Agency Information Collection Activities; Notice and Request for Comment; National Traffic Safety Survey

Agency Information Collection Activities; Notice and Request for Comment; National Traffic Safety Survey

Publication: Federal Register
Agency: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Byline: Nanda Narayanan Srinivasan
Date: 17 May 2024
Subject: American Government

, Safety
Topic:

[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 97 (Friday, May 17, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43505-43508]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-10851]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-NHTSA-2023-0062]

Agency Information Collection Activities; Notice and Request for
Comment; National Traffic Safety Survey

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 six
collections of information for which NHTSA intends to seek OMB approval
that would be conducted as part of the National Traffic Safety Survey.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before July 16, 2024.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by the Docket No. NHTSA-
2023-0062 through any of the following methods:
Electronic submissions: Go to the Federal eRulemaking
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 Christine Watson, Ph.D., Office of
Behavioral Safety Research (NPD-320), 202-366-7345,
Christine.Watson@dot.gov, National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration, W46-474, U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New
Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
(PRA) (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: National Traffic Safety Survey.
OMB Control Number: New.
Form Numbers: NHTSA Forms #1805, 1805-S, 1806, 1806-S, 1807, 1807-
S, 1808, 1808-S, 1809, 1809-S, 1810, 1810-S.
Type of Request: Request for 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:

[[Page 43506]]

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) proposes
to collect information from the public to better understand the
public's behavior and attitudes regarding traffic safety issues
including seat belts, distracted driving, new and emerging vehicle
technologies, and traffic safety and enforcement. Data would be
collected by web and mail among a national probability sample of
approximately 6,001 adults aged 18 and older per survey administration.
NHTSA is proposing to conduct the full survey twice, two years apart,
and conduct a pilot survey involving 250 individuals that would occur
before the first full administration of the survey. Participation by
respondents would be voluntary. Survey topics include key driving
behaviors and experiences, behaviors, attitudes, and knowledge around
seat belt use, distracted driving, new vehicle technologies, traffic
safety, and traffic safety enforcement.
As part of the NTSS, NHTSA will send out six different version of
the survey. Each of the surveys will contain a set of core questions
that will be asked across all surveys and a combination of two
additional sections consisting of questions related to seat belts,
distracted driving, new vehicle technologies, or traffic safety and
traffic safety enforcement. Based on the target of collecting 6,001
completed surveys, NHTSA estimates that the full administration of the
survey will include approximately 1,000 completed surveys for each of
the six versions.
In conducting the proposed research, the survey would use computer-
assisted web interviewing (i.e., a programmed, self-administered web
survey) to minimize recording errors, as well as optical mark
recognition and image scanning for the paper and pencil survey to
facilitate ease of use and data accuracy. A Spanish-language survey
option would be used to minimize language barriers to participation.
Surveys would be conducted with respondents using an address-based
sampling design that encourages respondents to complete the survey
online. Although web would be the primary data collection mode, a paper
questionnaire would be sent to households that do not respond to the
web invitations. Any Personally Identifiable Information (PII) would be
removed as only a de-identified dataset will be delivered to NHTSA.
This collection only requires respondents to report their answers;
there are no record-keeping costs to the respondents. Individuals
receiving a survey invitation will receive compensation in return for
their activities.
Description of the Need for the Information and Proposed Use of the
Information:
NHTSA was established to reduce the number of deaths, injuries, and
economic losses resulting from motor vehicle crashes on the Nation's
highways. As part of this statutory mandate, NHTSA is authorized to
conduct research as a foundation for the development of traffic safety
programs. Title 23, United States Code, section 403 authorizes the
Secretary of Transportation (NHTSA by delegation) to conduct research
and development activities, including demonstration projects and the
collection and analysis of highway and motor vehicle safety data and
related information, with respect to all aspects of highway and traffic
safety systems and conditions relating to vehicle, highway, driver,
passenger, motorcyclist, bicyclist, and pedestrian characteristics;
accident causation and investigations; and human behavioral factors and
their effect on highway and traffic safety.
A primary way NHTSA identifies problems and supports the
development of effective countermeasures is through conducting
nationally representative surveys of public attitudes, knowledge, and
self-reported behaviors regarding various traffic safety topics. NHTSA
has conducted seven previous iterations of the Motor Vehicle Occupant
Safety Survey (MVOSS) to ascertain critical information on driver and
passenger attitudes and behaviors related to safety; the MVOSS was most
recently administered in 2016.\1\ However, recent advances in vehicle
safety technologies, increases in portable electronic device use, and
changes in attitudes towards enforcement have all changed the driving
environment, and there is a need to collect up-to-date information
about the public's attitudes and behavior on these traffic safety
topics to better inform programs aimed at improving the safety of all
road users. The NTSS is the ``next generation'' of NHTSA's previous
MVOSS, expanded across more traffic safety topics to increase relevance
to current and future traffic safety issues. NTSS will deliver highly
relevant, actionable data on current and future topics in traffic
safety that support the agency's mission to save lives, prevent
injuries, and reduce economic costs resulting from traffic crashes.
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\1\ Bailly, K., Martin, K. & Block, A. (2019, December). 2016
Motor vehicle occupant safety survey: Volume 1, Methodology report
(Report No. DOT HS 812 851). National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration. https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/43610.
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NHTSA will use the information collected from the NTSS to produce a
technical report that presents the results of the survey, as well as a
publicly available dataset that does not contain any PII. The technical
report will provide aggregate (summary) statistics and tables as well
as the results of statistical analysis of the information, but it will
not include any PII. The technical report will be shared with State
highway safety offices, local governments, policymakers, researchers,
educators, advocates, and others who may use the data from this survey
to support their work.
Affected Public: Participants will be English- and Spanish-speaking
U.S. adults (18 years old and older).
Estimated Number of Respondents:
Participation in this study will be voluntary, with 6,001
participants sampled from all 50 States and the District of Columbia
using address data from the most recent U.S. Postal Service (USPS)
computerized Delivery Sequence File (DSF) of residential addresses. An
estimated 28,700 households will be contacted and invited to
participate. No more than one respondent will be selected per
household. Prior to the main survey, a pilot survey will be
administered to test the survey and the mailing protocol and
procedures. Participation in the pilot study will be voluntary, with
approximately 250 participants sampled from all 50 States and the
District of Columbia using address data from the most recent USPS
computerized DSF of residential addresses. An estimated 1,200
households will be contacted and invited to participate in the pilot
study. No more than one respondent will be selected per household.
Frequency: The study will be conducted up to two times during the
three-year period for which NHTSA is requesting approval, with a small
pilot study occurring several months before the study's full launch.
Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours:
To estimate the annul burden of the information collection request,
NHTSA first estimated the total number of respondents that would
complete each of the six surveys over the course of the three-year
period for which NHTSA is seeking approval. Assuming that there will be
250 respondents to the pilot survey and 6,001 respondents in each of
the two full administrations of the survey, NHTSA estimates a total of
12,250 respondents in the three-year period, or approximately 4,084 per
year. With this estimate, NHTSA estimates that, on average,
approximately 681

