Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Request for Comment; Child Passenger Safety Perceptions and Practices in Ridesharing and Autonomous Vehicles, 79442-79444 [2022-28132]
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Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 247 / Tuesday, December 27, 2022 / Notices
offer for sale, or introduction or delivery
for introduction into interstate
commerce of the noncompliant tires and
vehicles under their control after VRC
and Honda notified them that the
subject noncompliance existed.
(Authority: 49 U.S.C. 30118, 30120:
delegations of authority at 49 CFR 1.95 and
501.8)
Otto G. Matheke III,
Director, Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2022–28061 Filed 12–23–22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–59–P
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration
[Docket No. NHTSA–2022–0080]
Agency Information Collection
Activities; Submission to the Office of
Management and Budget for Review
and Approval; Request for Comment;
Child Passenger Safety Perceptions
and Practices in Ridesharing and
Autonomous Vehicles
National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration (NHTSA),
Department of Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice and request for
comments on a request for approval of
a new information collection.
AGENCY:
In compliance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
(PRA), 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 approval. The ICR
describes the nature of the information
collection and its expected burden. This
ICR is for a new collection of
information for which NHTSA intends
to seek OMB approval on Child
Passenger Safety Perceptions and
Practices in Ridesharing and
Autonomous Vehicles. A Federal
Register notice with a 60-day comment
period soliciting comments on the
following information collection was
published on October 17, 2022. NHTSA
received two sets of comments from
three organizations, which we address
below.
DATES: Comments must be submitted on
or before January 26, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Written comments and
recommendations for the proposed
information collection, including
suggestions for reducing burden, should
be submitted to the Office of
Management and Budget at
www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain.
To find this particular information
TKELLEY on DSK125TN23PROD with NOTICES
SUMMARY:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
22:43 Dec 23, 2022
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collection, select ‘‘Currently under
Review—Open for Public Comment’’ or
use the search function.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For
additional information or access to
background documents, contact Kathy
Sifrit, Ph.D., Office of Behavioral Safety
Research (NPD–320), (202) 366–9982,
National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration, W46–472, U.S.
Department of Transportation, 1200
New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC
20590.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the
PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), a Federal
agency must receive approval from the
Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) before it collects certain
information from the public and a
person is not required to respond to a
collection of information by a Federal
agency unless the collection displays a
valid OMB control number. In
compliance with these requirements,
this notice announces that the following
information collection request will be
submitted OMB.
Title: Child Passenger Safety
Perceptions and Practices in
Ridesharing and Autonomous Vehicles.
OMB Control Number: New.
Form Numbers: NHTSA Forms 1687,
1688, 1689, and 1690.
Type of Request: Approval of a new
information collection.
Type of Review Requested: Regular.
Length of Approval Requested: Three
years from date of approval.
Summary of the Collection of
Information: The National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
of the U.S. Department of
Transportation is seeking approval for a
one-time voluntary information
collection from 24 caregivers of children
8 years old or younger and 12 licensed
drivers of rideshare vehicles. The
purpose of the collection is to describe
child passenger safety (CPS) attitudes
and behaviors from caregivers and
rideshare drivers. A NHTSA contractor
expects to provide screening
questionnaires to 200 potential
participants to determine their
eligibility for the focus group study and
to collect contact information for
scheduling with a potential burden of
15 minutes per respondent or 50 hours.
From the 200 potential participants, the
contractor will contact and enroll up to
36 participants in the study. Six 90minute focus groups will be conducted,
each with six participants. Including the
five minutes for participants to
complete informed consent, the burden
per focus group participant is 95
minutes or 57 hours. The total expected
burden for screening, scheduling, and
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participating in the focus groups is 107
hours. A trained moderator will conduct
separate virtual focus groups for
caregivers/parents of at least one child
8 years old or younger who frequently
use rideshare vehicles to transport
children (two groups) and those who
infrequently transport children in
rideshare vehicles (two groups) as well
as for rideshare drivers who frequently
have child passengers 8 years old or
younger (one group) and those who
infrequently have child passengers (one
group). The contractor will collect
participants’ attitudes and self-reported
behaviors from the focus groups.
NHTSA’s contractor received
Institutional Review Board (IRB)
approval to conduct the focus groups.
