Minimum Performance Measures for the State Highway Safety Grant Program

Minimum Performance Measures for the State Highway Safety Grant Program

Publication: Federal Register
Agency: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Byline: Barbara Sauers
Date: 19 July 2024
Subjects: American Government

, Roads & Highways, Safety

[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 139 (Friday, July 19, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58880-58882]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-15963]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-2024-0037]

Minimum Performance Measures for the State Highway Safety Grant
Program

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA),
Department of Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Notification of public meeting; request for comments (RFC).

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SUMMARY: NHTSA is initiating a process to update minimum performance
measures for the State Highway Safety Grant Program. In order to ensure
that the broadest possible cross-section of stakeholders is engaged
from the onset of this process, NHTSA is publishing this RFC and
announcing a public meeting to be held prior to issuing the updated
highway safety performance measurement framework.

DATES: The public meeting will be held virtually on Wednesday, August
21, 2024. The meeting will convene at 2:00 p.m. Eastern time and will
conclude when the last pre-registered speaker has provided oral
comments but no later than 5:30 p.m. Eastern time. All attendees,
including those who do not intend to provide oral remarks, should
preregister by August 16, 2024. The link to register will be available
at NHTSA.gov/Events.
Upon registration, participants will identify whether they choose
to provide oral comments at the meeting (see SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
below for additional details). The public will also have the
opportunity to submit written comments to the Docket concerning matters
addressed in this notification. Written comments should be submitted no
later than August 26, 2024.

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held virtually via Zoom for
Government. The meeting's online link and a detailed agenda will be
provided upon registration. You may send written comments, identified
by the docket number listed at the beginning of this document by any of
the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for sending comments.
Mail: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building Ground Floor,
Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
Hand Delivery/Courier: 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building
Ground Floor, Room W12-140, Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.
ET, Monday through Friday, except Federal Holidays. To be sure someone
is there to help you, please call 202-366-9826 before coming.
Instructions: All written submissions must include the agency name
and docket number NHTSA-2024-0037. All comments received will be posted
without change at https://www.regulations.gov/ including any personal
information provided. For detailed instructions on sending comments and
additional information on the rulemaking process, see the ``Public
Participation'' heading of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of
this document.
Docket: For access to the docket, go to https://www.regulations.gov
at any time or to 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building, Ground
Floor, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.,
Monday through Friday, except Federal Holidays. If coming in person,
please call 202-366-9826 to be sure someone is there to help you.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amy Schick, Acting Director, Office of
Grants Management and Operations, Regional Operations and Program
Delivery, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; Telephone
number: (202) 366-2121; email: nhtsaropdprogramquestions@dot.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Performance management is a strategic and
outcome-based approach that provides a framework to support improved
policy and investment decisions. Performance management accentuates
objective data and evidence-based project selection. It enhances
communication and transparency between decision-makers, stakeholders,
and the traveling public. Furthermore, performance measures are a
valuable planning tool that emphasizes integrating data, planning, and
action.
The performance measures currently required for NHTSA's State
Highway Safety Grant Program were first developed for voluntary use in
2008.\1\ The MAP-21 surface transportation authorization, enacted in
2012, codified into law a requirement for a standardized set of
performance measures that guide investments in programs to achieve
State performance targets.\2\ That requirement, which remains in the
current grant program authorization under the Bipartisan Infrastructure
Law,\3\ requires the Secretary, in consultation with the Governors
Highway Safety Association (GHSA), to ``develop minimum performance
measures'' that State Highway Safety Offices (SHSO) use to guide their
triennial Highway Safety Plan (3HSP).
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\1\ Traffic Safety Performance Measures for States and Federal
Agencies'' (DOT HS 811 025).
\2\ Public Law 112-141, Section 31102.
\3\ Public Law 117-58, Section 24102. See also, 23 U.S.C.
402(k)(5).
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Presently, SHSOs submit targets for 15 pre-defined measures and
targets to NHTSA. The current minimum performance measures are:
Outcome Measures
States set safety targets and report progress on the following
eleven outcome measures:

[[Page 58881]]

(C-1) Number of traffic fatalities (Fatality Analysis and Reporting
System (FARS))
(C-2) Number of serious injuries in traffic crashes (State crash data
files)
(C-3) Fatalities/VMT (FARS, FHWA-Highway Performance Management System
(HPMS))
(C-4) Number of unrestrained passenger vehicle occupant fatalities, all
seat positions (FARS)
(C-5) Number of fatalities in crashes involving a driver or motorcycle
operator with a BAC of .08 and above (FARS)
(C-6) Number of speeding-related fatalities (FARS)
(C-7) Number of motorcyclist fatalities (FARS)
(C-8) Number of unhelmeted motorcyclist fatalities (FARS)
(C-9) Number of drivers age 20 or younger involved in fatal crashes
(FARS)
(C-10) Number of pedestrian fatalities (FARS)
(C-11) Number of bicyclist fatalities (FARS)

