National Highway Traffic Safety Administration April 2016 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Department of Transportation (DOT) invites public comments about our intention to request the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval for a new information collection. The John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe Center), U.S. DOT, will conduct this study under an interagency agreement with NHTSA. The collection involves case study interviews with law enforcement agency personnel pertaining to their knowledge and practice in using automated license plate readers (ALPR) for traffic safety purposes. The information to be collected will be used to document the state of knowledge and practice in using ALPR for this purpose under the National Cooperative Research and Evaluation Program (NCREP), which is managed jointly by NHTSA and the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA). Before a Federal agency can collect certain information from the public, it must receive approval from 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.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this notice announces that the Information Collection Request (ICR) abstracted below is being forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comments. A Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments on the following information collection was published on December 4, 2015 (80 FR 75894). No comments were received.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in coordination with the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA), the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), are in the process of reviewing the Guidelines for the Model Minimum Uniform Crash Criteria (MMUCC) Fourth Edition, dated December 2012, and request comments to determine if updates or improvements are appropriate. The MMUCC provides States with a dataset for describing crashes of motor vehicles in transport that generates the information necessary to improve highway safety within each State and nationally. Crash data users may comment on the utility of the current MMUCC guidelines and suggest changes for the next update to MMUCC. Based on the input received in response to this notice, NHTSA and GHSA anticipate issuing draft changes to the Guidelines by fall 2017.

This notice sets forth the reasons for the denial of a petition submitted to NHTSA under 49 U.S.C. 30162, requesting that the agency commence a proceeding to determine the existence of a defect related to motor vehicle safety in 2015 Volvo VNL 780 vehicles. After a review of the petition and other information, NHTSA has concluded that further expenditure of the agency's investigative resources on the issues raised by the petition does not appear warranted. The agency accordingly has denied the petition. The petition is hereinafter identified as DP15-006.

NHTSA is announcing a second public meeting to seek input on planned guidelines for the safe deployment and operation of automated vehicles. NHTSA held its first public meeting on this topic on April 8, 2016, in Washington, DC. The intent of the operational guidelines is to encourage innovative and safe deployment of automated vehicle technologies. At this meeting, NHTSA is seeking public input on those aspects of automated vehicle (AV) systems that would benefit from operational guidelines. For example, of high importance to the Agency is information on the roadway scenarios and operational environments highly automated vehicles will need to address and the associated design and evaluation processes and methods needed to ensure that AV systems can detect and appropriately react to these scenarios such that a high level of safety is assured when these systems are deployed on US roadways. Also of interest to the Agency is input on aspects of automated vehicle technology that may not be suitable or ready for guidelines. For these areas, information would be useful on alternative approaches to assure safety.

This document corrects the docket number in a Federal Register notice published on Friday, December 4, 2015, that announced a request for public comment on proposed collection of information.

Mercedes-Benz USA LLC (MBUSA), on behalf of itself and its parent company Daimler AG (DAG), collectively referred to as ``Mercedes'' has determined that certain model year (MY) 2015 Mercedes- Benz C-Class (205 Platform) passenger cars do not fully comply with paragraph S10.18.4 of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 108, Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment. Mercedes has filed a report dated February 9, 2015, pursuant to 49 CFR part 573, Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports. Mercedes then petitioned NHTSA under 49 CFR part 556 requesting a decision that the subject noncompliance is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety.

JLG Industries, Inc. (JLG) has determined that certain JLG Triple-L utility trailers do not fully comply with paragraph S4.3.5 of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 110, Tire Selection and Rims and Motor Home/Recreation Vehicle Trailer Load Carrying Capacity Information for Motor Vehicles with a GVWR of 4,536 kilograms (10,000 pounds) or Less. JLG filed a report dated July 16, 2014, pursuant to 49 CFR part 573, Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports. JLG then petitioned NHTSA under 49 CFR part 556 requesting a decision that the subject noncompliance is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety.

This document denies a rulemaking petition submitted by Mr. James E. Hofferberth on April 1, 2013. His petition includes two requests: (1) To regulate the performance of supplementary automotive restraint systems that are marketed specifically for pregnant women; and (2) to require prominent warning labels in all vehicles with the intent of informing pregnant women that ``seat belts could injure or kill their unborn child,'' specifically by crushing the unborn baby in a frontal crash. NHTSA is denying the petition to regulate the performance of these systems because the agency does not have sufficient information at this time to state whether there is an additional net safety benefit/disbenefit to be derived from their use or whether one type of device is superior to another. NHTSA is denying the petition for labeling because this would provide advice that, if followed, would threaten the safety of both the mother and the unborn child in a crash.

NHTSA, on behalf of the Federal Interagency Committee on Emergency Medical Services (FICEMS), is seeking comments from all sources (public, private, governmental, academic, professional, public interest groups, and other interested parties) on the planned revision of the 1996 Emergency Medical Services Agenda for the Future (EMS Agenda). FICEMS was created (42 U.S.C. 300d-4) by the Secretaries of Transportation, Health and Human Services and Homeland Security to, in part, ensure coordination among the Federal agencies involved with State, local, tribal or regional emergency medical services and 9-1-1 systems. FICEMS has statutory authority to identify State and local Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and 9-1-1 needs, to recommend new or expanded programs and to identify the ways in which Federal agencies can streamline their processes for support of EMS. FICEMS includes representatives from the Department of Defense (DoD) Office of the Assistant Secretary of DefenseHealth Affairs, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR), HHS Indian Health Service (IHS), HHS Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), HHS Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), HHS Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Health Affairs (OHA), DHS U.S. Fire Administration (USFA), NHTSA, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and a State EMS Director appointed by the Secretary of Transportation. On June 19, 2014, FICEMS unanimously approved a motion to proceed with a revision of the EMS Agenda, with a focus on data-driven approaches to future improvements. This followed an April 24, 2014 letter in which the National Emergency Medical Services Advisory Council (NEMSAC) issued recommendations to NHTSA regarding revision of the EMS Agenda. NEMSAC's recommendations were as follows: A major revision of the EMS Agenda for the Future should be undertaken as soon as possible; The revision process should be guided by an external entity (not NEMSAC) that will ensure a consensus- and data-driven process with broad stakeholder representation. The goal should be to replicate the process used to develop the original EMS Agenda for the Future, published in 1996; The U.S. Department of Transportation should seek financial support and assistance from members of FICEMS to accomplish this task. The purpose of this notice is to solicit comments on the planned revision of the EMS Agenda, and to request responses to specific questions provided below. This is neither a request for proposals nor an invitation for bids.