NHTSA will use the information to
produce a technical report containing
descriptive and qualitative assessments
of caregivers/parents’ and rideshare
drivers’ attitudes and behaviors related
to CPS in rideshare vehicles. NHTSA
will make the technical report available
to a variety of audiences interested in
improving highway safety through the
agency website and the National
Transportation Library. This collection
will inform the development of
behavioral safety countermeasures,
particularly in the areas of
communications and training related to
CPS in rideshare vehicles and
potentially future vehicles with
Automated Driving Systems.
Description of the Need for the
Information and Proposed Use of the
Information: NHTSA has estimated that
using a car seat reduces the risk of fatal
injury for infants (under 1 year old) by
71 percent for passenger cars and by 58
percent for light trucks such as pickups,
SUVs, and minivans. For toddlers (1 to
4 years old), the corresponding
reductions are 54 percent and 59
percent. 1 However, children are not
always restrained appropriately. In 2020
there were 181 passenger vehicle
occupant fatalities among children
under 4 years old, and 31 percent were
unrestrained (based on known restraint
use). In the 4-to-7 age group, there were
207 fatalities; 43 percent were
unrestrained (based on known restraint
use).2
1 Kahane, C. J. (2015, January). Lives saved by
vehicle safety technologies and associated Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, 1960 to 2012—
Passenger cars and LTVs—With reviews of 26
FMVSS and the effectiveness of their associated
safety technologies in reducing fatalities, injuries,
and crashes (Report No. DOT HS 812 069). National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration. https://
crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/
ViewPublication/812069
2 National Center for Statistics and Analysis.
(2022, July). Occupant protection in passenger
vehicles: 2020 data (Traffic Safety Facts. Report No.
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TKELLEY on DSK125TN23PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 247 / Tuesday, December 27, 2022 / Notices
79443
The use of ridesharing services has
increased dramatically over the past few
years. In 2018, 36 percent of U.S. adults
used ridesharing services, such as Uber
and Lyft. This percentage is more than
twice the share of the population who
used ridesharing apps in 2015.3 As the
use of ridesharing vehicles increases,
concerns regarding how children are
being transported in these vehicles are
emerging. However, limited research
has been conducted on CRS use in
ridesharing vehicles. A study conducted
by Prince, et al. showed lower rates of
CRS use and higher rates of injuries in
crashes involving taxis in New York
City.4 In an online national survey of
parents with children under eight, 59
percent reported that they transported
their children differently when traveling
in rideshare vehicles compared with
private vehicles.5 Of those, 37 percent
reported holding the child on their lap
and 25 percent allowed the child to ride
without a CRS. Several online and inperson surveys with parents and
caregivers point to specific
circumstances in which non-use of CRS
is perceived as more acceptable,
including riding in a rideshare or taxi;
traveling while on vacation, carpooling,
when traveling short distances; and
finding there is no CRS available.6 7 8
There also is a lack of research on best
practice approaches for promoting child
safety in rideshare vehicles, and
regulatory inconsistencies (e.g., types of
vehicles covered under restraint laws,
severity of fines for violations of the
law, age of child covered by child
restraint laws, etc.) only contribute to
the confusion on the part of caregivers
and rideshare drivers. A better
understanding of caregiver and
rideshare driver behaviors and attitudes
related to restraint use in rideshare
services is needed to inform the
development of public policy,
regulations, enforcement measures, and
educational campaigns.
60-Day Notice: A Federal Register
notice with a 60-day comment period
soliciting public comments on the
following information collection was
published on October 17, 2022 (87 FR
62922). Two sets of comments were
submitted by three organizations: one
comment was submitted by Safe Kids
Worldwide and Safe Kids in Automated
Vehicle Alliance (SKAVA), and the
other comment was submitted by the
Texas Department of Transportation
(TxDOT). Safe Kids Worldwide,
SKAVA, and the TxDOT were
supportive of the agency’s efforts to
understand the behavior and attitudes of
caregivers and rideshare drivers
regarding child passenger safety (CPS)
in rideshare vehicles. Safe Kids
Worldwide and SKAVA noted that this
research will help inform solutions to
inconsistencies with CPS in rideshare
vehicles. TxDOT recommended some
changes in project design to enhance the
quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected. We
appreciate the comments from Safe Kids
Worldwide, SKAVA, and TxDOT and
thank them for thoughtfully considering
the described program.
