[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 89 (Friday, May 8, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25543-25544]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-12232]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
[Docket No. NHTSA-98-3774; Notice 1]
Program Plan for Evaluating the Effectiveness of Existing
Regulations, 1998-2002
AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA),
Department of Transportation.
ACTION: Request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: This notice announces the publication by NHTSA of its
Evaluation Program Plan for 1998-2002. The report describes the
agency's ongoing and planned evaluations of its existing Federal Motor
Vehicle Safety Standards (49 CFR Part 571) and its other safety and
consumer programs. It also summarizes the results of completed
evaluations. The agency's evaluation program responds to Executive
Order 12866, which provides for Government-wide review of existing
significant Federal regulations. This notice solicits public review and
comment on the evaluation plan. Comments received will be used to
improve the plan.
DATES: Comments must be received no later than September 8, 1998.
ADDRESSES: Report: Interested people may obtain copies of the reports
free of charge by sending a self-addressed mailing label to
Publications Ordering and Distribution Services (NAD-51), National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 400 Seventh Street, SW,
Washington, DC 20590.
Comments: All comments should refer to the docket and notice number
of this notice and be submitted to: Docket Section, Room 5109, Nassif
Building, 400 Seventh Street, SW, Washington DC 20590. [Docket hours,
9:30 a.m.-4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.]
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Charles J. Kahane, Chief, Evaluation
Division, Plans and Policy, National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration, Room 5208, 400 Seventh Street, SW, Washington, DC 20590
(202-366-2560).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NHTSA has rigorously evaluated its major
programs as a matter of policy since 1970. The evaluation of the
effectiveness of the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS)
began in 1975. The Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 and
Executive Order 12866, ``Regulatory Planning and Review,'' issued in
October 1993 (58 FR 51735), now oblige all Federal agencies to evaluate
their existing programs and regulations. Previously, Executive Order
12291, issued in February 1981 (46 FR 13193), also required reviews of
existing regulations. Even before 1981, however, NHTSA was a leader
among Federal agencies in evaluating the effectiveness of existing
regulations and technologies. There are large data bases of motor
vehicle crashes which can be analyzed to find out what vehicle and
traffic safety programs work best.
This five-year plan presents and discusses the programs,
regulations, technologies and related areas NHTSA proposes to evaluate,
and it summarizes the findings of past evaluations. Depending on scope,
evaluations typically take a year or substantially more, counting
initial planning, contracting for support, OMB clearance for surveys,
internal reviews, approvals, publication, review of public comments,
and the last phase of preparing recommendations for subsequent agency
action.
Most of NHTSA's crashworthiness and several crash avoidance
standards have been evaluated at least once since 1975. A number of
consumer-oriented regulations, e.g., bumpers, theft protection, fuel
economy and NCAP have also been evaluated. So have promising safety
technologies, such as antilock brake systems, that were not mandatory
under Federal regulations. The plan for the next five years includes
evaluations of new and existing vehicle safety regulations,
technologies and consumer protection programs, plus the completion of
an assessment of the highway safety program.
NHTSA welcomes public review of the plan and invites the reviewers
to comment about the selection, priority, and schedule of the
regulations to be evaluated. The agency is interested in learning of
any additional data that may be useful in the evaluations. The plan
will be periodically updated in response to public and agency needs,
with a complete revision scheduled every four years. The most recent
plan before this one was published on June 10, 1994 (59 FR 30090).
If a commenter wishes to submit certain information under a claim
of confidentiality, three copies of the complete submission, including
purportedly confidential business information, should be submitted to
the Chief Counsel, NHTSA, at the street address given above, and 7
copies from which the purportedly confidential information has been
deleted should be submitted to the Docket Section. A request for
confidentiality should be accompanied by a cover letter setting forth
the information specified in the agency's confidential business
[[Page 25544]]
information regulation. (49 CFR Part 512).
All comments received before the close of business on the comment
closing date will be considered, and will be available for examination
in the docket at the above address both before and after that date. To
the extent possible, comments filed after the closing date will also be
considered. The NHTSA will continue to file relevant information as it
becomes available in the docket after the closing date, and it is
recommended that interested people continue to examine the docket for
new material.
People desiring to be notified upon receipt of their comments in
the rules docket should enclose a self-addressed, stamped postcard in
the envelope with their comments. Upon receiving the comments, the
docket supervisor will return the postcard by mail.
Authority: 49 U.S.C. 30111, 30168; delegation of authority at 49
CFR 1.50 and 501.8.
William H. Walsh,
Associate Administrator for Plans and Policy.
[FR Doc. 98-12232 Filed 5-7-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P