Behavior Measure
States set a safety target and report progress on one behavior
measure:

(B-1) Observed seat belt use for passenger vehicles, front seat
outboard occupants (individual State survey)

Activity Measures
States report on the following three activity measures:

(A-1) Number of seat belt citations issued during grant-funded
enforcement activities (grant activity reporting)
(A-2) Number of impaired driving citations issued during grant-funded
enforcement activities (grant activity reporting)
(A-3) Number of speeding citations issued during grant-funded
enforcement activities (grant activity reporting)

Collectively, these performance measures contribute to progress
toward achieving NHTSA's highway safety mission that centers on saving
lives, preventing injuries, and reducing economic costs due to traffic
crashes. The minimum performance measures developed by NHTSA and GHSA
in 2008 address core highway safety areas, but do not address all of
the possible highway safety problem areas that States address. While
significant progress has been made since 2012, work remains to increase
safety for people on the Nation's roadways.
Pursuant to the requirement in 23 U.S.C. 402(k)(5), NHTSA, in
consultation with GHSA, seeks to update the performance management
framework in order to provide States with improved tools to strengthen
highway safety programs, resulting in a diversified set of
countermeasures among a broader portfolio of subrecipients to further
reach communities overrepresented in the data and underrepresented in
the programming and funding decisions.
To ensure that the broadest possible cross-section of stakeholders
is engaged from the start of the process, NHTSA publishes this RFC and
announces one public meeting before issuing the updated highway safety
performance measurement framework for State Highway Safety Offices.
NHTSA and GHSA will utilize lessons learned over the past 16 years, as
well as comments received from the public in response to this Request
for Comment and during the public meeting to refine the minimum
required performance measures for the State Highway Safety Grant
Program.
All interested parties are invited to participate in this
opportunity.

Public Participation

Registration: Registration is required for all attendees. There is
no cost to register. Attendees should register online using the links
below by August 16. Please provide your name, affiliation, email
address, and indicate whether you wish to speak during the public
meeting.
Register at: NHTSA.gov/Events.
Registration will close on Friday, August 16th at 5:00 p.m. Eastern
Time.
Speaker registration will be on a first-come, first-served basis.
As described later in this notification, NHTSA wants to hear
perspectives on what data-driven performance measures State Highway
Safety Offices must submit within their triennial Highway Safety Plan
to NHTSA.
To register to speak at the virtual meeting: Register at
NHTSA.gov/Events and indicate YES on the registration page that you
would like to provide comments. Within 24 hours of registering, you
will be emailed your link to join. Additionally, you will receive an
email with your approximate time to provide oral comments, and
additional information about how to turn on your audio and camera to
comment. We recommend you join via a computer, but if you are unable to
do so, an option to join via phone will also be provided in that email.
The last day to pre-register to speak at the meeting will be August 16,
2024. All speakers will receive a unique link not less than 24-hours
prior to the meeting start time.
To watch the meeting (without providing oral comments):
Register at NHTSA.gov/Events and indicate NO on the registration page
that you do not wish to provide oral comments. Within 24 hours of
registering, you will be emailed your link to join.
If you do not receive your confirmation email(s), or have further
questions about this hearing, please email NHTSA.Communication@dot.gov.
Each speaker will have a maximum 6 minutes to offer oral comments
to ensure that all interested presenters are allowed to present their
views during the day of the meeting. Speakers are asked to respond to
the six Guiding Questions provided below. When called upon to provide
comments, speakers will be asked to turn on their cameras and state
their name and organizations/affiliation. Speakers have the option to
use visual aids such as PowerPoint presentations. NHTSA may ask
clarifying questions during the oral presentations but will not respond
to the presentations at that time. NHTSA may adjust time schedule on a
running basis during the meeting if the meeting is running ahead of
schedule.
NHTSA recommends submitting the text of your oral comments as
written comments to the rulemaking docket, as appropriate. Written
statements and supporting information submitted during the comment
period will be considered with the same weight as oral comments and
supporting information presented at the public meeting. If identical
comments are submitted by the same commenter more than once to the
docket, NHTSA does not consider those comments to carry more weight
than if they had been submitted only once.
Please note that any updates made to any aspects of the public
meeting logistics, including any change to the date or a potential
additional session will be posted on the registration page. Should it
become necessary to cancel or reschedule the meeting due to an
unforeseen circumstance, NHTSA will take all available measures to
notify registered participants as soon as possible.
NHTSA is committed to providing equal access for all participants.
Persons with disabilities who require an accommodation and persons with
limited English proficiency who require language access services should
contact NHTSA's Grants Management Office at
nhtsaropdprogramquestions@dot.gov no later than August 5, 2024 to
request a reasonable accommodation and/or language access services.
Written Comments: Comments may be submitted electronically or in
hard copy

