Research and Development Programs Meeting

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Research and Development Programs Meeting

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces a public meeting at which NHTSA will

describe and discuss specific research and development projects and

requests suggestions for agenda topics.

DATES and times: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

will hold a public meeting devoted primarily to presentations of

specific research and development projects on September 13, 1994,

beginning at 1:30 p.m. and ending at approximately 5:00 p.m. The

deadline for interested parties to suggest agenda topics is 4:15 p.m.

on August 17, 1994. Question may be submitted in advance regarding the

Agency's research and development projects. They must be submitted in

writing by September 6, 1994 to the address given below. If sufficient

time is available, questions received after the September 6 date will

be answered at the meeting in the discussion period. The individual,

group or company asking a question does not have to be present for the

question to be answered. A consolidated list of the questions submitted

by September 6 will be available at the meeting and will be mailed to

requesters after the meeting.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Ramada Inn, near Detroit

Metro Airport, 8270 Wickham Rd., Romulus, MI 48174. Suggestions for

specific R&D topics as described below and questions for the September

13, 1994, meeting relating to the Agency's research and development

programs should be submitted to George L. Parker, associate

Administrator for Research and Development, NRD-01, National Highway

Traffic Safety Administration, Room 6206, 400 Seventh St. SW,

Washington, DC 20590. The fax number is 202-366-5930.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NHSTA intends to provide detailed

presentations about its research and development programs in a series

of quarterly public meetings. The series started in April, 1993. The

purpose is to make available more complete and timely information

regarding the Agency's research and development programs. This seventh

meeting in the series will be held on September 13, 1994.

NHTSA requests suggestions from interested parties on the specific

agenda topics. NHTSA will base its decisions about the agenda, in part,

on the suggestions it receives by close of business at 4:15 p.m. on

August 17, 1994. Before the meeting, it will publish a notice with an

agenda listing the research and development topics to be discussed.

NHTSA asks that the suggestion be taken from the list below and that

they be limited to six, in priority order, so that the presentations at

the September 13 R&D meeting can be most useful to the audience. Please

note that almost all of these topics have been discussed at the

previous six meetings to some extent and that presentations at the

seventh meeting will be reports on current status, results, and plans.

Specific Crashworthiness R&D topics are:

Improved frontal crash protection,

Advanced glazing research,

Highway traffic injury studies,

Head and neck injury research,

Lower extremity injury research,

Thorax injury research,

Human injury simulation and analysis,

Crash test dummy component development,

Vehicle agressivity and fleet compatibility,

Upgrade side crash protection,

Upgrade seat and occupant restraint systems,

Child safety research, and

Electric and alternate fuel vehicle safety.

Specific Crash Avoidance R&D topics are:

Truck crashworthiness/occupant protection,

Truck tire traction,

Portable data acquisition system for crash avoidance research,

Systems to enhance EMS response (automatic collision notification),

Vehicle motion environment,

Crash causal analysis,

Guidelines for crash avoidance warning devices,

Longer combination vehicle safety,

Drowsy driver monitoring,

Driver workload assessment, and

Performance guidelines for IVHS systems (approach).

Specific topics from the National Center for Statistics and

Analysis are:

National safety belt use survey,

New data elements for FARS and NASS,

Special crash investigations program regarding air bag performance,

Pedestrian special NASS data collection project, and

Critical Outcome Data Evaluation System (CODES)--Linkage of

databases on police accident reporting and medical outcomes.

Questions regarding research projects that have been submitted in

writing not later than close of business on September 6, 1994, will be

answered as time permits. A transcript of the meeting, copies of

materials handed out at the meeting, and copies of the suggestions

offered by commenters will be available for public inspection in the

NHTSA Technical Reference Section, Room 5108, 400 Seventh Street, SW,

Washington, DC 20590. Copies of the transcript will then be available

at 10 cents a page, upon request to NHTSA Technical Reference Section.

The Technical Reference Section is open to the public from 9:30 a.m. to

4:00 p.m.

NHTSA will provide technical aids to participants as necessary,

during the NHTSA Industry Research and Development Meeting. Thus any

person desiring assistance of ``auxiliary aids'' (e.g. sign-language

interpreter, telecommunications devices for deaf persons (TDDS),

readers, taped texts, braille materials, or large print materials and/

or a magnifying device), please contact Barbara Coleman on 202/366-1537

by COB September 6, 1994.

for further information contact: Dr. Richard L. Strombotne, Special

Assistant for Technology Transfer Policy and Programs, Office of

Research and Development, 400 Seventh Street, SW, Washington, DC 20590.

Telephone: 202-366-4730. Fax number: 202-366-5930.

Issued July 27, 1994.

Ralph J. Hitchcock,

Director, Office of Crashworthiness Research.

[FR Doc. 94-18633 Filed 7-29-94; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910-59-M