[[Page 43507]]

respondents will complete each of the six surveys annually.
The first survey administration will be a pilot survey will assess
the entire survey administration system prior to launching the full
survey and will include an experimental condition examining the
effectiveness of different messaging techniques used in contact
materials to increase survey response rates. The pilot administration
will survey approximately 250 randomly selected respondents. This will
be followed by a first administration of the survey with approximately
6,001 randomly selected respondents during the main data collection
effort. NHTSA may exercise an option to survey approximately 6,001
randomly selected respondents during a second survey administration.
For purposes of this information collection request, NHTSA assumes that
it will conduct the second administration.
For the pilot survey, a mass mailing using USPS DSF to 1,200
addresses, of which 1,140 are expected to be valid contact addresses,
is expected to reach about 250 willing respondents ages 18 and older.
Respondents are expected to take 30 minutes to complete the survey (250
people, 30 minutes average length, 125 hours total).
For each survey administration, a mass mailing using USPS DSF to
28,700 addresses, of which 27,265 are expected to be valid contact
addresses, is expected to reach about 6,001 willing participants ages
18 and older. As with the pilot survey, participants are expected to
take 30 minutes to complete the survey.
Table 1 provides an overview of the survey administrations.

Table 1--Overview of the Survey Administrations
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Burden per
Information collection Number of response Total burden
respondents (minutes) hours
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Pilot Survey.................................................... 250 30 125
Survey Administration 1......................................... 6,001 30 3,001
Survey Administration 2......................................... 6,001 30 3,001
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Total....................................................... 12,252 .............. 6,127
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Since the survey administrations would occur over three years,
NHTSA averaged the number of respondents responding to each of the six
surveys over the three-year period to estimate that each of the surveys
would have approximately 681 respondents per year. The burden estimates
are based on this estimate.
NHTSA estimates that each of the six versions of the survey will
have approximately 681 respondents each year and estimates that it
takes approximately 30 minutes to complete each survey. Accordingly,
NHTSA estimates that each of the surveys will have a burden of 341
hours per year, for a total of 2,046 hours of annual burden for all six
of the surveys.
NHTSA estimates the opportunity cost to respondents using an
average hourly wage. The May 2022 mean hourly wage for all occupations
in the United States was $29.76 per hour.\2\ Therefore, NHTSA estimates
the total annual opportunity cost to be approximately $60,889 ($29.76 x
2,046 = $60,888.96). Table 2 provides a summary of the estimated annual
burden hours and labor costs associated with those submissions.
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\2\ U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2023, April 25). May 2022
National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates. U.S. Bureau of
Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm#00-0000.

Table 2--Annual Burden Estimates
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Burden per Hourly Opportunity Total Total
Information collection Number of response opportunity cost opportunity burden
respondents (minutes) cost response cost hours
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Survey Version 1............ 681 30 $29.76 $14.88 $10,148.16 341
Survey Version 2............ 681 30 29.76 14.88 10,148.16 341
Survey Version 3............ 681 30 29.76 14.88 10,148.16 341
Survey Version 4............ 681 30 29.76 14.88 10,148.16 341
Survey Version 5............ 681 30 29.76 14.88 10,148.16 341
Survey Version 6............ 681 30 29.76 14.88 10,148.16 341
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Total................... .............. .............. ............ ............ 60,888.96 2,046
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Estimated Total Annual Burden Cost: Participation in this study is
voluntary, and there are no costs to respondents beyond the time spent
completing the questionnaires.
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

[[Page 43508]]

amended; 49 CFR 1.49; and DOT Order 1351.29A.

Nanda Narayanan Srinivasan,
Associate Administrator, Research and Program Development.
[FR Doc. 2024-10851 Filed 5-16-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P