Agency Information Collection Activities; Notice and Request for Comment; Compliance Labeling of Retroreflective Materials for Heavy Trailer Conspicuity, 40735-40736 [2020-14570]

Agencies

• National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
• DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 130 (Tuesday, July 7, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40735-40736]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-14570]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket Number NHTSA-2011-0084]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Notice and Request for 
Comment; Compliance Labeling of Retroreflective Materials for Heavy 
Trailer Conspicuity

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

ACTION: Request for public comment on the reinstatement of a previously 
approved collection of information.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Transportation (DOT) invites public comments 
about our intention to request the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) approval on the reinstatement of a previously approved collection 
of information on Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 
108. Before a Federal agency can collect certain information from the 
public, it must receive approval from the OMB. Under 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 reinstatement of 
previously approved collections. This document describes a collection 
of labeling information on FMVSS No. 108, for which NHTSA intends to 
seek OMB approval (OMB Control number 2127-0569). The labeling 
requirement is for retroreflective sheeting material.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before September 8, 2020.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments [identified by Docket No. NHTSA-
2011-0084] by any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments. 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 or Courier: West Building Ground Floor, Room 
W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590 between 9 a.m. 
and 5 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, except Federal 
holidays.
     Fax: (202) 493-2251.
    Regardless of how you submit your comments, please be sure to 
mention the docket number of this document and identify the proposed 
collection of information for which a comment is provided, by 
referencing its OMB clearance number.
    Note: All comments received will be posted without change to https://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided. 
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 19477-78).
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments received, go to https://www.regulations.gov or the street 
address listed above. Follow the online instructions for accessing the 
dockets.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  Complete copies of each request for 
collection of information may be obtained at no charge from Andrei 
Denes, U.S. Department of Transportation, NHTSA, 1200 New Jersey Avenue 
SE, Washington, DC 20590. Mr. Denes's telephone number is (202) 366-
1810, and fax number is (202) 366-7002.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 
before a proposed collection of information is submitted to OMB for 
approval, Federal agencies must first 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. In compliance with 
these requirements, NHTSA asks for public comments on the following 
proposed collection of information:
    Title: 49 CFR 571.108, Standard No. 108; Lamps, reflective devices, 
and associated equipment; Compliance Labeling of Retroreflective 
Materials Heavy Trailer Conspicuity.
    OMB Control Number: 2127-0569.
    Type of Request: Reinstatement of a previously approved collection.
    Type of Review Requested: Regular.
    Length of Approval Requested: Three Years.
    Abstract: 49 U.S.C. 30111, 30112, and 30117 of the National Traffic 
and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966 authorize the issuance of Federal 
Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS). The agency, in prescribing a 
FMVSS, considers available relevant motor vehicle safety data and 
consults with other agencies, as it deems appropriate. Further, the 
statute mandates that, in issuing any FMVSS, the agency considers 
whether the standard is ``reasonable, practicable and appropriate for 
the particular type of motor vehicle or motor vehicle equipment for 
which it is prescribed,'' and whether such a standard will contribute 
to carrying out the purpose of the Act. The Secretary is authorized to 
issue such rules and regulations as deemed necessary to carry out these 
requirements. Under this authority, the agency issued FMVSS No. 108, 
specifying labeling requirements to aid the agency in achieving many of 
its safety goals.
    This notice requests comments on the labeling requirements of FMVSS 
No. 108, ``Lamp, reflective devices and

[[Page 40736]]

