[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 152 (Wednesday, August 9, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37288-37289]
[FR Doc No: 2017-16602]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Reports, Forms, and Record Keeping Requirements: Agency
Information Collection Activity Under OMB Review

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), U.S.
Department of Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this
notice announces that the Information Collection Request (ICR)
abstracted below will be submitted to the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The ICR describes the nature of
the information collection and the expected burden. The Federal
Register notice with a 60-day comment period was published on December
7, 2016.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before September 8, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Send comments, within 30 days, to the Office of Information
and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, 725 17th
Street NW., Washington, DC 20503, Attention NHTSA Desk Officer.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeremy Gunderson, Office of Safety
Programs (NPD-210), National Highway Traffic Safety Administration,
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., W44-213, Washington, DC 20590. Mr.
Gunderson's telephone number is<PHONE_NUMBER> and his email address is
<EMAIL_ADDRESS>
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: Education on Proper Use of Seat Belts on School Buses.
    OMB Control Number: None.
    Type of Request: New information collection requirement.
    Type of Review: Regular.
    Abstract: Between 2004 and 2015, an average of six school-age
children per year were killed in collisions while riding in a school
bus. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is undertaking
a project to understand the factors considered by state and local
agencies when deciding whether to require seat belts on school buses
and the funding mechanisms that are used to pay for seat belt
installation. To accomplish this, NHTSA proposes to conduct discussions
and informal interviews to identify school districts that have seat
belts on school buses and to gather information on both implementation
and funding mechanisms. NHTSA also recognizes the importance of
reaching out to school districts who do not currently require seat
belts in order to gain a broader picture of the priorities and
challenges that jurisdictions face. Therefore, NHTSA will also be
gathering feedback from school districts that are not considering
implementation, or are considering but struggling to implement, as
their perspectives will be helpful in developing model policies. These
discussions will be held via telephone, email, and/or in-person
throughout the course of the project. The findings will be used to
develop a model policy and a best practices guide to assist
jurisdictions that are considering a requirement regarding seat belts
on school buses.
    The project also aims to obtain data related to the effect that
seat belt use may have on school bus driver distraction. Therefore,
NHTSA proposes to conduct a Web-based survey to gather information
about bus driver distraction as related to student behavior and seat
belt use to see if the use of seat belts has influenced disruptive
behavior. The project will culminate with a report to explain the
findings.
    Affected Public: In order to identify school districts who have
implemented, or are planning to implement, seat belts on their school
buses, NHTSA will reach out to organizations such as the National
Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services
(NASDPTS), the National Association of Pupil Transportation (NAPT), the
National School Transportation Association (NSTA), American School Bus
Council (ASBC), and school bus manufacturers and dealers. NHTSA
anticipates contacting approximately 100 individuals across the country
to ask general questions related to seat belt use in their
jurisdictions. To the extent possible, NHTSA will also identify
appropriate contact(s) in each school district.
    NHTSA will reach out to school districts who have agreed to provide
the agency with more information on their decisions to require seat
belts on school buses and the funding mechanisms that are used to pay
for seat belt installation. Informational interviews will be conducted
with approximately 25 people, including State directors of pupil
transportation and local school district professionals, to identify
policy

components that influence seat belt acquisition and use. Participants
for the Web-based survey will include school bus drivers from
participating school districts. NHTSA expects to distribute the survey
to one or more bus drivers in each of the school districts that
participate in the aforementioned interview.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 133 hours total; approximately 44
hours per year.
    The initial discussions would take approximately 5 minutes with 100
people for a total of 8 hours. The informational interviews with school
districts would take an average of approximately 4 hours with 25 people
for a total of 100 hours. (In some cases, the necessary information may
be retrieved through a one-time telephone or in-person discussion,
while in other cases discussions may continue via telephone and email
as an on-going discussion throughout the course of the project as
school districts provide additional information). The bus driver survey
would take 15 minutes with approximately 100 people for a total of 25
hours.

Comments Are Invited 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 information collection;
    iii. ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected; and
    iv. ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on
respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or
other forms of information technology.
    A comment to OMB is most effective if OMB receives it within 30
days of publication.

    Authority:  44 U.S.C. Section 3506(c)(2)(A)

    Issued on: August 1, 2017.
Jeff Michael,
Associate Administrator, Research and Program Development.
[FR Doc. 2017-16602 Filed 8-8-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-59-P


Comment Info: =================

General Comment:Dear Mr. Zeller:

I am contacting you as an e-cigarette consumer to request an extension of the comment period for the Food and Drug Administration's ("FDA") Proposed Rule Deeming Tobacco Products to be Subject to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, as amended by the Family Smoking and Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (the "Proposed Rule") published at 79 Fed. Reg. 23,142 and Federal Register No. 2014-09491. On behalf of myself, I am requesting that the comment period for the Proposed Rule be extended by the FDA for an additional 105 days, from its current 75-day period, to 180 days.

The Proposed Rule raises a number of significant issues and questions that are important and relevant to me, as a consumer of e-cigarette products that are proposed for regulation under the Proposed Rule. The Proposed Rule asks about a hundred different questions I might want to respond to. I want to provide my thoughts and comments on many of these issues, but my time to devote to researching and providing thoughtful comments on these important questions is limited. I have already spent many hours researching and dissecting these issues, but they take time. I know that the FDA took many years to even come up with the Proposed Rule, so I do not think it is at all unreasonable to allow the public a mere six months to comment on it. This is our only opportunity, as consumers of e-cigarette products, to provide our feedback.

I feel very strongly and passionately about e-cigarettes as an alternative to combustible cigarettes. Quite simply, I firmly believe that they saved my life. I wish to provide you with my personal story, as well as science- and evidence-based responses to your questions so that you can take my comment into account. I realize that the FDA has the authority under 21 CFR 10.40 to extend this time frame and that the FDA has exercised this authority on numerous occasions in the past. I would therefore ask that you do so here, so that all stakeholders have the opportunity to provide their comments on this proposed regulation. I appreciate your consideration of my request.

                                                                           Your Sincerely                                                                             Keith Cravens