The TxDOT raised concerns about the
study design. They expressed concern
that the number of participants in the
focus groups would not be
representative of the population and
recommended increasing the sample
size. The data collection plan includes
enrolling 36 participants (24 caregivers
and 12 rideshare drivers) for the focus
groups. While we recognize that this
may seem to be a small sample size, this
number is in line with qualitative
research methods guidelines suggesting
that 4–8 participants are enough to
reach saturation in focus group
research.9 Additionally, TxDOT noted
the current study would be useful to
examine attitudes and behaviors related
to advanced driver assistance systems
(ADAS) available in the market and
used in some rideshare vehicles, and
whether the existence of ADAS impacts
choice and use of rideshare vehicles. We
agree that examining attitudes and
behaviors related to ADAS in rideshare
vehicles is important; however, this line
of questioning is unrelated to
understanding CPS in rideshare vehicles
and is beyond the scope of this study.
Affected Public: Parents of children 8
years old or younger and adult licensed
drivers of ridesharing vehicles.
Estimated Number of Respondents:
200 potential participants with 36
participating in focus groups.
Frequency: This study is a one-time
information collection, and there will be
no recurrence.
Number of Responses: Each
respondent responds to each form only
once.
Estimated Total Annual Burden
Hours: The total estimated burden with
this collection is 107 hours. NHTSA
estimates that up to 200 potential
respondents will need to be screened for
eligibility by completing a 10-minute
screening questionnaire before finding
36 people to participate in the focus
groups. The contractor will contact the
eligible participants to determine
whether they are still interested and if
so, to schedule a focus group for an
additional potential burden of five
minutes. As such, screening and
scheduling may take up to 15 minutes
per potential participant. The goal is to
schedule 36 participants for six focus
groups (four caregiver groups and two
driver groups).
Each focus group is estimated to last
90 minutes. Including informed
consent, NHTSA estimates the burden
as 95 minutes per participant. During
the focus group, participants will
discuss their experiences in traveling
with children in rideshare vehicles,
behavior with respect to using seat belts
or CRSs when travelling in personal
vehicles and rideshare vehicles,
opinions regarding CPS in rideshare
vehicles, etc. Assuming a 10-minute
completion time for the recruitment
screener questionnaire, 5 minutes for
contacting and scheduling potential
participants for the focus group
sessions, 5 minutes for informed
consent for participants, and 90 minutes
for participating in the focus groups the
total hour burden 107 hours. The
calculation of the total estimated burden
is shown in Table 1 below.
DOT HS 813 326). National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration. https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/
Api/Public/ViewPublication/813326
3 Pew Research Center (2019, January 4). More
Americans are using ride-hailing apps. https://
www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/01/04/moreamericans-are-using-ride-hailing-apps/.
4 Prince, P., Hines, L. M., Bauer, M. J., Liu, C.,
Luo, J., Garnett, M., & Pressley, J. C. (2019).
Pediatric Restraint Use and Injury in New York City
Taxis Compared with Other Passenger Vehicles.
Transportation Research Record, 2673(7), 541–549.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0361198119843091.
5 Owens, J. M., Womack, K. T., & Barowski, L.
(2019, September). Factors Surrounding Child Seat
Usage in Rideshare Services (Technical Report No.
01–005). Safety through Disruption (Safe-D)
University Transportation Center. https://
rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/63050.
6 Levi, S., Lee, H., Ren, W., Polson, A., &
McCloskey, S. (2020, December). Awareness and
availability of child passenger safety information
resources (Report No. DOT HS 813 035). National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration. https://
rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/54283.
7 McDonald, C., Kennedy, E., Fleisher, L., &
Zonfrillo, M. (2018). Situational Use of Child
Restraint Systems and Carpooling Behaviors in
Parents and Caregivers. International Journal of
Environmental Research and Public Health, 15(8),
1788. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15081788.
8 Niu, L., Gao, Y. M., Tian, Y., & Pan, S. M. (2019).
Safety awareness and use of child safety seats
among parents after the legislation in Shanghai.
Chinese journal of traumatology = Zhonghua
chuang shang za zhi, 22(2), 85–87. https://doi.org/
10.1016/j.cjtee.2018.08.005.
9 Hennink, M. & Kaiser, B. N. (2022). Sample sizes
for saturation in qualitative research: A systematic
review of empirical tests. Social Science &
Medicine, 292. 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1016/
j.socscimed.2021.114523.
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79444
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 247 / Tuesday, December 27, 2022 / Notices
TABLE 1—ESTIMATED BURDEN HOURS BY FORM
Form No.
