Agency Information Collection Activities: Request for Comments for New Information Collection

Michael Howell
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
June 18, 2015

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 117 (Thursday, June 18, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34956-34957]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-14933]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Highway Administration

[Docket No. FHWA-2015-0012]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Request for Comments 
for New Information Collection

AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The FHWA has forwarded the information collection request 
described in this notice to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
for approval of a new information collection. We published a Federal 
Register Notice with a 60-day public comment period on this information 
collection on August 1, 2014. We are required to publish this notice in 
the Federal Register by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

DATES: Please submit comments by July 20, 2015.

ADDRESSES: You may send comments within 30 days to the Office of 
Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, 
725 17th Street NW., Washington, DC 20503, Attention DOT Desk Officer. 
You are asked to comment on any aspect of this information collection, 
including: (1) Whether the proposed collection is necessary for the 
FHWA's performance; (2) the accuracy of the estimated burden; (3) ways 
for the FHWA to enhance the quality, usefulness, and clarity of the 
collected information; and (4) ways that the burden could be minimized, 
including the use of electronic technology, without reducing the 
quality of the collected information. All comments should include the 
Docket number FHWA-2015-0012.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul Jodoin, (202) 366-5465, or James 
Austrich, 202-366-0731, Office of Operations, Federal Highway 
Administration, Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue 
SE., Washington, DC 20590. Office hours are from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., 
Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: National Traffic Incident Management Responder Training 
Assessment
    Background: Three highway injury crashes occur every minute in the 
United States, putting nearly 39,000 incident responders potentially in 
harm's way every day. Congestion from these incidents often generates 
secondary crashes, further increasing traveler delay and frustration, 
and is the source of up to 25 percent of all traffic delays. The longer 
incident responders remain at the scene, the greater the risk they, and 
the traveling public, face. Minimizing the time and resources required 
for incident clearance is essential to meeting Federal Highway 
Administration (FHWA) goals for improved safety and reliability.
    The second Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP2) an applied 
research program authorized by Congress in the Safe, Accountable, 
Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users 
(SAFETEA-LU), Section 5210 (Public Law 109-59), and reauthorized in 
Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21), Sections 52003 
and 52005 (Pub. L. 112-141) address some of the most pressing needs 
related to the nation's highway system. Recognizing the critical safety 
and operations implications of incident management, SHRP2 developed the 
National Traffic Incident Management (TIM) Responder Training 
curriculum. The training curriculum, developed through SHRP2 project 
numbers L12 and L32A, is designed to reach as many responders as 
possible through in-person training. In the summer of 2012, the FHWA 
Office of Operations assumed lead implementation responsibility for the 
in-person training program, and is currently conducting ``train the 
trainer'' sessions throughout the U.S. The Office of Operations also 
plans to launch an E-Learning Tool (SHRP2 project L32B) that will 
significantly expand the reach of the program, reaching thousands of 
additional responders. When fully-deployed, the training will produce a 
cadre of well-trained responders in each State, able to more quickly 
reduce the time it takes to clear accidents, offering the benefits of 
reduced congestion and lost travel time for travelers, as well as 
improved safety conditions for incident responders and motorists.
    The SHRP2 program also identified the need for comprehensive 
evaluation of the benefits of TIM responder training, and developed an 
electronic post-course assessment tool (Assessment Tool) through 
project L32C, to be used to gather and analyze survey information 
related to TIM responder training. The Assessment Tool and collected 
survey information will enable participating agencies to assess student 
learning, to identify actions that can be taken to meet agency 
emergency response goals, and to evaluate the sufficiency of current 
agency resources and equipment to meet the goals of successful TIM 
response. The Assessment Tool will also support the Office of 
Operations' management of the TIM Responder Training Program by 
tracking and reporting the number of trainers and trainees reached by 
the classroom and e-Learning activities. The tool will use a four-level 
``Kirkpatrick Model'' evaluation methodology with survey data 
collection following both in-person and e-Learning events. Consistent 
with the Kirkpatrick Model, the Office of Operations intends to survey 
training participants, their peers, and their supervisors in four 
phases.
    Phase 1 is a reaction survey, sent to the participants immediately 
after the training session is completed, either in hardcopy or 
electronic form.
    Phase 2 is concurrent with Phase 1 but focused on student learning. 
The

[[Page 34957]]

Phase 2 assessment will include survey questions and short quizzes to 
be answered by the participants before and shortly after the training 
sessions, in order to gauge student absorption and retention of the 
course materials. Information will be collected in hardcopy or 
electronic form.
    Phase 3 is a behavior assessment, conducted at least two months 
following the completion of the training sessions. This phase is 
designed to assess changes in responder behavior, the relevance of 
those changes to improved incident response, and their sustainability 
over time. Information will be collected via survey of training 
participants, their peers, and their supervisors. Peer and supervisor 
feedback is essential to obtaining objective, reliable assessments of 
trainee behavior change. Information will be collected via electronic 
survey.
    Phase 4 assesses organizational change resulting from the training 
program in the medium and long-terms. Surveys will be distributed 
electronically to senior management officials of trainee organizations. 
Initial surveys will be conducted at least three months after training 
sessions, with annual follow-up surveys for up to three years to gauge 
long-term effects of the training program.
    Respondents: For training participants: Approximately 33,905 
training participants in the first year, 36,905 in the second year, 
53,905 in the third year--total of approximately 124,715 participants 
over a three year period. For supervisors: Approximately 3,390 in the 
first year, 3,690 in the second year, and 5,390 in the third year--
total of 12,470 over three years. For senior management: Approximately 
1,130 in the first year, 1,230 in the second year, and 1,800 in the 
third year--4,160 total over three years, including annual follow-up 
surveys of first and second year organizations. Total estimated 
respondents per year: Approximately 38,425 in year one, 41,925 in year 
two, 61,095 in year three--grand total of 141,445 over three years.
    Frequency: Annually.
    Estimated Average Burden per Response: For training participants: 
Approximately 45 minutes per participant. For supervisors: 
Approximately 30 minutes per participant. For senior managers: 
Approximately 30 minutes per participant.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: For training participants: 
Approximately 31,179 hours annually. For supervisors: Approximately 
2,078 hours annually. For senior managers: Approximately 693 hours 
annually. Total hours annually: 33,950.
    Electronic Access: For access to the docket to read background 
documents or comments received, go to http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the online instructions for accessing the dockets.
    Public Comments Invited: You are asked to comment on any aspect of 
this information collection, including: (1) Whether the proposed 
collection of information is necessary for the U.S. DOT's performance, 
including whether the information will have practical utility; (2) the 
accuracy of the U.S. DOT's estimate of the burden of the proposed 
information collection; (3) ways to enhance the quality, usefulness, 
and clarity of the collected information; and (4) ways that the burden 
could be minimized, including the use of electronic technology, without 
reducing the quality of the collected information. The agency will 
summarize and/or include your comments in the request for OMB's 
clearance of this information collection.

    Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995; 44 U.S.C. 
Chapter 35, as amended; and 49 CFR 1.48.

     Issued on: June 11, 2015.
Michael Howell,
Information Collections Officer.
[FR Doc. 2015-14933 Filed 6-17-15; 8:45 am]
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