Technical Report on the Effectiveness of Amber Rear Turn Signals for Reducing Rear Impacts, 21850-21851 [E9-10858]

Download as PDF 21850 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 89 / Monday, May 11, 2009 / Notices [FR Doc. E9–10963 Filed 5–8–09; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE P DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION National Highway Traffic Safety Administration [Docket No. NHTSA–2009–0095] Technical Report on the Effectiveness of Amber Rear Turn Signals for Reducing Rear Impacts AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Department of Transportation. ACTION: Request for comments on technical report. SUMMARY: This purpose of this report is to determine the effect of rear turn signal color on the likelihood of being involved in a rear-end crash. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 108 allows rear turn signals to be either red or amber in color. The primary conclusion is that amber rear turn signals are 5.3% more effective than red rear turn signals at preventing involvement in crashes where a careful driver would typically use the turn signals. The result is shown to be statistically significant and consistent with other published analyses on the influence of rear turn signal color. DATES: Comments must be received no later than September 6, 2009 ADDRESSES: Report: The technical report is available on the Internet for viewing in PDF format at https://wwwnrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/811115.PDF. You may obtain a copy of the report free of charge by sending a self-addressed mailing label to Kirk Allen (NVS–431), National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590. Comments: You may submit comments [identified by Docket Number NHTSA–2009–0095] by any of the following methods: • Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting comments. • Fax: 1–202–493–2251. • Mail: Docket Management Facility, M–30, U.S. Department of Transportation, West Building, Ground Floor, Rm. W12–140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590. • Hand Delivery: West Building Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. VerDate Nov<24>2008 15:05 May 08, 2009 Jkt 217001 You may call Docket Management at 202–366–9826. Instructions: For detailed instructions on submitting comments, see the Procedural Matters section of this document. Note that all comments received will be posted without change to https://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kirk Allen, Statistician, Evaluation Division, NVS–431, National Center for Statistics and Analysis, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Room W53–457, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE, Washington, DC 20590. Telephone: 202–366–9308. E-mail: kirk.allen@dot.gov. For information about NHTSA’s evaluations of the effectiveness of existing regulations and programs: Visit the NHTSA Web site at https:// www.nhtsa.dot.gov and click ‘‘NCSA’’ near the upper right corner on the home page; then click ‘‘Regulatory Evaluation’’ under ‘‘Browse Topics’’ on the ‘‘NCSA’’ page. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 108 allows rear turn signals to be either red or amber in color. Previous work on this subject includes laboratory experiments and analyses of crash data that suggest amber rear turn signals are beneficial. The present study was designed around the concept of ‘‘switch pairs’’—makemodels of passenger vehicles were identified that had switched rear turn signal color, and crash involvement rates were computed before and after the switch. This method should control for extraneous factors related to vehicle and driver characteristics. Crash data from NHTSA’s State Data System was used in the analysis. The principal finding of the report is that amber signals show a 5.3% effectiveness in reducing involvement in two-vehicle crashes where a lead vehicle is rearstruck in the act of turning left, turning right, merging into traffic, changing lanes, or entering/leaving a parking space. The advantage of amber rear turn signals is shown to be statistically significant. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Procedural Matters How can I influence NHTSA’s thinking on this subject? NHTSA welcomes public review of the technical report. NHTSA will submit to the Docket a response to the comments and, if appropriate, will supplement or revise the report. PO 00000 Frm 00076 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 How do I prepare and submit comments? Your comments must be written and in English. To ensure that your comments are correctly filed in the Docket, please include the Docket number of this document (NHTSA– 2009–0095) in your comments. Your primary comments must not be more than 15 pages long (49 CFR 553.21). However, you may attach additional documents to your primary comments. There is no limit on the length of the attachments. Anyone is able to search the electronic form of all comments received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review DOT’s complete Privacy Act Statement in the Federal Register published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477) or you may visit https:// regulations.gov. Please send two paper copies of your comments to Docket Management, fax them, or use the Federal eRulemaking Portal. The mailing address is U. S. Department of Transportation, Docket Management Facility, M–30, West Building, Ground Floor, Rm. W12–140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590. The fax number is 1–202–493–2251. To use the Federal eRulemaking Portal, go to https:// www.regulations.gov and follow the online instructions for submitting comments. We also request, but do not require you to send a copy to Kirk Allen, Statistician, Evaluation Division, NVS– 431, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Room W53–312, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590 (or e-mail them to kirk.allen@dot.gov). He can check if your comments have been received at the Docket and he can expedite their review by NHTSA. How can I be sure that my comments were received? If you wish Docket Management to notify you upon its receipt of your comments, enclose a self-addressed, stamped postcard in the envelope containing your comments. Upon receiving your comments, Docket Management will return the postcard by mail. How do I submit confidential business information? If you wish to submit any information under a claim of confidentiality, send three copies of your complete