Proposed Data Collections Submitted for Public Comment and Recommendations, 56707-56708 [2013-22299]

Agencies

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 178 (Friday, September 13, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56707-56708]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-22299]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[60Day-13-13AIG]


Proposed Data Collections Submitted for Public Comment and 
Recommendations

    In compliance with the requirement of Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 for opportunity for public comment on 
proposed data collection projects, the Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention (CDC) will publish periodic summaries of proposed projects. 
To request more information on the proposed projects or to obtain a 
copy of the data collection plans and instruments, call 404-639-7570 or 
send comments to LeRoy Richardson, 1600 Clifton Road, MS-D74, Atlanta, 
GA 30333 or send an email to omb@cdc.gov.
    Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the agency, including whether the information shall have practical 
utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed collection of information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways 
to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, 
including through the use of automated collection techniques or other 
forms of information technology. Written comments should be received 
within 60 days of this notice.

Proposed Project

    Taxi Driver Survey on Motor Vehicle Safety and Workplace Violence 
(or, Taxi Driver Survey)--New--National Institute for Occupational 
Safety and Health (NIOSH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 
(CDC).

Background and Brief Description

    Under the Public Law 91-596 (Section 20[a][1]), the National 
Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is tasked with 
conducting research relating to occupational safety and health. There 
are two types of work-related events that are the overwhelming cause of 
injury and death among taxicab drivers: Transportation-related events 
(almost exclusively highway-related) and workplace violence.
    In the U.S., motor vehicle crashes remain the leading cause of 
occupational fatalities and continue to be a leading cause of 
occupational nonfatal injuries. In 1998-2002, workers in the ``Taxi 
Services'' industry had the highest rate of nonfatal motor vehicle-
related injuries treated in emergency departments (86 per 10,000 FTEs). 
Moreover, 134 of the 423 (32%) fatalities 2003-2010 in the ``Taxi and 
limousine services'' industry resulted from a motor vehicle crash.
    Workers, who operate light motor vehicles as their primary job, 
including taxi drivers, are an inadequately studied population. There 
are few reports describing the population of workers driving light 
motor vehicles, their driving patterns, or their driving behaviors. The 
road safety component of the proposed study would provide new 
scientific knowledge of a well-defined occupation whose primary job is 
to operate a taxi cab at any time of day under numerous road and 
traffic conditions. Motor vehicle safety findings from this survey will 
be disseminated globally to municipal transportation regulators through 
an established network.
    Workplace violence continues to contribute substantially to the 
public health burden of both nonfatal and fatal injury outcomes. The 
proposed study would have a workplace violence section in the survey 
that would allow the evaluation of the major types of safety equipment 
on rates of workplace violence incidents and events at the individual 
level (taxicab drivers).
    The proposed study goals are to: (1) Describe the occurrence of 
motor vehicle events among taxicab drivers, (2) describe the risk 
factors of motor vehicle events among taxicab drivers, and (3) evaluate 
events of workplace violence among taxicab drivers. In order to 
accomplish the study goals, the corresponding study objectives are: (a) 
To enumerate the occurrence of motor vehicle crashes among taxicab 
drivers, (b) identify and describe the risk factors and protective 
factors associated with road safety among taxicab drivers, and (c) 
compare workplace violence events over a twenty-four-month period among 
taxicab drivers by type of safety equipment installed in taxicab. 
Findings from the study will be used to develop future prevention 
initiatives for reducing work-related motor vehicle crashes. These 
prevention initiatives, such as reducing driver fatigue through shift 
work limitations, may take the form of municipal ordinances promulgated 
by the city regulators or company-wide (such as Yellow Cab) directives 
designed to impact road safety by a city taxi fleet. Another use of 
data collected for this study would be to serve as a baseline measure 
for a future evaluation of safety initiatives implemented at the 
municipal level. Finally, contextual data on motor vehicle crashes is 
not completely captured by current surveillance methods. Such a survey 
would provide insight into the occurrence of crashes involving 
taxicabs. Furthermore, data on driving behaviors in the context of 
safety climate and role overload can only be obtained directly from 
taxicab drivers and will provide the perspective needed for designing 
effective safety interventions.
    CDC requests Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval to 
collect survey data using the Taxi Driver Survey, from taxicab drivers 
in two cities once during a 30 minute time period, and is seeking a 
two-year clearance. Because each taxicab driver will be waiting for 
taxicab inspection to be completed or waiting for a fare, the taxicab 
driver will be available. Responding to the survey is not

[[Page 56708]]

expected to entail significant burden to respondents.
    The study objectives will be addressed using a survey designed to 
capture prevalence and frequency of adverse motor vehicle events and 
injuries, road safety data elements and workplace violence data 
elements. Multivariable regression models will provide measures of 
association.
    Data will be collected on 500 taxi drivers in each of two cities 
during the annual vehicle inspection for each city or when congregated 
at the airport waiting lot awaiting access to airport terminals. The 
estimated burden per response is 30 minutes. The survey questions are 
from validated questionnaires and were pilot tested. Since all taxicab 
drivers are required to have a working knowledge of English and 
literacy is of concern, the survey will be administered in English 
using a 6th grade comprehension level.
    CDC anticipates that routine information collection will be 
conducted in City 1 during the month of April 2013 and during one month 
in FY 2014 for City 2. The information collected will describe road 
safety and workplace violence experiences in the past 24 months. 
Collecting one month of data in each city results in an estimated 
burden of 250 hours per month. The total estimated burden is 500 hours. 
There is no cost to respondents other than their time.

                                                            Estimated Annualize Burden Hours
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                                                                                                             Number of      Avg. burden
              Type of respondents                               Form name                    Number of     responses per   per response    Total burden
                                                                                            respondents     respondent     (in minutes)      (in hrs)
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Taxicab Drivers................................  Taxi Driver Survey.....................           1,000               1           30/60             500
                                                --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total......................................  .......................................  ..............  ..............  ..............             500
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Leroy Richardson,
Chief, Information Collection Review Office, Office of Scientific 
Integrity, Office of the Associate Director for Science, Office of the 
Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2013-22299 Filed 9-12-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P