Reports, Forms, and Recordkeeping Requirements (Authority: Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995)

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-98-3979; Notice No. 1]

Reports, Forms, and Recordkeeping Requirements (Authority:

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995)

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

ACTION: Request for public comment on proposed collection of

information.

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SUMMARY: Before a Federal agency can collect certain information from

the public, it must receive approval from the Office of Management and

Budget (OMB). Under new 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 reinstatements of previously approved

collections. This document describes a collection of information for

which NHTSA intends to seek OMB approval.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before August 31, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to the DOT Docket Management

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Facility, U.S. Department of Transportation, Room PL-01, 400 Seventh

Street, SW, Washington, DC 20590. Docket No. NHTSA ______. Comments

must refer to the docket and notice numbers cited at the beginning of

this notice.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Complete copies of each request for

collection of information may be obtained at no charge from Mr. Michael

Robinson, NHTSA Information Collection Clearance Officer, National

Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 400 Seventh Street, SW, Room

6123, Washington, DC 20590. Mr. Robinson's telephone number is (202)

366-9456.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995,

before an agency submits a proposed collection of information to OMB

for approval, it must 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 regulations (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; and

(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 public comment on

the following proposed collection of information:

Assessment of the Drowsy Driver Education Campaign

Type of Request--New information collection requirement.

OMB Clearance Number--Not yet assigned.

Form Number--This collection of information uses no standard forms.

Requested Expiration Date of Approval--12/31/99.

Summary of the Collection of Information--NHTSA is developing an

educational program to help night-shift workers to increase the amount

and improve the quality of their sleep in order to reduce their risk

for involvement in automobile crashes as a result of driving while

drowsy. The education campaign will present several messages related to

sleep improvement, sleepiness, and driving while drowsy to night-shift

workers employed by 24-hour industries. To ensure that the program is

effective in conveying crucial information to shift workers, NHTSA is

proposing to conduct a survey of workers to determine changes in their

knowledge, attitudes and behavior pertaining to sleep and drowsy

driving as a result of the Drowsy Driver Education Campaign. NHTSA

proposes to collect survey data from night-shift workers at up to

twenty sites that implement the program to varying degrees.

Workers' participation in the self-administered survey would be

voluntary. The survey tool would be administered prior to the beginning

of the campaign and again 6 months later (after the close of the

campaign) to assess the extent to which campaign messages had their

intended effect.

Questions included in the survey would be designed to assess

changes in night shift worker knowledge, attitude, and behavior as they

relate to improved sleep and decreased drowsy driving. A core set of

survey items will be asked on both the pre-and post-test survey

instruments; some retrospective items will only appear on the post-test

instrument.

Survey participants would include a non-probability sample of up to

100 night-shift workers (employed between the hours of 11 p.m. and 7

a.m.) at each participating employer, including some workers on

rotating shifts, all of whom would be exposed to the education

campaign. Participants are expected to include both male and female

workers, age 18 and over. The proposed survey would be anonymous and

confidential.

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

motor vehicle standards and traffic safety programs.

In the 1996 Appropriations Bill for the Department of

Transportation, the Senate Appropriations Committee report noted that,

``NHTSA data indicate that in recent years there have been about 56,000

crashes annually in which driver drowsiness/fatigue was cited by

police. An annual average of roughly 40,000 nonfatal injuries and 1,500

fatalities result from these crashes. It is widely recognized that

these statistics under-report the extent of these types of crashes.''

In response to the Committee's report, Congress allocated funds for

a public education campaign on drowsy driving among non-commercial

drivers to be sponsored by NHTSA and the National Center of Sleep

Disorders Research of the National Institutes of Health.

As a preliminary task in the development of the campaign, NHTSA in

cooperation with the National Center on Sleep Disorders Research (an

agency of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National

Institutes of Health) convened an Expert Panel on Driver Fatigue and

Sleepiness to conduct a review of the literature to establish the state

of knowledge on sleepiness and driving. This research indicated that

the night shift worker is an appropriate target for the education

campaign addressing drowsy driving. Night shift workers typically get

one and one-half fewer hours of sleep per 24 hours than day workers.

They are also at greatest risk of sleep disruption because their work

requires that they sleep during daylight hours, interfering with

circadian (i.e., day/night sleep) patterns known to exist in human

beings.

Data from a recent national telephone survey indicate that 57

percent of the adult public have driven when drowsy during the past

calendar year; 23 percent of this population report that they have

fallen asleep at the wheel. When data were restricted to individuals

working rotating or evening shifts, they indicate that: (1) 80 percent

of adults working rotating shifts and 64 percent of adults working

regular night shifts had driven while drowsy during the past calendar

year, and (2) 40 percent of adults working rotating shifts and 28

percent of adults working regular night shifts reported falling asleep

at the wheel.

An education campaign with messages focused on the need for more

continuous and higher quality sleep is being finalized for

implementation among night shift workers. The proposed survey would

assess the ability of this campaign to improve sleep patterns among

night shift workers. The survey would allow for the collection of

baseline data on knowledge, attitude, and behaviors related to sleep

and drowsy driving among shift workers, and their

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comparison with similar data collected at the close of the campaign. If

approved, the proposed survey would assist NHTSA in establishing policy

related to the expansion of the education campaign to the larger

driving community.

Description of the Likely Respondents (Including Estimated Number,

and Proposed Frequency of Response to the Collection of Information)--

The information collection described in this notice would be a self-

administered paper-and-pencil survey requiring approximately 20 minutes

to complete. It would be administered to up to 2,000 shift workers

(average of about 100 per site), both male and female, ages 18 and

older. Survey participants will be identified by the 15 to 20 employers

who will have been awarded grants to participate in the conduct and

evaluation of the educational program. Each individual would be

surveyed twice during the course of the program: prior to the start of

the campaign and again at the close of the campaign.

Estimate of the Total Annual Reporting and Record Keeping Burden

Resulting from the Collection of Information--NHTSA estimates that each

respondent in the sample would require an average of 20 minutes to

complete the survey. Thus, the number of estimated reporting burden

hours a year on the survey participants (2,000 participants multiplied

by 2 survey administrations multiplied by 20 minutes) would be 1,333

person-hours for the proposed survey. The respondents would not incur

any reporting cost from the data collection. The respondents also would

not incur any record keeping burden or record keeping cost from the

information collection.

James L. Nichols,

Acting Associate Administrator for Traffic Safety Programs.

[FR Doc. 98-17512 Filed 6-30-98; 8:45 am]

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