E:\FR\FM\11MYN1.SGM 11MYN1 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 89 / Monday, May 11, 2009 / Notices submission, including the information you claim to be confidential business information, to the Chief Counsel, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590. Include a cover letter supplying the information specified in our confidential business information regulation (49 CFR Part 512). In addition, send two copies from which you have deleted the claimed confidential business information to U.S. Department of Transportation, Docket Management Facility, M–30, West Building, Ground Floor, Rm. W12– 140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590, or submit them via the Federal eRulemaking Portal. Will the agency consider late comments? In our response, we will consider all comments that Docket Management receives before the close of business on the comment closing date indicated above under DATES. To the extent possible, we will also consider comments that Docket Management receives after that date. Please note that even after the comment closing date, we will continue to file relevant information in the Docket as it becomes available. Further, some people may submit late comments. Accordingly, we recommend that you periodically check the Docket for new material. How can I read the comments submitted by other people? You may read the materials placed in the docket for this document (e.g., the comments submitted in response to this document by other interested persons) at any time by going to https:// www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for accessing the dockets. You may also read the materials at the Docket Management Facility by going to the street address given above under ADDRESSES. The Docket Management Facility is open between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. Authority: 49 U.S.C. 30111, 30168; delegation of authority at 49 CFR 1.50 and 501.8. James F. Simons, Director, Office of Regulatory Analysis and Evaluation. [FR Doc. E9–10858 Filed 5–8–09; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4910–59–P VerDate Nov<24>2008 15:05 May 08, 2009 Jkt 217001 DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS [OMB Control No. 2900—New (VRE)] Agency Information Collection (Evaluation of VA’s Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (VR&E) Program) Activities Under OMB Review AGENCY: Office of Policy and Planning, Department of Veterans Affairs. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501–3521), this notice announces that the Office of Policy, Planning and Preparedness (OPP&P), Department of Veterans Affairs, has submitted the collection of information as abstracted below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The PRA submission describes the nature of the information collection and its expected cost and burden; it includes the actual data collection instrument. DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before June 10, 2009. ADDRESSES: Submit written comments on the collection of information through https://www.Regulations.gov; or to VA’s OMB Desk Officer, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, New Executive Office Building, Room 10235, Washington, DC 20503, (202) 395–7316. Please refer to ‘‘OMB Control 2900— New (VRE)’’ in any correspondence. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Denise McLamb, Enterprise Records Service (005R1B), Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20420, (202) 461– 7485, FAX (202) 273–0443 or e-mail: denise.mclamb@mail.va.gov. Please refer to ‘‘OMB Control No. 2900—New (VRE). SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Title: Evaluation of VA’s Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (VR&E) Program. OMB Control Number: 2900—New (VRE). Type of Review: New collection. Abstract: The evaluation requires information that is not available in VA administrative files and therefore surveys will be conducted of program participants and non-participants and counselors who assist them. Focus groups will be conducted with dependents of program participants. In addition, interviews will be conducted with officials of State vocational rehabilitation programs to conduct an inventory of these programs that are also available to disabled veterans. This evaluation is part of an ongoing PO 00000 Frm 00077 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 21851 assessment of the effectiveness of programs conducted to fulfill the requirements of Public Law 103–62, the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993, and Title 38, 527, Evaluation and Data Collection. This evaluation will provide information to support VA policy, planning, and quality improvement decisions. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. The Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments on this collection of information was published on February 10, 2009, at pages 6695–6696. Affected Public: Individuals or households. Estimated Total Annual Burden: 10,118 hours. Estimated Average Burden per Respondent: 24 minutes. Frequency of Response: One-time. Estimated Number of Respondents: 25,240. Dated: May 5, 2009. By direction of the Secretary. Denise McLamb, Program Analyst, Enterprise Records Service. [FR Doc. E9–10792 Filed 5–8–09; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE A320–01–P DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS [OMB Control No. 2900—New (uSPEQ)] Agency Information Collection (uSPEQ Consumer Survey Experience (Rehabilitation)) Under OMB Review AGENCY: Veterans Health Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501–21), this notice announces that the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Department of Veterans Affairs, will submit the collection of information abstracted below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The PRA submission describes the nature of the information collection and its expected cost and burden and includes the actual data collection instrument. DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before June 10, 2009. ADDRESSES: Submit written comments on the collection of information through https://www.Regulations.gov; or to VA’s OMB Desk Officer, Office of Information E:\FR\FM\11MYN1.SGM 11MYN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 89 (Monday, May 11, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21850-21851]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-10858]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-2009-0095]


