E6-6729. Agency Information Collection Activities; Request for Comments; Changes to a Currently Approved Information Collection for Highway Safety Improvement Programs

AGENCY:

Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), DOT.

ACTION:

Notice and request for comments.

SUMMARY:

The FHWA invites public comments about our intention to request the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) approval for changes to a currently approved information collection titled Highway Safety Improvement Programs, which is summarized below under supplementary Information. FHWA is required to publish this notice in the Federal Register by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

DATES:

Please submit comments by July 3, 2006.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments identified by DOT DMS Docket Number 2006-24672 to the docket Clerk, via the following methods. Mail or hand deliver comments to the U.S. Department of Transportation, Dockets Management Facility, Room PL-401, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590; fax comments to 202/493-2251; or submit electronically at http://dms.dot.gov. All comments may be examined and copied at the above address from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mr. Kenneth Epstein, 202-366-2157, Office of Safety, Federal Highway Administration, Department of Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590. Office hours are from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title: Highway Safety Improvement Program.

OMB Control No: 2125-0025.

Background: The Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) amended Section 148 of Title 23 U.S.C. to establish a new “core” Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) that provides funds to State Departments of Transportation (DOTs) to improve conditions at hazardous highway locations and hazardous railway-highway grade crossings on all public roads, including those maintained by Federal, State and local agencies. The existing provisions of Title 23 U.S.C. Sections 130, Railway-Highway Crossings Program, and 152, Hazard Elimination Program, as well as implementing regulations in 23 CFR 924, remain in effect. Included in these combined provisions are requirements for State DOTs to annually produce and submit to FHWA by August 31 three reports related to the conduct and effectiveness of their HSIPs, that are to include information on: (a) Progress being made to implement HSIP projects and the effectiveness of these projects in reducing traffic crashes, injuries and fatalities [Sections 148(g) and 152(g)]; (b) progress being made to implement the Railway-Highway Crossings Program and the effectiveness of the projects in that program [Sections 130(g) and 148(g)], which will be used by FHWA to produce and submit biennial reports to Congress required on April 1, beginning April 1, 2006; and, (c) description of at least 5 percent of the State's highway locations exhibiting the most severe safety needs, including an estimate of the potential remedies, their costs, and impediments to their implementation other than cost for each of the locations listed (i.e. the “5 percent report”) [Section 148(c)(1)(D)]. To be able to produce these reports, State DOTs must have crash data and analysis systems capable of identifying and determining the relative severity of hazardous highway locations on all public roads, and determining the “before” and “after” crash experiences at HSIP project locations. This information provides FHWA with a means for monitoring the effectiveness of these programs and may be used by Congress for determining the future HSIP program structure and funding levels. Per SAFETEA-LU, State DOTs have much flexibility in the methodology they use to rank the relative severity of their public road locations in terms of fatalities and serious injuries. The list of 5 percent of these locations exhibiting the most severe safety needs will result from the ranking methodology used, and may include roadway segments and/or intersections. For example, a State may compare its roadway locations against statewide average rates of fatalities and serious injuries per 100 million vehicle miles traveled for similar type facilities and determine that those segments whose rates exceed the statewide rates are the locations with the “most severe” safety needs, and then at least 5 percent of those locations would be included in the required annual report.

Respondents: 51 State Transportation Departments, including the District of Columbia.

Frequency: Annually.

Estimated Average Burden per Response: 500 hours (This is an increase of 300 burden hours from the current OMB approved 200 burden hours. The new report will take an additional 300 hours plus the 200 hours for the existing two reports).

Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 25,500 hours (51 states at an average of 500 hours each).

Public Comments Invited: You are asked to comment on any aspect of this information collection, including: (1) Whether the proposed collection is necessary for the FHWA's performance; (2) the accuracy of the estimated burdens; (3) ways for the FHWA to enhance the quality, usefulness, and clarity of the collected information; and (4) ways that the burdens could be minimized, including use of electronic technology, without reducing the quality of the collected information. The agency will summarize and/or include your comments in the request for OMB's clearance of this information collection.

Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995; 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, as amended; and 49 CFR 1.48.

James R. Kabel,

Chief, Management Programs and Analysis Division.