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Agency Information Collection Activities; Notice and Request for Comment; Child Passenger Safety Perceptions and Practices in Ridesharing and Autonomous Vehicles Publication: Federal Register Signing Official: Nanda Narayanan Srinivasan Agency: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Date: 17 October 2022 
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 199 (Monday, October 17, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62922-62924]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-22423]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
[Docket No. NHTSA-2022-0080]
Agency Information Collection Activities; Notice and Request for
Comment; Child Passenger Safety Perceptions and Practices in
Ridesharing and Autonomous Vehicles
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: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
invites public comments about our intention to request approval from
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for a new information
collection. Before a Federal agency can collect certain information
from the public, it must receive approval from 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 a collection
of information for which NHTSA intends to seek OMB approval on Child
Passenger Safety Perceptions and Practices in Ridesharing and
Autonomous Vehicles.
DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before December 16, 2022.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by the Docket No. NHTSA-
2022-0080 through any of the following methods:
Electronic Submissions: Go to the Federal e-Rulemaking
Portal at http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions
for submitting comments.
Fax: (202) 493-2251.
Mail or Hand Delivery: Docket Management, U.S. Department
of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building, Room W12-
140, Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through
Friday, except on Federal holidays. To be sure someone is there to help
you, please call (202) 366-9322 before coming.
Instructions: All submissions must include the agency name and
docket number for this notice. Note that all comments received will be
posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov, including any
personal information provided. Please see the Privacy Act heading
below.
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 https://www.transportation.gov/privacy.
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 via internet.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information or access
to background documents, contact Margaret Hendricks, Ph.D., Office of
Behavioral Safety Research (NPD-320), (202) 366-2305, National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration, W46-466, U.S. Department of
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
(44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), 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: (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) how to enhance
the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected;
and (d) 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: Child Passenger Safety Perceptions and Practices in
Ridesharing and Autonomous Vehicles.
OMB Control Number: New.
Form Numbers: 1687, 1688, 1689, 1690.
Type of Request: 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) of the U.S. Department of
Transportation is seeking approval for a one-time voluntary information
collection from 24 caregivers of children 8 years old or younger and 12
licensed drivers of rideshare vehicles. The purpose of the collection
is to describe child passenger safety (CPS) attitudes and behaviors
from caregivers and rideshare drivers. A NHTSA contractor expects to
provide screening questionnaires to 200 potential participants to
determine their eligibility for the focus group study and to collect
contact information for scheduling with a potential burden of 15
minutes per respondent or 50 hours. From the 200 potential
participants, the contractor will contact and enroll up to 36
participants in the study. Six 90-
[[Page 62923]]
minute focus groups will be conducted, each with six participants.
Including the five minutes for participants to complete informed
consent, the burden per focus group participant is 95 minutes or 57
hours. The total expected burden for screening, scheduling, and
participating in the focus groups is 107 hours. A trained moderator
will conduct separate virtual focus groups for caregivers/parents of at
least one child 8 years old or younger who frequently use rideshare
vehicles to transport children (two groups) and those who infrequently
transport children in rideshare vehicles (two groups) as well as for
rideshare drivers who frequently have child passengers 8 years old or
younger (one group) and those who infrequently have child passengers
(one group). The contractor will collect participants' attitudes and
self-reported behaviors from the focus groups. NHTSA's contractor
received Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval to conduct the focus
groups. NHTSA will use the information to produce a technical report
containing descriptive and qualitative assessments of caregivers/
parents' and rideshare drivers' attitudes and behaviors related to CPS
in rideshare vehicles. NHTSA will make the technical report available
to a variety of audiences interested in improving highway safety
through the agency website and the National Transportation Library.
This collection will inform the development of behavioral safety
countermeasures, particularly in the areas of communications and
training related to CPS in rideshare vehicles and potentially future
vehicles with Automated Driving Systems.
Description of the Need for the Information and Proposed Use of the
Information: NHTSA has estimated that using a car seat reduces the risk
of fatal injury for infants (under 1 year old) by 71 percent for
passenger cars and by 58 percent for light trucks such as pickups,
SUVs, and minivans. For toddlers (1 to 4 years old), the corresponding
reductions are 54 percent and 59 percent. \1\ However, children are not
always restrained appropriately. In 2020 there were 181 passenger
vehicle occupant fatalities among children under 4 years old, and 31
percent were unrestrained (based on known restraint use). In the 4-to-7
age group, there were 207 fatalities; 43 percent were unrestrained
(based on known restraint use).\2\
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\1\ Kahane, C. J. (2015, January). Lives saved by vehicle safety
technologies and associated Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards,
1960 to 2012--Passenger cars and LTVs--With reviews of 26 FMVSS and
the effectiveness of their associated safety technologies in
reducing fatalities, injuries, and crashes (Report No. DOT HS 812
069). National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/812069.
\2\ National Center for Statistics and Analysis. (2022, July).
Occupant protection in passenger vehicles: 2020 data (Traffic Safety
Facts. Report No. DOT HS 813 326). National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration. https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/813326.
