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TITLE Publication: Federal Register Agency: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Byline: Chou-Lin Chen Date: 6 April 2023 Subjects: American Government  , Autonomous Vehicles
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 66 (Thursday, April 6, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20608-20610]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-07123]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
[Docket No. DOT-NHTSA-2023-0015]
Agency Information Collection Activities; Notice and Request for
Comment; Automated Vehicle Transparency and Engagement for Safe Testing
(AV TEST) Initiative
AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA),
Department of Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice and request for comments on a request for approval for
extension with modification of a currently approved 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 an extension of a
currently approved 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. This document
describes an existing collection of information for NHTSA's Automated
Vehicle Transparency and Engagement for Safe Testing (AV TEST)
Initiative for which NHTSA intends to seek renewed OMB approval. The AV
TEST Initiative involves the voluntary collection of information from
entities testing vehicles equipped with automated driving systems (ADS)
and from States and local authorities involved in the regulation of ADS
testing. The purpose of this collection is to provide information to
the public about ADS testing operations in the U.S. and applicable
State and local laws, regulations, and guidelines.
DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before June 5, 2023.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by the Docket No. DOT-
NHTSA-2023-0015 through any of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
Mail: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building, Room W12-140,
Washington, DC 20590, between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday through
Friday, except on Federal holidays.
Hand Delivery or Courier: West Building Ground Floor, Room
W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590-0001 between
9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday, except 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 proposed collection of information. 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. To be sure someone is there to help you,
please call (202) 366-9322 before coming. Follow the online
instructions for accessing the dockets via internet.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information or access
to background documents, contact Chris Wiacek, Office of Data
Acquisition, (NSA-100), Room W53-478, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE,
Washington, DC 20590. Mr. Wiacek's telephone number is (202) 366-4801.
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
[[Page 20609]]
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; (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; (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:
Title: Automated Vehicle Transparency and Engagement for Safe
Testing (``AV TEST'') Initiative.
OMB Control Number: 2127-0748.
Type of Request: Request for approval of an existing information
collection.
Type of Review Requested: Regular.
Affected Public: There are two information collection components to
this request. The first affects entities engaged in testing of ADS
vehicles, including original manufacturers of ADS vehicles and ADS
vehicle equipment, and operators of ADS vehicles. The second affects
local authorities regulating testing of ADS vehicles within their
jurisdictions, including States, cities, counties, and other
municipalities.
Request Expiration Date of Approval: Three years from date of
approval.
Summary of the Collection of Information: The U.S. Department of
Transportation (DOT), National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
(NHTSA) was established by Congress to save lives, prevent injuries,
and reduce economic costs due to motor vehicle crashes through
education, research, safety standards, and enforcement activity. DOT
and NHTSA are fully committed to reaching an era of crash-free roadways
through the deployment of innovative lifesaving technologies. The
prevalence of automotive crashes in the United States underscores the
urgency to develop and deploy lifesaving technologies that can
dramatically decrease the number of fatalities and injuries on our
Nation's roadways. NHTSA believes that Automated Driving System (ADS)
technology, including technology contemplating no human driver at all,
has the potential to significantly improve roadway safety in the United
States. This technology remains substantially in development phases
with companies across the United States performing varying levels of
development, research, and testing relating to the performance of
various aspects of ADS vehicle technologies. While much of these
development operations occur in private facilities and closed-course
test tracks, many stakeholders have progressed to conducting ADS
vehicle testing on public roads or in public demonstrations. Moreover,
to regulate such operations in their jurisdictions, many local
authorities, such as States and cities, have passed laws governing ADS
vehicle testing on public roads. These statutes, regulations, and
ordinances vary, ranging from operational requirements to mandating the
submission of periodic reports detailing ADS vehicle operation.
Description of the Need for the Information and Use of the
Information: The AV TEST Initiative seeks to enhance public education
and engagement with public ADS vehicle testing by coalescing
information regarding respondents' various testing operations or
requirements into a centralized resource. This information collections
seeks voluntarily-provided information from entities performing ADS
testing about their operations and information from local authorities
about requirements or recommendations for such operations. NHTSA
maintains a digital platform on its website that collects information
from respondents and makes the information about ADS operations and
applicable State and local requirements and recommendations available
to members of the public.
The program supports two main objectives. The first objective is to
provide the public with access to geographic visualizations of testing
at the national, State, and local levels. This information is displayed
on a graphic of the United States, with projects overlaid on the
geographic areas in which the testing project is taking place. By
clicking on a testing location, members of the public will be able see
additional information about the operation and the ADS operator.
Additional information may include basic information about the ADS
operator, a brief statement about the entity, specific details of the
testing activity, high-level (non-confidential) descriptions of the
vehicles and technology, photos of the test vehicles, the dates on
which testing occurs, frequency of vehicle operations, the number of
vehicles participating in the project, the specific streets or areas
comprising the testing routes, information about safety drivers and
their training, information about engagement with the community and/or
local government, weblinks to the company's websites with brief
introductory statements, and a link to the company's Voluntary Safety
Self-Assessment.\1\
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\1\ Voluntary Self-Assessments are described in Automated
Driving Systems 2.0: A Vision for Safety, available at https://www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.dot.gov/files/documents/13069a-ads2.0_090617_v9a_tag.pdf. VSSAs are covered by the PRA Clearance
with OMB Control Number 2127-0723.
