[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 230 (Monday, December 1, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63598-63599]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-31363]
[[Page 63598]]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
[Docket No. 93-68; Notice 9]
Reports, Forms and Recordkeeping Requirements
AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), DOT.
ACTION: Request for public comment on proposed collections of
information.
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SUMMARY: Before a Federal agency can require collection of certain
information from the public, it must receive approval from the Office
of Management and Budget (OMB). Under new procedures established under
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 proposed collection of
information for which NHTSA intends to seek OMB approval.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before January 30, 1998.
ADDRESSES: Comments must refer to the notice and docket numbers cited
at the beginning of this notice and be submitted to Docket Section,
Room 5109, NHTSA, 400 Seventh Street, S.W., Washington, DC 20590.
Please identify the proposed collection of information for which a
comment is provided as the Proposed Part 577 Information Collection. It
is requested, but not required, that one (1) original plus two (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 NHTSA request
for OMB approval of a collection of information may be obtained at no
charge from Mr. Edward Kosek, NHTSA Information Collection Clearance
Officer, NHTSA, 400 Seventh Street, S.W., Room 5110, Washington, DC
20590. The 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 soliciting public comments in the Federal Register,
with a 60-day comment period, and otherwise consult with members of the
public and affected agencies concerning each proposed collection of
information. OMB has promulgated regulations describing what must be
included in the Federal Register document. Under OMB's regulations
(found 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 for public
comment on the following proposed collection of information:
Amendment to Part 577 Requirements for Notification of Dealers by
Manufacturers of Motor Vehicles or Motor Vehicle Equipment with Safety-
Related Defects or Noncompliances with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standards
Type of Request--Clearance for new collection.
OMB Clearance Number--Not applicable. New collection.
Form Number--This collection of information uses no standard forms.
Requested Expiration Date for Approval--Three years after date of
approval.
Summary of the Collection of Information--This collection of
information applies to manufacturers of motor vehicles and items of
motor vehicle equipment when it is decided that a vehicle or item of
equipment they manufacture contains a safety-related defect or fails to
comply with a Federal motor vehicle safety standard (FMVSS).
Manufacturers are required by statute to notify dealers when it is
decided that safety-related defects or noncompliances exist. The agency
has proposed an amendment to 49 CFR Part 577, Defect and Noncompliance
Notification, to establish a time limit within which the manufacturers
must notify the dealers and to require that certain information about
dealer rights and responsibilities with respect to the defective or
noncomplying vehicles or equipment be included in the notification.
Description of the Need for Information and Proposed Use of the
Information--Dealers of vehicles or equipment that are the subject of
safety recalls need to receive notification of safety recalls from
manufacturers promptly after the decision is made to recall, including
information about the prohibition against selling from inventory
vehicles that have been determined to be subject to recall. This prompt
notification will minimize the likelihood that dealers will sell unsafe
vehicles or equipment from their inventories before the defect or
noncompliance is remedied. It is also necessary for dealers to be
informed of their statutory rights vis a vis manufacturers so that they
will not fail to participate in recalls due to erroneous beliefs about
who must bear financial responsibility for providing the remedy for the
defect or noncompliance.
Description of the Likely Respondents (Including Estimated Number)
and Proposed Frequency of Response to the Collection of Information--
The estimated number of vehicle and equipment manufacturers subject to
this rule is 500. The agency estimates that in any given year the
number of safety recalls is approximately 300, based on the average
number of recalls per year from 1993 through 1996. A manufacturer is
required to provide notification in compliance with this rule only if
it is conducting a safety recall. The frequency of response to the
collection of information depends on the number of safety recalls a
manufacturer conducts.
Estimate of the Total Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping Burden
Resulting from the Collection of Information--The hour burden on
respondents from the final rule will arise from the time manufacturers
will spend in rewriting their dealer notification letters to include
the additional information specified in the rule, and in writing
letters to NHTSA to request a delay in providing dealer notification
beyond the five days specified in the rule.