Technical Report on the Effectiveness of Amber Rear Turn Signals 
for Reducing Rear Impacts

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

ACTION: Request for comments on technical report.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: This purpose of this report is to determine the effect of rear 
turn signal color on the likelihood of being involved in a rear-end 
crash. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 108 allows rear turn 
signals to be either red or amber in color. The primary conclusion is 
that amber rear turn signals are 5.3% more effective than red rear turn 
signals at preventing involvement in crashes where a careful driver 
would typically use the turn signals. The result is shown to be 
statistically significant and consistent with other published analyses 
on the influence of rear turn signal color.

DATES: Comments must be received no later than September 6, 2009

ADDRESSES: 
    Report: The technical report is available on the Internet for 
viewing in PDF format at https://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/811115.PDF. 
You may obtain a copy of the report free of charge by sending a self-
addressed mailing label to Kirk Allen (NVS-431), National Highway 
Traffic Safety Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, 
DC 20590.
    Comments: You may submit comments [identified by Docket Number 
NHTSA-2009-0095] by any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments.
     Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
     Mail: Docket Management Facility, M-30, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, West Building, Ground Floor, Rm. W12-140, 1200 New 
Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590.
     Hand Delivery: West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern Time, 
Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
    You may call Docket Management at 202-366-9826.
    Instructions: For detailed instructions on submitting comments, see 
the Procedural Matters section of this document. Note that all comments 
received will be posted without change to https://www.regulations.gov, 
including any personal information provided.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kirk Allen, Statistician, Evaluation 
Division, NVS-431, National Center for Statistics and Analysis, 
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Room W53-457, 1200 New 
Jersey Avenue, SE, Washington, DC 20590. Telephone: 202-366-9308. E-
mail: kirk.allen@dot.gov.
    For information about NHTSA's evaluations of the effectiveness of 
existing regulations and programs: Visit the NHTSA Web site at https://www.nhtsa.dot.gov and click ``NCSA'' near the upper right corner on the 
home page; then click ``Regulatory Evaluation'' under ``Browse Topics'' 
on the ``NCSA'' page.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 
108 allows rear turn signals to be either red or amber in color. 
Previous work on this subject includes laboratory experiments and 
analyses of crash data that suggest amber rear turn signals are 
beneficial. The present study was designed around the concept of 
``switch pairs''--make-models of passenger vehicles were identified 
that had switched rear turn signal color, and crash involvement rates 
were computed before and after the switch. This method should control 
for extraneous factors related to vehicle and driver characteristics. 
Crash data from NHTSA's State Data System was used in the analysis. The 
principal finding of the report is that amber signals show a 5.3% 
effectiveness in reducing involvement in two-vehicle crashes where a 
lead vehicle is rear-struck in the act of turning left, turning right, 
merging into traffic, changing lanes, or entering/leaving a parking 
space. The advantage of amber rear turn signals is shown to be 
statistically significant.