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The use of ridesharing services has increased dramatically over the
past few years. In 2018, 36 percent of U.S. adults used ridesharing
services, such as Uber and Lyft. This percentage is more than twice the
share of the population who used ridesharing apps in 2015.\3\ As the
use of ridesharing vehicles increases, concerns regarding how children
are being transported in these vehicles are emerging.
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\3\ Pew Research Center (2019, January 4). More Americans are
using ride-hailing apps. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/01/04/more-americans-are-using-ride-hailing-apps/.
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Limited research has been conducted on CRS use in ridesharing
vehicles. A study conducted by Prince, et al. showed lower rates of CRS
use and higher rates of injuries in crashes involving taxis in New York
City.\4\ In an online national survey of parents with children under
eight, 59 percent reported that they transported their children
differently when traveling in rideshare vehicles compared with private
vehicles.\5\ Of those, 37 percent reported holding the child on their
lap and 25 percent allowed the child to ride without a CRS. Several
online and in-person surveys with parents and caregivers point to
specific circumstances in which non-use of CRS is perceived as more
acceptable, including riding in a rideshare or taxi; traveling while on
vacation, carpooling, when traveling short distances; and finding there
is no CRS available.6 7 8
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\4\ Prince, P., Hines, L. M., Bauer, M. J., Liu, C., Luo, J.,
Garnett, M., & Pressley, J. C. (2019). Pediatric Restraint Use and
Injury in New York City Taxis Compared with Other Passenger
Vehicles. Transportation Research Record, 2673(7), 541-549. https://doi.org/10.1177/0361198119843091.
\5\ Owens, J. M., Womack, K. T., & Barowski, L. (2019,
September). Factors Surrounding Child Seat Usage in Rideshare
Services (Technical Report No. 01-005). Safety through Disruption
(Safe-D) University Transportation Center. https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/63050.
\6\ Levi, S., Lee, H., Ren, W., Polson, A., & McCloskey, S.
(2020, December). Awareness and availability of child passenger
safety information resources (Report No. DOT HS 813 035). National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration. https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/54283.
\7\ McDonald, C., Kennedy, E., Fleisher, L., & Zonfrillo, M.
(2018). Situational Use of Child Restraint Systems and Carpooling
Behaviors in Parents and Caregivers.International Journal of
Environmental Research and Public Health, 15(8),1788.https://
doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15081788.
\8\ Niu, L., Gao, Y. M., Tian, Y., & Pan, S. M. (2019). Safety
awareness and use of child safety seats among parents after the
legislation in Shanghai. Chinese journal of traumatology = Zhonghua
chuang shang za zhi, 22(2), 85-87. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cjtee.2018.08.005.
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There also is a lack of research on best practice approaches for
promoting child safety in rideshare vehicles, and regulatory
inconsistencies (e.g., types of vehicles covered under restraint laws,
severity of fines for violations of the law, age of child covered by
child restraint laws, etc.) only contribute to the confusion on the
part of caregivers and rideshare drivers. A better understanding of
caregiver and rideshare driver behaviors and attitudes related to
restraint use in rideshare services is needed to inform the development
of public policy, regulations, enforcement measures, and educational
campaigns.
Affected Public: Parents of children 8 years old or younger and
adult licensed drivers of ridesharing vehicles.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 200 potential participants with 36
participating in focus groups.
Frequency: This study is a one-time information collection, and
there will be no recurrence.
Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: The total estimated burden
with this collection is 107 hours. NHTSA estimates that up to 200
potential respondents will need to be screened for eligibility by
completing a 10-minute screening questionnaire before finding 36 people
to participate in the focus groups. The contractor will contact the
eligible participants to determine whether they are still interested
and if so, to schedule a focus group for an additional potential burden
of five minutes. As such, screening and scheduling may take up to 15
minutes per potential participant. The goal is to schedule 36
participants for six focus groups (four caregiver groups and two driver
groups).
Each focus group is estimated to last 90 minutes. Including
informed consent, NHTSA estimates the burden as 95 minutes per
participant. During the focus group, participants will discuss their
experiences in traveling with children in rideshare vehicles, behavior
with respect to using seat belts or CRSs when travelling in personal
vehicles and rideshare vehicles, opinions regarding CPS in rideshare
vehicles, etc. Assuming a 10-minute completion time for the recruitment
screener questionnaire, 5 minutes for contacting and scheduling
potential participants for the focus group sessions, 5 minutes for
informed consent for participants, and 90 minutes
[[Page 62924]]
for participating in the focus groups the total hour burden 107 hours.
The calculation of the total estimated burden is shown in Table 1
below.
Table 1--Estimated Burden Hours by Form
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Time per
Form No. Form name and description Respondents respondent Total time
(minutes) (hours)
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1687............................... Screener and Follow- 200 15 50
Scheduling.
1688............................... Informed Consent 24 5 2
(Caregivers).
1689............................... Informed Consent (Drivers). 12 5 1
1690............................... Focus Group Participation.. 36 90 54
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Total....................... ........................... .............. .............. 107
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Estimated Total Annual Burden Cost: NHTSA estimates that there are
no costs to respondents beyond the time spent participating in the
study.
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.
Issued in Washington, DC.
Nanda Narayanan Srinivasan,
Associate Administrator, Research and Program Development.
[FR Doc. 2022-22423 Filed 10-14-22; 8:45 am]
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