about, within the
context of the statutory requirements that NHTSA must inform consumers
regarding, and what information they still need to make more informed
purchases and driver behavior decisions. These communications materials
were then tested in a qualitative round of focus groups to gauge which
materials resonated with consumers when it came to messaging on issues
including fuel economy versus fuel efficiency, alternative fuels, and
greenhouse gases and other emissions.
Estimated Annual Burden: 666.67 hours.
Number of Respondents: 2,000.
NHTSA proposed to conduct two research phases to support creation
of communications materials for a consumer education program. For the
first phase, NHTSA conducted one type of qualitative research
consisting of two (2) focus groups in each of three (3) cities. The
results of that research phase were used to inform the quantitative
phase of research which this notice addresses. This quantitative
research will consist of an online survey that will require
approximately 20 minutes for each respondent to complete, and will
require 2,000 participants. NHTSA plans to administer this study one
(1) time.
The estimated annual burden hours for the second phase of research
is 667.67 hours (.333 hours x 2,000 participants). Based on the Bureau
of Labor and Statistics' median hourly wage (all occupations) in the
May 2010 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates, NHTSA
estimates that it will take an average of $16.87 per hour for
professional and clerical staff to gather data, develop and distribute
material. Therefore, the agency estimates that the cost associated with
the burden hours is $11,246.67 ($16.87 per hour x 666.67 burden hours).
Comments are invited on: 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; the accuracy of the Department's estimate of the burden of the
proposed information collection; ways to enhance the quality, utility
and clarity of the information to be collected; and 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.
Public Participation: Your comments must be written and in English.
To ensure that your comments are correctly filed in the docket, please
include the Docket Number NHTSA-2011-0126 in your comments. Your
comments must not be more than 15 pages long.\1\ NHTSA established this
limit to encourage you to write your primary comments in a concise
fashion. However, you may attach necessary additional documents to your
comments. There is no limit on the length of the attachments. If you
are submitting comments electronically as a PDF (Adobe) file, we ask
that the documents submitted be scanned using the Optical Character
Recognition (OCR) process, thus allowing the agency to search and copy
certain portions of your submissions.\2\ Please note that pursuant to
the Data Quality Act, in order for the substantive data to be relied
upon and used by NHTSA, it must meet the information quality standards
set forth in the OMB and Department of Transportation (DOT) Data
Quality Act guidelines. Accordingly, we encourage you to consult the
guidelines in preparing your comments. OMB's guidelines may be accessed
at http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/fedreg_reproducible (last accessed
June 2, 2010), and DOT's guidelines may be accessed at http://regs.dot.gov (last accessed June 22, 2010).
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\1\ 49 CFR 553.21.`
\2\ Optical character recognition (OCR) is the process of
converting an image of text, such as a scanned paper document or
electronic fax file, into computer-editable text.
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How do I submit confidential business information?
If you wish to submit any information under a claim of
confidentiality, you should submit three copies of your complete
submission, including the information you claim to be confidential
business information, to the Chief Counsel, NHTSA, at the address given
above under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. When you send a comment
containing confidential business information, you should include a
cover letter setting forth the information specified in our
confidential business information regulation.\3\
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\3\ 49 CFR part 512.
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Will NHTSA consider late comments?
NHTSA will consider all comments received before the close of
business on the comment closing date indicated above under DATES. To
the extent practicable, we will also consider comments received after
that date. If interested persons believe that any new information the
agency places in the
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docket affects their comments, they may submit comments after the
closing date concerning how the agency should consider that
information. If a comment is received too late for us to practicably
consider it in developing a final rule, we will consider that comment
as an informal suggestion for future rulemaking action.
How can I read the comments submitted by other people?
You may read the materials placed in the docket for this document
(e.g., the comments submitted in response to this document by other
interested persons) at any time by going to http://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the online instructions for accessing the dockets.
You may also read the materials at the NHTSA Docket Management
Facility by going to the street addresses given above under ADDRESSES.
John Donaldson,
Acting Senior Associate Administrator, Policy and Operations.
[FR Doc. 2014-30728 Filed 12-31-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P