Procedural Matters

How can I influence NHTSA's thinking on this subject?

    NHTSA welcomes public review of the technical report. NHTSA will 
submit to the Docket a response to the comments and, if appropriate, 
will supplement or revise the report.

How do I prepare and submit comments?

    Your comments must be written and in English. To ensure that your 
comments are correctly filed in the Docket, please include the Docket 
number of this document (NHTSA-2009-0095) in your comments.
    Your primary comments must not be more than 15 pages long (49 CFR 
553.21). However, you may attach additional documents to your primary 
comments. There is no limit on the length of the attachments.
    Anyone is able to search the electronic form of all comments 
received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual 
submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf 
of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review DOT's 
complete Privacy Act Statement in the Federal Register published on 
April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477) or you may visit https://regulations.gov.
    Please send two paper copies of your comments to Docket Management, 
fax them, or use the Federal eRulemaking Portal. The mailing address is 
U. S. Department of Transportation, Docket Management Facility, M-30, 
West Building, Ground Floor, Rm. W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., 
Washington, DC 20590. The fax number is 1-202-493-2251. To use the 
Federal eRulemaking Portal, go to https://www.regulations.gov and follow 
the online instructions for submitting comments.
    We also request, but do not require you to send a copy to Kirk 
Allen, Statistician, Evaluation Division, NVS-431, National Highway 
Traffic Safety Administration, Room W53-312, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, 
SE., Washington, DC 20590 (or e-mail them to kirk.allen@dot.gov). He 
can check if your comments have been received at the Docket and he can 
expedite their review by NHTSA.

How can I be sure that my comments were received?

    If you wish Docket Management to notify you upon its receipt of 
your comments, enclose a self-addressed, stamped postcard in the 
envelope containing your comments. Upon receiving your comments, Docket 
Management will return the postcard by mail.

How do I submit confidential business information?

    If you wish to submit any information under a claim of 
confidentiality, send three copies of your complete

[[Page 21851]]

submission, including the information you claim to be confidential 
business information, to the Chief Counsel, National Highway Traffic 
Safety Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 
20590. Include a cover letter supplying the information specified in 
our confidential business information regulation (49 CFR Part 512).
    In addition, send two copies from which you have deleted the 
claimed confidential business information to U.S. Department of 
Transportation, Docket Management Facility, M-30, West Building, Ground 
Floor, Rm. W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590, 
or submit them via the Federal eRulemaking Portal.

Will the agency consider late comments?

    In our response, we will consider all comments that Docket 
Management receives before the close of business on the comment closing 
date indicated above under DATES. To the extent possible, we will also 
consider comments that Docket Management receives after that date.
    Please note that even after the comment closing date, we will 
continue to file relevant information in the Docket as it becomes 
available. Further, some people may submit late comments. Accordingly, 
we recommend that you periodically check the Docket for new material.

How can I read the comments submitted by other people?

    You may read the materials placed in the docket for this document 
(e.g., the comments submitted in response to this document by other 
interested persons) at any time by going to https://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the online instructions for accessing the dockets. You may also 
read the materials at the Docket Management Facility by going to the 
street address given above under ADDRESSES. The Docket Management 
Facility is open between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through 
Friday, except Federal holidays.

    Authority:  49 U.S.C. 30111, 30168; delegation of authority at 
49 CFR 1.50 and 501.8.

James F. Simons,
Director, Office of Regulatory Analysis and Evaluation.
[FR Doc. E9-10858 Filed 5-8-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P
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