1687
1688
1689
1690
Form name and description
Time per
respondent
(minutes)
Total time
(hours)
..........
..........
..........
..........
Screener and Follow-Scheduling .........................................................................
Informed Consent (Caregivers) ............................................................................
Informed Consent (Drivers) ..................................................................................
Focus Group Participation ....................................................................................
200
24
12
36
15
5
5
90
50
2
1
54
Total ...
...............................................................................................................................
........................
........................
107
[FR Doc. 2022–28132 Filed 12–23–22; 8:45 am]
rulemaking (NPRM) on Enhancing
Transparency of Airline Ancillary
Service Fees; and will vote on
recommendations regarding the
Department’s NPRM on Airline Ticket
Refunds and Consumer Protections.
DATES: The virtual meeting will be held
on, January 12, 2023, from 10:00 a.m. to
5:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. The
meeting is open to the public, subject to
any technical and/or capacity
limitations. Requests to attend the
meeting must be submitted to https://
usdot.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/
WN_Eoow5BMfRTum03htlms2bQ. We
encourage interested parties to register
by January 5, 2023. Communication
Access Real-time Translation (CART)
and sign language interpretation will be
provided during the meeting. Requests
for additional accommodations because
of a disability must be received at
ACPAC@dot.gov by January 5, 2023.
ADDRESSES: The virtual meeting will be
open to the public and held via the
Zoom Webinar Platform. Virtual
attendance information will be provided
upon registration. An agenda will be
available on the Department’s Office of
Aviation Consumer Protection website
at https://www.transportation.gov/
airconsumer/ACPAC in advance of the
meeting.
BILLING CODE 4910–59–P
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Estimated Total Annual Burden Cost:
NHTSA estimates that there are no costs
to respondents beyond the time spent
participating in the study.
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
agency, including whether the
information will have practical utility;
(b) 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;
(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
appropriate automated, electronic,
mechanical, or other technological
collection techniques or other forms of
information technology.
Authority: The Paperwork Reduction
Act of 1995; 44 U.S.C. chapter 35, as
amended; 49 CFR 1.49; and DOT Order
1351.29A.
Nanda Narayanan Srinivasan,
Associate Administrator, Research and
Program Development.
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Office of the Secretary
[Docket No. DOT–OST–2018–0190]
Aviation Consumer Protection
Advisory Committee; Notice of Public
Meeting
Office of the Secretary (OST),
Department of Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice of public meeting.
AGENCY:
TKELLEY on DSK125TN23PROD with NOTICES
Respondents
I. Background
This Notice announces a oneday public meeting of the Aviation
Consumer Protection Advisory
Committee (ACPAC), to be held
virtually. The ACPAC will deliberate on
the Department’s notice of proposed
SUMMARY:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
22:43 Dec 23, 2022
Jkt 259001
To
register and attend this virtual meeting,
please use the link: https://
usdot.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/
WN_Eoow5BMfRTum03htlms2bQ.
Attendance is open to the public
subject to any technical and/or capacity
limitations. For further information,
please contact Cristina Draguta,
Attorney-Advisor, by email at
Cristina.Draguta@dot.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
The ACPAC evaluates the Department
of Transportation’s aviation consumer
protection programs, provides
recommendations to the Secretary for
improving them and recommends any
additional consumer protections that
may be needed.
PO 00000
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During the June 28, 2022, meeting of
the ACPAC, the subject of transparency
of airline ancillary service fees was
considered as members heard
presentations about previous
Department actions in this area and the
perspectives of various stakeholders. On
September 26, 2022, the Department
announced the Enhancing Transparency
of Airline Ancillary Service Fees NPRM
(RIN 2105–AF10) (Ancillary Fees
Transparency NPRM) and made the
rulemaking available on its website and
regulations.gov. On December 8, 2022,
the ACPAC continued the discussion on
this topic, heard from the public, and
considered the proposals in the
Department’s NPRM. The Department is
now scheduling a meeting to provide
the ACPAC further opportunity to
discuss, deliberate, and decide on
recommendations, if any, to the
Department regarding the Department’s
Ancillary Fees Transparency NPRM.
Also, on December 9, 2022, the
ACPAC deliberated on the Department’s
Airline Ticket Refunds and Consumer
Protections NPRM and decided to vote
on the recommendations to the
Department once the Ticket Refunds
NPRM comment period closes on
December 16, 2022. As such, at this
meeting, the ACPAC will also vote on
recommendations regarding the
Department’s Airline Ticket Refunds
and Consumer Protections NPRM. More
information regarding prior meetings,
including recordings of meetings, can be
found on the ACPAC web pages
available here: https://
www.transportation.gov/airconsumer/
ACPAC.