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The second objective is to provide members of the public with
information collected from States and local authorities that regulate
ADS operations. State and local authorities are asked to provide
weblinks for specific ADS-related topics, such as statutes,
regulations, or guidelines for ADS operations, privacy-related issues,
emergency response policies and training, or other activities that
cultivate ADS testing. This program provides a central resource for the
aforementioned information concerning ADS testing across the United
States.
Estimated Number of Respondents: NHTSA anticipates that the
Initiative could expand to include up to 35 State or local government
respondents and 40 ADS developer, ADS vehicle manufacturer, or ADS
operator respondents per year.
Frequency: Participation is completely voluntary and each
participant will choose its respective degree of involvement and the
frequency of its submissions. Therefore, the frequency of a
participant's response may vary due to a variety of factors, such as
the degree of the entity's participation in the initiative or the
frequency with which each entity modifies its ADS testing operations
or, in the case of local authorities, amends its regulations governing
such operations.
Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: NHTSA estimates that the
annual burden of participation will be approximately 48 hours for
private industry respondents that include ADS operators, developers, or
vehicle manufacturers. This total number of hours represents
approximately four hours per month to perform data entry for testing
projects (4 hours x 12 months = 48). Therefore, for the estimated 40
[[Page 20610]]
ADS operator participants, the total burden is estimated to be 1,920
hours per year (40 respondents x 48 hours).
NHTSA estimates that each State or local authority respondent would
spend approximately 10 hours responding to this collection. Therefore,
for the estimated 35 State or local authority participants, the total
burden is estimated to be 350 hours per year.
The total burden for the entire information collection request is
estimated to be 2,270 hours (1,920 hours + 350 hours). The total burden
hours have been reduced from the original estimate of 2,520 when the
agency first sought approval for this information collection because of
the lower estimated participation. However, the agency believes the
annual hours per respondent has not changed.
The labor cost associated with this collection of information is
derived by (1) applying the appropriate average hourly labor rate
published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, (2) dividing by either
0.705 \2\ (70.5%), for private industry workers, or 0.619 (61.9%), for
state and local government workers, to obtain the total cost of
compensation, and (3) multiplying by the estimated burden hours for
each respondent type.
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\2\ See Table 1. Employer Costs for Employee Compensation by
ownership (Sep. 2022), available at https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecec.t01.htm (accessed March 14, 2023).
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Labor costs associated with original manufacturers of ADS Vehicles
or ADS vehicle equipment and operators of ADS vehicles are estimated to
be $60.48 per hour for ``Project Management Specialists,'' Occupation
Code 13-1082, ($42.64 \3\ per hour / 0.705). The labor cost per private
industry respondent for each year for development and submission of
information is estimated to be $2,903.04 ($60.48 x 48 hours).
Therefore, the total annual labor cost for private industry to
participate in the AV TEST Initiative is estimated to be $116,121.60
($2,903.04 x 40 respondents).
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\3\ See May 2021 National Industry-Specific Occupational
Employment and Wage Estimates.
NAICS 336100--Motor Vehicle Manufacturing, available (accessed
March 14, 2023).
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Labor costs associated with local and regional authorities, such as
states, counties, and cities are estimated to be $66.79 per hour for
``Legal Support Workers,'' Occupation Code 23-2099, ($41.34 \4\ per
hour / 0.619). The labor cost per regional authority respondent for
each year for development and submission of information is estimated to
be $667.90 ($66.79 x 10 hours). Therefore, the total annual labor cost
for regional authorities to participate in the AV TEST Initiative is
estimated to be $23,376.50 ($667.9 x 35 respondents).
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\4\ See May 2021 National Occupational Employment and Wage
Estimates by ownership.
Federal, state, and local government, including government-owned
schools and hospitals and the U.S. Postal Service, available at
https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/999001.htm#23-0000 (accessed March
14, 2023).
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The total annual labor costs for all respondents, private industry
and regional authorities together, are estimated to be $139,499
($116,122 + $23.377). See Table 1 below for a summary of estimated
burden hours and estimated labor costs.
Table 1--Summary of Estimated Burden Hours and Estimated Labor Costs
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Annual Annual labor
Respondent type Number of hours per Labor cost cost per Total estimated Total annual
respondents respondent per hour respondent burden hours labor costs
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Original Manufacturer of ADS Vehicles or ADS Vehicle Equipment 40 48 $60.48 $2,903.04 1,920 $116,122
and Operators of ADS Vehicles................................
State or Local Authority...................................... 35 10 66.79 667.900 350 23,377
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Total All Respondents..................................... 75 ............ ........... ............ 2,270 139,499
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Estimated Total Annual Burden Costs: NHTSA estimates that there
will be no costs to respondents other than costs associated with burden
hours.
Public Comments Invited: You are asked to comment on any aspect 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 1351.29.
Chou-Lin Chen,
Associate Administrator, National Center for Statistics and Analysis.
[FR Doc. 2023-07123 Filed 4-5-23; 8:45 am]
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