National Highway Traffic Safety Administration October 2018 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) invites public comments about our intention to request the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval to renew an information collection. Before a Federal agency can collect certain information from the public, it must receive approval from the Office of Management and Budget (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 corrects information in the proposed rule published in the August 24, 2018 issue of the Federal Register entitled The Safer Affordable Fuel-Efficient (SAFE) Vehicles Rule for Model Years 2021-2026 Passenger Cars and Light Trucks. Specifically, a table in the Paperwork Reduction Act section is corrected; two minor changes are made to one amendatory instruction in NHTSA's regulatory text, and the coefficients specifying the proposed carbon dioxide standards in EPA's regulatory text have been corrected to reflect EPA's proposal to exclude credits for direct A/C emissions for purposes of compliance with carbon dioxide standards after model year 2020, as explained in Section III of the proposed rule. This document contains only clerical corrections and makes no updates to either the proposal or to the analysis underlying the proposal. For the reader's information, an updated Preliminary Regulatory Impact Assessment (PRIA) will also be made available concurrent with this notice; that document will include descriptions starting on the second page detailing the corrections to various tables and figures therein.

NHTSA is seeking public comment on matters related to the near-term and long-term challenges of Automated Driving Systems (ADS) testing, development and eventual deployment. ADS testing and development are already underway in several areas of the United States. As technology evolves and in anticipation of requests to test and further develop high and full ADS, including those in vehicles without traditional controls necessary for a human driver, NHTSA is issuing this ANPRM to obtain public comments on the factors and structure that are appropriate for the Agency to consider in designing a national pilot program that will enable it to facilitate, monitor and learn from the testing and development of the emerging advanced vehicle safety technologies and to assure the safety of those activities. The Agency seeks these comments from interested stakeholders, including State and local authorities, companies, researchers, safety advocates and other experts interested in, engaged in or planning to become engaged in the design, development, testing, and deployment of motor vehicles with high and full driving automation. The Agency also seeks comments from road users, including vehicle drivers and passengers, cyclists and pedestrians. More specifically, NHTSA requests comments on the following topics related to ADS safety research. First, NHTSA seeks comments on potential factors that should be considered in designing a pilot program for the safe on-road testing and deployment of vehicles with high and full driving automation and associated equipment. Second, the Agency seeks comments on the use of existing statutory provisions and regulations to allow for the implementation of such a pilot program. Third, the Agency seeks comment on any additional elements of regulatory relief (e.g., exceptions, exemptions, or other potential measures) that might be needed to facilitate the efforts to participate in the pilot program and conduct on-road research and testing involving these vehicles, especially those that lack controls for human drivers and thus may not comply with all existing safety standards. Fourth, with respect to the granting of exemptions to enable companies to participate in such a program, the Agency seeks comments on the nature of the safety and any other analyses that it should perform in assessing the merits of individual exemption petitions and on the types of terms and conditions it should consider attaching to exemptions to protect public safety and facilitate the Agency's monitoring and learning from the testing and deployment, while preserving the freedom to innovate. By developing a robust record of the answers to these important questions, NHTSA expects to learn more about the progress of ADS and the ways in which the Agency can facilitate safe and efficient ADS testing and deployment for the benefit of individual consumers and the traveling public as a whole.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 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. The ICR describes the nature of the information collection and its expected burden. A Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting public comments on the following information collection was published on July 17, 2018. This notice addresses comments received.