II. Agenda
During the January 12, 2023, meeting,
the ACPAC will deliberate and decide
on recommendations, if any, to the
Department regarding airline ancillary
service fee transparency. Pursuant to 49
U.S.C. 41712, which prohibits U.S. air
carriers, foreign air carriers, and ticket
agents from engaging in unfair or
deceptive practices in the sale of air
transportation, the Department’s
Ancillary Fees Transparency NPRM
E:\FR\FM\27DEN1.SGM
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 247 (Tuesday, December 27, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 79442-79444]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-28132]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
[Docket No. NHTSA-2022-0080]
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the
Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Request for
Comment; Child Passenger Safety Perceptions and Practices in
Ridesharing and Autonomous Vehicles
AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA),
Department of Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice and request for comments on a request for approval of a
new information collection.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA),
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 approval. The ICR describes the nature of
the information collection and its expected burden. This ICR is for a
new collection of information for which NHTSA intends to seek OMB
approval on Child Passenger Safety Perceptions and Practices in
Ridesharing and Autonomous Vehicles. A Federal Register notice with a
60-day comment period soliciting comments on the following information
collection was published on October 17, 2022. NHTSA received two sets
of comments from three organizations, which we address below.
DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before January 26, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed
information collection, including suggestions for reducing burden,
should be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget at
www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. To find this particular information
collection, select ``Currently under Review--Open for Public Comment''
or use the search function.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information or access
to background documents, contact Kathy Sifrit, Ph.D., Office of
Behavioral Safety Research (NPD-320), (202) 366-9982, National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration, W46-472, U.S. Department of
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), a
Federal agency must receive approval from the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) before it collects certain information from the public and
a person is not required to respond to a collection of information by a
Federal agency unless the collection displays a valid OMB control
number. In compliance with these requirements, this notice announces
that the following information collection request will be submitted
OMB.
Title: Child Passenger Safety Perceptions and Practices in
Ridesharing and Autonomous Vehicles.
OMB Control Number: New.
Form Numbers: NHTSA Forms 1687, 1688, 1689, and 1690.
Type of Request: Approval of a new information collection.
Type of Review Requested: Regular.
Length of Approval Requested: Three years from date of approval.
Summary of the Collection of Information: The National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) of the U.S. Department of
Transportation is seeking approval for a one-time voluntary information
collection from 24 caregivers of children 8 years old or younger and 12
licensed drivers of rideshare vehicles. The purpose of the collection
is to describe child passenger safety (CPS) attitudes and behaviors
from caregivers and rideshare drivers. A NHTSA contractor expects to
provide screening questionnaires to 200 potential participants to
determine their eligibility for the focus group study and to collect
contact information for scheduling with a potential burden of 15
minutes per respondent or 50 hours. From the 200 potential
participants, the contractor will contact and enroll up to 36
participants in the study. Six 90-minute focus groups will be
conducted, each with six participants. Including the five minutes for
participants to complete informed consent, the burden per focus group
participant is 95 minutes or 57 hours. The total expected burden for
screening, scheduling, and participating in the focus groups is 107
hours. A trained moderator will conduct separate virtual focus groups
for caregivers/parents of at least one child 8 years old or younger who
frequently use rideshare vehicles to transport children (two groups)
and those who infrequently transport children in rideshare vehicles
(two groups) as well as for rideshare drivers who frequently have child
passengers 8 years old or younger (one group) and those who
infrequently have child passengers (one group). The contractor will
collect participants' attitudes and self-reported behaviors from the
focus groups. NHTSA's contractor received Institutional Review Board
(IRB) approval to conduct the focus groups. NHTSA will use the
information to produce a technical report containing descriptive and
qualitative assessments of caregivers/parents' and rideshare drivers'
attitudes and behaviors related to CPS in rideshare vehicles. NHTSA
will make the technical report available to a variety of audiences
interested in improving highway safety through the agency website and
the National Transportation Library. This collection will inform the
development of behavioral safety countermeasures, particularly in the
areas of communications and training related to CPS in rideshare
vehicles and potentially future vehicles with Automated Driving
Systems.