associated equipment,'' which requires that the inscription ``DOT-C2'', 
``DOT-C3'', or ``DOT-C4'', as appropriate, constituting a certification 
that the retroreflective sheeting conforms to the requirements of the 
standard, appear at least once on the exposed surface of each white or 
red segment of retroreflective sheeting, and at least once every 300 mm 
on retroreflective sheeting that is white only. The characters must be 
not less than 3 mm high, and must be permanently stamped, etched, 
molded, or printed in indelible ink.
    Affected Public: Manufacturers of conspicuity grade retroreflective 
materials.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 3.
    The respondents are likely to be manufacturers of the conspicuity 
material. The agency estimates that currently there are three 
manufacturers producing conspicuity material.
    Frequency: As needed.
    Number of Responses: 190,000,000.
    It is estimated that there are 2.34 million trailers and 0.54 
million truck tractors that require new conspicuity tape annually. On 
average, a trailer requires approximately 60 ft. of reflective tape and 
a truck tractor requires about 4 ft. The labels are to be placed at 
intervals varying between 150 mm and 300 mm on rolls of retroreflective 
conspicuity tape. Considering the length of tape required per trailer 
and truck tractor, and that the labeling is applied on average every 9 
in. (225 mm), a total number of 80 labels per trailer and 6 labels per 
truck tractor are required. Therefore, it is estimated that 190 million 
labels will be required annually (2.34 million trailers x 80 labels + 
0.54 million truck tractors x 6 labels).
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 3 hours.
    The compliance symbol labeling program imposes only a minor hour 
burden per respondent, or three total hours, for the collection or 
reporting based on a maximum time required to ensure that the correct 
inscription is being applied to the sheeting by the printing presses. 
The application of symbols is performed by automated equipment 
incorporated in the production process of the retroreflective sheeting.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Cost: $4,000.
    The cost to respondents is estimated based on information that was 
supplied by the respondents regarding the cost of supplying or 
modifying printing rollers to apply the label. The cost to 
manufacturers of applying the label requirement is the maintenance and 
amortization of printing rollers and the additional dye or ink 
consumed. The labels are printed during the normal course of steady 
flow manufacturing operations and do not add additional time to the 
production process.
    Two methods of printing the label are in use. One method uses the 
same roller that applies the dye to the red segments of the material 
pattern. The roller is resurfaced annually using a computerized etching 
technique. The label was incorporated in the software to drive the 
roller resurfacing in 1993, and there is no additional cost to continue 
the printing of the label. In fact, costs would be incurred to 
discontinue the label.
    The second method uses a separate roller and dye to apply the 
label. The manufacturer using this technique reported that the rollers 
have been in service for five years without detectable wear and 
predicted a service life of at least fifteen years. Four rollers 
costing about $2,500 each are used for a total of $10,000. If all three 
manufacturers chose to use this method, a total of 12 rollers would be 
used for a total cost of $30,000. A straight-line depreciation of the 
rollers over 15 years ($30,000 divided by 15 years) equals $2,000 per 
year. The total cost of the dye required is derived from the number of 
labels required to be printed yearly and the dye required for each 
label. The total number of labels printed annually is about 190 
million. Therefore, at a cost of approximately $40 per gallon of dye 
and using about 0.001 milliliters of dye per label, the total cost of 
dye to print all the labels is estimated to be $2,000 (190 million 
labels x $40/gal x 0.001 ml x 0.000264172 ml/gal). With the yearly cost 
to replace the rollers of $2,000 and an annual allowance of $2,000 for 
dye, the annual total industry cost of maintaining the label is about 
$4,000.
    Estimated annual cost burden:

Additional cost of maintaining printing rollers with added label--$0
Annual cost of separate printing rollers for label (where used)--$2,000
Annual cost of additional dye or ink--$2,000
Total annual respondent cost--$4,000

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                                                                                                      Total annual        Annual       Est. total annual
               Number of rollers                   Cost of each      Total cost      Depreciation        labels       additional dye   cost to maintain
                                                      roller          rollers       over 15 years      (million)        allowance            label
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12.............................................          $2,500          $30,000           $2,000              190           $2,000              $4,000
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    Public Comments Invited: You are asked to comment on any aspects of 
this information collection, including (a) whether the proposed 
collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of 
the functions of the Department, including whether the information will 
have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the Department's estimate 
of the burden of the proposed information collection; (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 the use of automated collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology.

(Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995; 44 U.S.C. chapter 
35; and delegation of authority at 49 CFR 1.95 and 501.8)

Raymond R. Posten,
Associate Administrator for Rulemaking.
[FR Doc. 2020-14570 Filed 7-6-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P