The agency estimates that the average time needed for a
manufacturer to revise the language of a dealer notification letter to
include the newly-required language will be \1/2\ hour. This is based
on the assumption that most manufacturers use a form letter as the
basis for their dealer notification letters; and that those few that do
not do so experience very few, if any, recalls in a year.
The total number of hours needed for all 500 potentially affected
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manufacturers to modify their dealer notification letters is 250 hours
(500 manufacturers x \1/2\ hour letter modification time). However,
the agency estimates that in any given year that 85 percent of the 300
annual recalls are conducted by approximately 50 manufacturers who
conduct more than one safety recall per year on a regular basis. The
remaining 45 recalls per year (15 percent) are conducted by
manufacturers who conduct recalls on an infrequent basis. In year one
the agency estimates that all 50 of the manufacturers who conduct
recalls on a regular basis along with 45 manufacturers who conduct
recalls on an infrequent basis will have to modify their dealer
notification letters, resulting in 95 out of the 500 affected
manufacturers having to modify their dealer notification letters in
year one. In years two through ten 45 of the remaining 405 remaining
manufacturers who conduct recalls infrequently will have to modify
their dealer notification letters each year. This would result in an
annual hour burden of 47.5 hours for the first year (95 affected
manufacturers x \1/2\ hour letter modification time) and 22.5 hours
for the second through tenth years (45 affected manufacturers per year
x \1/2\ hour letter modification time).
This burden will be a one-time occurrence because the rule will
impose little or no time burden for recalls after the first one a
manufacturer conducts after revising its dealer notification letter.
Manufacturers are already required by statute to notify their dealers
about safety recalls. This rule does not alter the information that a
manufacturer is now required to provide to dealers about individual
recalls.
The agency expects that for 20 percent of the safety recalls
conducted annually--or about 60--the manufacturer will request a delay
in sending dealer notification. The agency estimates that the average
preparation time for such a letter will be about \1/2\ hour.
Accordingly, the total annual hour burden hours for preparing letters
requesting a delay in providing dealer notification will be about 30
hours (60 recalls x \1/2\ hour per recall).
The agency estimates that the total annual hour burden on
respondents of the information collection requirement of this final
rule will be 30 hours, plus a one-time burden of 250 hours, spread over
a period of ten years.
The agency estimates that the hourly labor cost for manufacturers
for revising the dealer notification letters will be $50. With the
estimated \1/2\ hour needed to revise the letter for each of 500
manufacturers, the total labor cost of revising the dealer notification
letters would be $12,500. Since the number of safety recalls per year
is approximately 300, not all manufacturers will incur the cost of
revising the letter in the same year. If 95 manufacturers modify their
dealer notification letters in year one and 45 of the remaining 405
manufacturers modify their dealer notification letters in years two
through ten, the cost would be spread over a minimum of ten years. This
would result in an annual cost burden of $2,375 for the first year and
$1,125 per year for the second through tenth years.
As stated earlier, the burden is likely to be a one-time occurrence
in most cases, since most manufacturers use form notifications that
will only need to be revised once. After a manufacturer has revised its
form notification, the cost of subsequent letters will be no greater
than that for the notification that a manufacturer is presently
required by statute to send to dealers.
The agency estimates that the labor cost to manufacturers for
preparation of requests for delay of dealer notification will also be
about $50 per hour. Thus, for 60 such requests per year, with an
average preparation time of \1/2\ hour each, the annual labor cost to
manufacturers will be approximately $1,500.
In summary, the agency estimates that the total annual cost to
respondents will be approximately $1,500, plus a one-time-only cost of
$12,500, spread over a period of ten years.
There is no recordkeeping burden associated with this rulemaking.
Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3506(c); delegation of authority at 49 CFR
1.50.
Dated: November 24, 1997.
Kenneth N. Weinstein,
Associate Administrator For Safety Assurance.
[FR Doc. 97-31363 Filed 11-28-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P