Description of the Need for the Information and Proposed Use of the
Information: NHTSA has estimated that using a car seat reduces the risk
of fatal injury for infants (under 1 year old) by 71 percent for
passenger cars and by 58 percent for light trucks such as pickups,
SUVs, and minivans. For toddlers (1 to 4 years old), the corresponding
reductions are 54 percent and 59 percent. \1\ However, children are not
always restrained appropriately. In 2020 there were 181 passenger
vehicle occupant fatalities among children under 4 years old, and 31
percent were unrestrained (based on known restraint use). In the 4-to-7
age group, there were 207 fatalities; 43 percent were unrestrained
(based on known restraint use).\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Kahane, C. J. (2015, January). Lives saved by vehicle safety
technologies and associated Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards,
1960 to 2012--Passenger cars and LTVs--With reviews of 26 FMVSS and
the effectiveness of their associated safety technologies in
reducing fatalities, injuries, and crashes (Report No. DOT HS 812
069). National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/812069
\2\ National Center for Statistics and Analysis. (2022, July).
Occupant protection in passenger vehicles: 2020 data (Traffic Safety
Facts. Report No. DOT HS 813 326). National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration. https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/813326
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
[[Page 79443]]
The use of ridesharing services has increased dramatically over the
past few years. In 2018, 36 percent of U.S. adults used ridesharing
services, such as Uber and Lyft. This percentage is more than twice the
share of the population who used ridesharing apps in 2015.\3\ As the
use of ridesharing vehicles increases, concerns regarding how children
are being transported in these vehicles are emerging. However, limited
research has been conducted on CRS use in ridesharing vehicles. A study
conducted by Prince, et al. showed lower rates of CRS use and higher
rates of injuries in crashes involving taxis in New York City.\4\ In an
online national survey of parents with children under eight, 59 percent
reported that they transported their children differently when
traveling in rideshare vehicles compared with private vehicles.\5\ Of
those, 37 percent reported holding the child on their lap and 25
percent allowed the child to ride without a CRS. Several online and in-
person surveys with parents and caregivers point to specific
circumstances in which non-use of CRS is perceived as more acceptable,
including riding in a rideshare or taxi; traveling while on vacation,
carpooling, when traveling short distances; and finding there is no CRS
available.6 7 8
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\3\ Pew Research Center (2019, January 4). More Americans are
using ride-hailing apps. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/01/04/more-americans-are-using-ride-hailing-apps/.
\4\ Prince, P., Hines, L. M., Bauer, M. J., Liu, C., Luo, J.,
Garnett, M., & Pressley, J. C. (2019). Pediatric Restraint Use and
Injury in New York City Taxis Compared with Other Passenger
Vehicles. Transportation Research Record, 2673(7), 541-549. https://doi.org/10.1177/0361198119843091.
\5\ Owens, J. M., Womack, K. T., & Barowski, L. (2019,
September). Factors Surrounding Child Seat Usage in Rideshare
Services (Technical Report No. 01-005). Safety through Disruption
(Safe-D) University Transportation Center. https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/63050.
\6\ Levi, S., Lee, H., Ren, W., Polson, A., & McCloskey, S.
(2020, December). Awareness and availability of child passenger
safety information resources (Report No. DOT HS 813 035). National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration. https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/54283.
\7\ McDonald, C., Kennedy, E., Fleisher, L., & Zonfrillo, M.
(2018). Situational Use of Child Restraint Systems and Carpooling
Behaviors in Parents and Caregivers. International Journal of
Environmental Research and Public Health, 15(8), 1788. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15081788.
\8\ Niu, L., Gao, Y. M., Tian, Y., & Pan, S. M. (2019). Safety
awareness and use of child safety seats among parents after the
legislation in Shanghai. Chinese journal of traumatology = Zhonghua
chuang shang za zhi, 22(2), 85-87. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cjtee.2018.08.005.
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There also is a lack of research on best practice approaches for
promoting child safety in rideshare vehicles, and regulatory
inconsistencies (e.g., types of vehicles covered under restraint laws,
severity of fines for violations of the law, age of child covered by
child restraint laws, etc.) only contribute to the confusion on the
part of caregivers and rideshare drivers. A better understanding of
caregiver and rideshare driver behaviors and attitudes related to
restraint use in rideshare services is needed to inform the development
of public policy, regulations, enforcement measures, and educational
campaigns.
