Reports, Forms, and Recordkeeping Requirements Under Emergency Review by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Reports, Forms, and Recordkeeping Requirements Under Emergency

Review by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)

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

ACTION: Request for public comments on a 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 expedited OMB approval.

DATES: OMB approval has been requested by March 31, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Comments must refer to the docket and notice numbers cited

at the beginning of this notice and be submitted to Docket Section,

Room 5110, NHTSA, 400 Seventh Street, SW, Washington, DC 20590. Please

identify the proposed collection of information for which a comment is

provided by referencing its OMB Clearance Number. It is requested, but

not required, that 1 original plus 2 copies of the comments be

provided. The Docket Section is open on weekdays from 9:30 a.m. to 4

p.m.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Complete copies of each request for

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

Kosek. NHTSA Information Collection Clearance Officer. NHTSA, 400

Seventh Street, SW, Room 5110, Washington, DC 20590. Mr. Kosek's

telephone number is (202) 366-2589.

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:

Drivers' Experiences and Expectations of Light Vehicle Brake System

Performance: ABS vs. Conventional

Type of Request--New collection.

OMB Clearance Number--2127-####.

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

Requested Expiration Date of Approval--Two years from date of

approval.

Summary of the Collection of Information--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

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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.

CATI allows the computer to perform a number of critical assurance

routines that are monitored by survey supervisors, including tracking

average interview length, refusal rate, and termination rate by

interviewer; and performing consistency checks for inappropriate

combination of answers.

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 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.

NHTSA will analyze the survey data to determine differences in

drivers' experiences and expectations of brake performance between ABS-

equipped and non-ABS-equipped light vehicles. From these findings,

inferences about the ability of ABS to mitigate crashes will be made

and the need for an educational campaign for specific demographic

groups will be assessed.

Description of the Likely Respondents (Including Estimated Number,

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

The respondents are the population of the United States age 16 and

older living in households with telephones. The agency estimates the

number of respondents to total 4000. The survey will be conducted once

only.

Estimate of the Total Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping Burden

Resulting from the Collection of Information: The agency estimates

there will be no annual reporting burden, as the study will be

conducted only once. Respondents answer the survey strictly on a

voluntary basis. No payment or gift will be provided to any respondent.

The agency estimates the time per respondent to be 20 minutes, and a

total time burden of 1375 hours. The agency estimates the total cost

per survey respondent to be $50.00.

Authority: Title 15 U.S.C. 1395 Section 106(b): The National

Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966, Title 15 United States

Code 1395, Section 106(b), (Exhibit V), gives the Secretary

authorization to conduct research, testing, development, and

training as authorized to be carried out by subsections of this

title.

Dated: February 17, 1998.

Raymond P. Owings,

Associated Administrator for Research and Development.

[FR Doc. 98-4527 Filed 2-20-98; 8:45 am]

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