[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 126 (Wednesday, July 1, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36010-36012]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-17512]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
[Docket No. NHTSA-98-3979; Notice No. 1]
Reports, Forms, and Recordkeeping Requirements (Authority:
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995)
AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), DOT.
ACTION: Request for public comment on 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 OMB approval.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before August 31, 1998.
ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to the DOT Docket Management
[[Page 36011]]
Facility, U.S. Department of Transportation, Room PL-01, 400 Seventh
Street, SW, Washington, DC 20590. Docket No. NHTSA ______. Comments
must refer to the docket and notice numbers cited at the beginning of
this notice.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Complete copies of each request for
collection of information may be obtained at no charge from Mr. Michael
Robinson, NHTSA Information Collection Clearance Officer, National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 400 Seventh Street, SW, Room
6123, Washington, DC 20590. Mr. Robinson's telephone number is (202)
366-9456.
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:
Assessment of the Drowsy Driver Education Campaign
Type of Request--New information collection requirement.
OMB Clearance Number--Not yet assigned.
Form Number--This collection of information uses no standard forms.
Requested Expiration Date of Approval--12/31/99.
Summary of the Collection of Information--NHTSA is developing an
educational program to help night-shift workers to increase the amount
and improve the quality of their sleep in order to reduce their risk
for involvement in automobile crashes as a result of driving while
drowsy. The education campaign will present several messages related to
sleep improvement, sleepiness, and driving while drowsy to night-shift
workers employed by 24-hour industries. To ensure that the program is
effective in conveying crucial information to shift workers, NHTSA is
proposing to conduct a survey of workers to determine changes in their
knowledge, attitudes and behavior pertaining to sleep and drowsy
driving as a result of the Drowsy Driver Education Campaign. NHTSA
proposes to collect survey data from night-shift workers at up to
twenty sites that implement the program to varying degrees.
Workers' participation in the self-administered survey would be
voluntary. The survey tool would be administered prior to the beginning
of the campaign and again 6 months later (after the close of the
campaign) to assess the extent to which campaign messages had their
intended effect.
Questions included in the survey would be designed to assess
changes in night shift worker knowledge, attitude, and behavior as they
relate to improved sleep and decreased drowsy driving. A core set of
survey items will be asked on both the pre-and post-test survey
instruments; some retrospective items will only appear on the post-test
instrument.
Survey participants would include a non-probability sample of up to
100 night-shift workers (employed between the hours of 11 p.m. and 7
a.m.) at each participating employer, including some workers on
rotating shifts, all of whom would be exposed to the education
campaign. Participants are expected to include both male and female
workers, age 18 and over. The proposed survey would be anonymous and
confidential.
Description of the Need for the Information and Proposed use of the
Information--NHTSA was established to reduce the number of deaths,
injuries, and economic losses resulting from motor vehicle crashes on
the Nation's highways. As part of this statutory mandate, NHTSA is
authorized to conduct research as a foundation for the development of
motor vehicle standards and traffic safety programs.
In the 1996 Appropriations Bill for the Department of
Transportation, the Senate Appropriations Committee report noted that,
``NHTSA data indicate that in recent years there have been about 56,000
crashes annually in which driver drowsiness/fatigue was cited by
police. An annual average of roughly 40,000 nonfatal injuries and 1,500
fatalities result from these crashes. It is widely recognized that
these statistics under-report the extent of these types of crashes.''
In response to the Committee's report, Congress allocated funds for
a public education campaign on drowsy driving among non-commercial
drivers to be sponsored by NHTSA and the National Center of Sleep
Disorders Research of the National Institutes of Health.
As a preliminary task in the development of the campaign, NHTSA in
cooperation with the National Center on Sleep Disorders Research (an
agency of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National
Institutes of Health) convened an Expert Panel on Driver Fatigue and
Sleepiness to conduct a review of the literature to establish the state
of knowledge on sleepiness and driving. This research indicated that
the night shift worker is an appropriate target for the education
campaign addressing drowsy driving. Night shift workers typically get
one and one-half fewer hours of sleep per 24 hours than day workers.
They are also at greatest risk of sleep disruption because their work
requires that they sleep during daylight hours, interfering with
circadian (i.e., day/night sleep) patterns known to exist in human
beings.
Data from a recent national telephone survey indicate that 57
percent of the adult public have driven when drowsy during the past
calendar year; 23 percent of this population report that they have
fallen asleep at the wheel. When data were restricted to individuals
working rotating or evening shifts, they indicate that: (1) 80 percent
of adults working rotating shifts and 64 percent of adults working
regular night shifts had driven while drowsy during the past calendar
year, and (2) 40 percent of adults working rotating shifts and 28
percent of adults working regular night shifts reported falling asleep
at the wheel.
An education campaign with messages focused on the need for more
continuous and higher quality sleep is being finalized for
implementation among night shift workers. The proposed survey would
assess the ability of this campaign to improve sleep patterns among
night shift workers. The survey would allow for the collection of
baseline data on knowledge, attitude, and behaviors related to sleep
and drowsy driving among shift workers, and their
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comparison with similar data collected at the close of the campaign. If
approved, the proposed survey would assist NHTSA in establishing policy
related to the expansion of the education campaign to the larger
driving community.
Description of the Likely Respondents (Including Estimated Number,
and Proposed Frequency of Response to the Collection of Information)--
The information collection described in this notice would be a self-
administered paper-and-pencil survey requiring approximately 20 minutes
to complete. It would be administered to up to 2,000 shift workers
(average of about 100 per site), both male and female, ages 18 and
older. Survey participants will be identified by the 15 to 20 employers
who will have been awarded grants to participate in the conduct and
evaluation of the educational program. Each individual would be
surveyed twice during the course of the program: prior to the start of
the campaign and again at the close of the campaign.
Estimate of the Total Annual Reporting and Record Keeping Burden
Resulting from the Collection of Information--NHTSA estimates that each
respondent in the sample would require an average of 20 minutes to
complete the survey. Thus, the number of estimated reporting burden
hours a year on the survey participants (2,000 participants multiplied
by 2 survey administrations multiplied by 20 minutes) would be 1,333
person-hours for the proposed survey. The respondents would not incur
any reporting cost from the data collection. The respondents also would
not incur any record keeping burden or record keeping cost from the
information collection.
James L. Nichols,
Acting Associate Administrator for Traffic Safety Programs.
[FR Doc. 98-17512 Filed 6-30-98; 8:45 am]
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