60-Day Notice: A Federal Register notice with a 60-day comment
period soliciting public comments on the following information
collection was published on October 17, 2022 (87 FR 62922). Two sets of
comments were submitted by three organizations: one comment was
submitted by Safe Kids Worldwide and Safe Kids in Automated Vehicle
Alliance (SKAVA), and the other comment was submitted by the Texas
Department of Transportation (TxDOT). Safe Kids Worldwide, SKAVA, and
the TxDOT were supportive of the agency's efforts to understand the
behavior and attitudes of caregivers and rideshare drivers regarding
child passenger safety (CPS) in rideshare vehicles. Safe Kids Worldwide
and SKAVA noted that this research will help inform solutions to
inconsistencies with CPS in rideshare vehicles. TxDOT recommended some
changes in project design to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity
of the information to be collected. We appreciate the comments from
Safe Kids Worldwide, SKAVA, and TxDOT and thank them for thoughtfully
considering the described program.
The TxDOT raised concerns about the study design. They expressed
concern that the number of participants in the focus groups would not
be representative of the population and recommended increasing the
sample size. The data collection plan includes enrolling 36
participants (24 caregivers and 12 rideshare drivers) for the focus
groups. While we recognize that this may seem to be a small sample
size, this number is in line with qualitative research methods
guidelines suggesting that 4-8 participants are enough to reach
saturation in focus group research.\9\ Additionally, TxDOT noted the
current study would be useful to examine attitudes and behaviors
related to advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) available in the
market and used in some rideshare vehicles, and whether the existence
of ADAS impacts choice and use of rideshare vehicles. We agree that
examining attitudes and behaviors related to ADAS in rideshare vehicles
is important; however, this line of questioning is unrelated to
understanding CPS in rideshare vehicles and is beyond the scope of this
study.
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\9\ Hennink, M. & Kaiser, B. N. (2022). Sample sizes for
saturation in qualitative research: A systematic review of empirical
tests. Social Science & Medicine, 292. 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114523.
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Affected Public: Parents of children 8 years old or younger and
adult licensed drivers of ridesharing vehicles.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 200 potential participants with 36
participating in focus groups.
Frequency: This study is a one-time information collection, and
there will be no recurrence.
Number of Responses: Each respondent responds to each form only
once.
Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: The total estimated burden
with this collection is 107 hours. NHTSA estimates that up to 200
potential respondents will need to be screened for eligibility by
completing a 10-minute screening questionnaire before finding 36 people
to participate in the focus groups. The contractor will contact the
eligible participants to determine whether they are still interested
and if so, to schedule a focus group for an additional potential burden
of five minutes. As such, screening and scheduling may take up to 15
minutes per potential participant. The goal is to schedule 36
participants for six focus groups (four caregiver groups and two driver
groups).
Each focus group is estimated to last 90 minutes. Including
informed consent, NHTSA estimates the burden as 95 minutes per
participant. During the focus group, participants will discuss their
experiences in traveling with children in rideshare vehicles, behavior
with respect to using seat belts or CRSs when travelling in personal
vehicles and rideshare vehicles, opinions regarding CPS in rideshare
vehicles, etc. Assuming a 10-minute completion time for the recruitment
screener questionnaire, 5 minutes for contacting and scheduling
potential participants for the focus group sessions, 5 minutes for
informed consent for participants, and 90 minutes for participating in
the focus groups the total hour burden 107 hours. The calculation of
the total estimated burden is shown in Table 1 below.
[[Page 79444]]
Table 1--Estimated Burden Hours by Form
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Time per
Form No. Form name and description Respondents respondent Total time
(minutes) (hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1687........................... Screener and Follow-Scheduling. 200 15 50
1688........................... Informed Consent (Caregivers).. 24 5 2
1689........................... Informed Consent (Drivers)..... 12 5 1
1690........................... Focus Group Participation...... 36 90 54
-----------------------------------------------
Total...................... ............................... .............. .............. 107
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Estimated Total Annual Burden Cost: NHTSA estimates that there are
no costs to respondents beyond the time spent participating in the
study.
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 agency, including whether the information will
have practical utility; (b) 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; (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 appropriate automated, electronic,
mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms
of information technology.
Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995; 44 U.S.C. chapter
35, as amended; 49 CFR 1.49; and DOT Order 1351.29A.
Nanda Narayanan Srinivasan,
Associate Administrator, Research and Program Development.
[FR Doc. 2022-28132 Filed 12-23-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P
