Reports, Forms and Recordkeeping Requirements; Agency Information Collection Activity Under OMB Review

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Office of the Secretary

Reports, Forms and Recordkeeping Requirements; Agency Information

Collection Activity Under OMB Review

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, DOT.

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

[[Page 29054]]

SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44

U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this notice announces that the Information

Collection Requests (ICRs) abstracted below have been forwarded to the

Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. The ICRs

describe the nature of the information collections and their expected

burden. The Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period

soliciting comments on (1) Fatal Accident Reporting System (FARS) was

published on February 19, 1998 [63 FR 8519-8520] and(2) 49 CFR Part

583, Motor Vehicle Content Labeling was published on February 26, 1998

[63 FR 9897] and (3) A Survey of Drivers Experiences and Expectations

of Light Vehicle Brake System Performance: ABS vs Non-ABS was published

in the Federal Register on February 23, 1998 [63 FR 9042].

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before June 26, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Robinson, NHTSA Information

Collection Clearance Officer at (202) 366-9456.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

(1) Title: Fatal Accident Reporting System (FARS)

OMB Control Number: 2127-0006.

Type of Request: Extension of a currently approved collection.

Affected Public: State, Local or Tribal Government.

Abstract: Under both the Highway Safety Act of 1966 and the

National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966, Traffic Safety

Administration (NHTSA) has the responsibility to collect accident data

that support the establishment and enforcement of motor vehicle

regulations and highway safety programs. These regulations and programs

are developed to reduce the severity of injury and the property damage

associated with motor vehicle accidents. The Fatal Accident Reporting

System (FARS) is in its twenty-third year of operation as a major

system that acquires national fatality information directly from

existing State files and documents. Since FARS is an on-going data

acquisition system, reviews are conducted yearly to determine whether

the data acquired are responsive to the total user population needs.

The total user population includes Federal and State agencies and the

private sector. Two data items, Death Certificate Number and Fatal

Injury At Work, are not recorded on any FARS form but are

electronically transmitted to the central FARS file.

Estimated Annual Burden: 77,400 hours.

(2) Title: 49 CFR 583 Automobile Parts Content Labeling

OMB Control Number: 2127-0573.

Type of Request: Extension of currently approved collection.

Affected Public: Individuals or households.

Abstract: The American Automobile Labeling Act (AALA) or Section

210 of the Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act mandates this

information collection. The Act requires all new passenger motor

vehicles (including passenger cars, certain small buses, all trucks and

multipurpose passenger vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating of

8,500 pounds or Less), beginning on October 1, 1994, to bear labels

providing information about the domestic and foreign content of their

equipment. The following information must appear on the label:

(a) The percentage (by Value) of the equipment in the vehicles that

originated in the United States and Canada;

(b) Names of the countries, other than the U.S. or Canada, if any,

that contributed the two highest Percentages (15 percent or more) to

the total value of the equipment that comprises the vehicle and the

percentage those countries contributed;

(c) The city, state and country of final assembly of the vehicle;

(d) The country of origin for the transmission of the vehicle

(i.e., the country that contributed the greatest percentage to the

total value of the equipment in that engine); and

(e) The country of origin for the transmission of the vehicle

(i.e., the country that contributed the greatest percentage to the

total value of the equipment in the transmission).

The information submitted under this collection provides the

justifying rational for labeling content affixation to each new

passenger motor.

Estimated Annual Burden: 7080 hours.

(3) Title: A Survey of Drivers Experiences and Expectations of Light

Vehicle Brake System Performance: ABS vs Non-ABS

OMB Clearance Number: 2127-0594.

Type of Request: New collection.

Affected Public: Individuals, households.

Abstract: Data collection will be accomplished through the use of

Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI). The CATI system allows

a computer to perform a number of functions prone to error when done

manually by interviewers, including:

A. Providing correct question sequence;

B. Automatically executing skip patterns based on responses to

prior questions (which decreases overall interview time and

consequentially the burden on respondents);

C. Recalling answers to prior questions and displaying the

information in the test of later questions;

D. Providing random rotation of specified questions or response

categories (to avoid bias);

E. Ensuring that questions cannot be skipped; and

F. Rejecting invalid responses or data entries.

The CATI system lists questions and corresponding response

categories automatically on the screen, eliminating the need for

interviewers to track slip patterns and flip pages. Moreover, the

interviewers enter responses directly from their keyboards, and the

information is automatically recorded in the computer's memory.

The CATI system includes safeguards to reduce interviewer error in

direct key-entry of survey responses. It has a double check method to

eliminate the problem of key entry error as a result of accidentally

hitting the wrong key. Unlike some systems, when the interviewer enters

the code for the respondent reply, the code is not immediately accepted

and the interview moved to the next screen. Rather, the screen remains

on the question and response categories for the item, and the code and

category entered by the interviewer are displayed at the bottom of the

screen. The interviewer must confirm the initial entry before it is

accepted by the computer as final. If, despite these safeguards, the

wrong answer is entered or a respondent changes his/her reply, the

interviewer can correct the entry before moving on to the next

question.

Description of the need for the information and proposed use of the

information: Antilock brake systems (ABS) have been increasingly

prevalent on passenger car and light trucks in recent years. Brake

experts anticipated that the introduction of ABS on these vehicles

would reduce the number and severity of crashes. A number of

statistical analyses of crash databases have been performed over the

past three years, and suggest that the introduction of ABS does not

appear to have reduced the number of automobile crashes where they were

expected to be effective. Included in these analyses is a

[[Page 29055]]

significant increase of single-vehicle, run-off-road crashes for

vehicles equipped with ABS as compared to cars without ABS. It is

unknown to what extent, if any, this increase is due to incorrect

driver usage of ABS, incorrect driver responses to their ABS, or

unrealistic driver expectations of an ABS braking ability.

Estimate of Total Annual Burden: 1375 hours.

Address: Send comments, within 30 days, to the Office of

Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget,

725-17th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20503, Attention DOT Desk Officer.

Comments are invited on: 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; the accuracy of the Department's estimate of the burden of the

proposed information collection; ways to enhance the quality, utility

and clarity of the information to be collected; and 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.

A comment to OMB is best assured of having its full effect if OMB

receives it within 30 days of publication.

Issued in Washington, DC, on May 21, 1998.

Vanester M. Williams,

Clearance Officer, United States Department of Transportation.

[FR Doc. 98-13982 Filed 5-26-98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910-62-P