[[Page 58882]]

during the 30-day comment period. Please submit all comments no later
than 30 days after the publication of this public notification, using
any of the methods listed earlier in this document. Written comments
should refer to the docket number above and be submitted by one of the
following methods:
Federal Rulemaking Portal: www.regulations.gov. Follow the
online instructions for submitting comments.
Mail: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building Ground Floor,
Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
Hand Delivery: 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building
Ground Floor, Room W12-140, Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.
ET, Monday through Friday, except Federal Holidays. To be sure someone
is there to help you, please call 202-366-9826 before coming.
Instructions: All written comment submissions must include the
agency name and docket number. All comments received will be posted
without change to https://www.regulations.gov/privacy.html, including
any personal information provided. Please see the Privacy Act
discussion below.
Docket: For access to the Docket, go to https://www.regulations.gov
at any time or to 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building, Ground
Floor, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.,
Monday through Friday, except Federal Holidays. If coming in person,
please call 202-366-9826 to be sure someone is there to help you.
Privacy Act: Anyone can 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 (Volume 65, Number 70, Pages 19477-78), or visit https://www.regulations.gov/privacy.html.
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
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590. In addition, you
should submit two copies, from which you have deleted the claimed
confidential business information, to Docket Management at the address
given above. When you send a comment containing information claimed to
be confidential business information, you should submit a cover letter
setting forth the information specified in our confidential business
information regulation (49 CFR part 512).

Specific Guiding Questions

Question 1

Are the existing traffic safety performance measures effectively
informing the State's highway safety programming decisions and
encouraging the adoption of the Safe System Approach? If not, how can
the measures be adapted to better support a comprehensive approach to
roadway safety that results in impactful programming and funding
decisions?

Question 2

Should performance measures be added, removed, or updated? If yes,
which one(s) and why?

Question 3

How can performance management help States develop more robust
programs to engage communities that have members killed and/or
seriously injured at higher rates than others but are underrepresented
in the State's programming and funding investments?

Question 4

As part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Congress directed
NHTSA in section 24102 to, ``provide for a comprehensive, data-driven
traffic safety program that results from meaningful public
participation and engagement from affected communities, particularly
those most significantly impacted by traffic crashes resulting in
injuries and fatalities.''
How can performance management help assess community input and
engagement, and what are your thoughts on adding a measure to evaluate
the degree to which State Highway Safety Offices (SHSO) are
diversifying their grantees who represent communities overrepresented
in fatality data and underrepresented in the State's programming?

Question 5

Currently, the Federal Highway Administration requires 5 safety
performance measures for State DOTs:

Number of traffic fatalities (Fatality Analysis and Reporting
System (FARS))
Number of serious injuries in traffic crashes (State crash
data files)
Fatalities/VMT (FARS, FHWA-Highway Performance Management
System (HPMS))
Rate of Serious Injuries per 100 million VMT
Number of Non-motorized Fatalities and Non-motorized Serious
Injuries

NHTSA requires States to report on the number of fatalities,
serious injuries, and the rate of fatalities per 100 million VMT. NHTSA
does not require SHSOs to report on the rate of serious injuries per
100 million VMT nor the number of non-motorized fatalities and non-
motorized serious injuries.
Should the serious injuries per 100 million VMT and non-motorized
fatalities and serious injuries measures be included in NHTSA's Core
Performance Measures? Please share the reasons for your perspective.

Question 6

The current performance management model requires SHSOs to submit
15 pre-identified core, behavioral and activity performance measures.
Are there other SHSO performance management approaches NHTSA should
consider? For example, what are your thoughts on an approach that would
require 3-5 pre-identified overall fatality and serious injury targets
that apply to all SHSOs universally in addition to a set of targeted
performance measures for specific highway safety program areas that
would be required for any State that includes that program area in its
triennial Highway Safety Plan?

Issued in Washington, DC.

Under authority delegated in 49 CFR 1.95 and 501.8(i).
Barbara Sauers,
Associate Administrator, Regional Operations and Program Delivery.
[FR Doc. 2024-15963 Filed 7-18-24; 8:45 am]
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