02-12428. Safety Performance Standards Program Meeting

AGENCY:

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, DOT.

ACTION:

Notice of NHTSA rulemaking status meeting.

SUMMARY:

This notice announces a public meeting at which NHTSA will answer questions from the public and the automobile industry regarding the agency's vehicle regulatory program.

DATES:

The Agency's regular public meeting relating to its vehicle regulatory program will be held on Thursday, July 18, 2002, beginning at 9:45 a.m. and ending at approximately 12 p.m. at the Hyatt Regency Baltimore, on the Inner Harbor, 300 Light Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21202. Questions relating to the vehicle regulatory program must be submitted in writing with a diskette (Microsoft Word) by Thursday, June 20, 2002, to the address shown below or by e-mail. If sufficient time is available, questions received after June 20, may be answered at the meeting. The individual, group or company submitting a question(s) does not have to be present for the question(s) to be answered. A consolidated list of the questions submitted by June 20, 2002, and the issues to be discussed will be posted on NHTSA's web site (www.nhtsa.dot.gov) by Monday, July 15, 2002, and also will be available at the meeting. The agency will hold a second public meeting on July 18, devoted exclusively to a presentation of research and development programs. This meeting will begin at 1:30 p.m. and end at approximately 5 p.m. This meeting is described more fully in a separate announcement. The next NHTSA Public Meeting will take place on Thursday, November 21, 2002, at the Best Western Gateway International Hotel, Romulus, Michigan.

ADDRESSES:

Questions for the July 18, NHTSA Rulemaking Status Meeting, relating to the agency's vehicle regulatory program, should be submitted to Delia Lopez, NPS-01, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Room 5401, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590, Fax Number 202-366-4329, e-mail [e-mail]. The meeting will be held at the Hyatt Regency Baltimore, on the Inner Harbor, 300 Light Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21202. If you need specific directions to the Hyatt Regency Baltimore, the telephone number is 410-528-1234.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Delia Lopez, [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

NHTSA holds regular public meetings to answer questions from the public and the regulated industries regarding the agency's vehicle regulatory program. Questions on aspects of the agency's research and development activities that relate directly to ongoing regulatory actions should be submitted, as in the past, to the agency's Safety Performance Standards Office. Transcripts of these meetings will be available for public inspection in the DOT Docket in Washington, DC, within four weeks after the meeting. Copies of the transcript will then be available at ten cents a page, (length has varied from 80 to 150 pages) upon request to DOT Docket, Room PL-401, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590. The DOT Docket is open to the public from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The transcript may also be accessed electronically at http://dms.dot.gov, at docket NHTSA-99-5087. Questions to be answered at the public meeting should be organized by categories to help us process the questions into an agenda form more efficiently.

Sample format:

I. Rulemaking

A. Crash avoidance

B. Crashworthiness

C. Other Rulemakings

II. Consumer Information

III. Miscellaneous

NHTSA will provide auxiliary aids to participants as necessary. Any person desiring assistance of “auxiliary aids” (e.g., sign-language interpreter, telecommunications devices for deaf persons (TDDs), readers, taped texts, brailled materials, or large print materials and/or a magnifying device), please contact Delia Lopez on [phone], by COB Monday, July 15, 2002.

Issued: May 14, 2002.

Stephen R. Kratzke,

Associate Administrator for Safety Performance Standards.