Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 102 / Thursday, May 25, 2000 / Notices 33881

waves of coordinated and highly publicized

enforcement efforts (i.e., checkpoints) were

implemented in every county. As a result,

seat belt use increased statewide, from 65

percent to over 80 percent, in just a few

months. This program provided the clearest

possible evidence to demonstrate the

potential of highly visible enforcement to

increase seat belt use in a large jurisdiction

(i.e, an entire State).

On the west coast, the State of California

had expended much effort over the years to

enforce its secondary enforcement law. These

efforts were successful in increasing the

statewide usage rate to about 70 percent,

where it plateaued. In 1993, California

became the first State to upgrade its seat belt

law from secondary to primary enforcement.

As a result, the rate of seat belt usage

increased by 13 percentage points (from 70

percent to 83 percent) in the first year after

the law was upgraded.

The California success was a major factor

in rekindling interest among safety officials

in upgrading their secondary enforcement

laws as a way to increase seat belt use. In

1995, Louisiana became the second State to

upgrade from secondary to primary

enforcement. As a result, it experienced an

18 percentage point increase (from 50 percent

to 68 percent) over the next two years. Next,

Georgia upgraded its law and experienced a

15 percentage point increase (from 53 percent

to 68 percent). After mounting a highly

visible enforcement effort in 1998 (Operation

Strap ‘N Snap), Georgia’s usage increased by

another 10 percentage points. Similarly,

Maryland upgraded its seat belt law in 1997,

immediately mounted a two-month

enforcement effort, and experienced a 13

percentage point increase in usage. In 1998,

the District of Columbia reported a 24

percentage point gain in usage (from 58% to

82%) after enacting one of the strongest seat

belt use laws in the nation and implementing

several waves of highly visible enforcement.

Following a 1999 three-week enforcement

effort in Elmira, New York, belt use increased

to 90 percent. Taken together, the

experiences of North Carolina, California,

Louisiana, Georgia, Maryland, the District of

Columbia and most recently Elmira, New

York have clearly demonstrated that highly

visible enforcement of strong laws has

tremendous potential for increasing seat belt

use rates.

Visible enforcement of strong laws also

appears to be an essential component of any

effective program to increase the use of child

safety seats. This is important since early use

of child safety seats contributes to the later

use of seat belts by children and young

adults. There is also a strong relationship

between child safety seat use. Studies

conducted in several States have found that

child safety seat use is nearly three times as

high when a driver is buckled up as when

a driver is not buckled up. Thus, efforts to

persuade adults to buckle up may be the

single most important way to get young

children protected. However, with child

safety seats, correct use is a major concern

and the training of law enforcement officers,

parents, and advocates is needed to minimize

incorrect use and to ensure age-appropriate

graduation to seat belts among young

children who have outgrown safety seats.

Clearly, efforts to increase the use of seat

belts and child safety seats are

interdependent and complementary.

Prior to the 1977 passage of the Child

Passenger Safety (CPS) law in Tennessee,

very little progress was made to get young

children buckled up. Nationally, child safety

seat use was less than 15 percent at the time.

However, the Tennessee law was followed by

the enactment of primary enforcement CPS

laws in all States by 1985. This wave of

legislation resulted in a major increase in

child restraint use. By 1990, usage was

estimated to be above 80 percent for infants

and about 60 percent for toddlers.

Unfortunately, problems such as child seat

misuse, premature graduation to seat belt use

that skips the important step of booster seat

use, and variation in age coverage continue

to exist. Another issue to emerge has been the

danger posed by passenger side air bags to

unrestrained and improperly restrained

children. This has led to NHTSA’s

publication of a final rule for advanced air

bags and a new emphasis on programs to

increase the proper use of child safety seats

and revitalized law enforcement efforts in

this area.

Obstacles to Increasing Seat Belt Use

Over the years, all of the States and many

public and private sector organizations have

been active participants in efforts to increase

seat belt use. Public information and

education efforts have been the dominant

programs funded over the past two decades.

Many States have identified major obstacles

to enacting primary seat belt laws or

implementing highly visible enforcement

programs, even though such programs have

been shown to result in high usage rates.

Most frequently, State (and local) officials

have identified a lack of resources for law

enforcement as the single greatest barrier to

implementing more intense, highly visible

enforcement efforts. This lack of resources

extends to funding, human resources, and

public information support to conduct such

campaigns. Over the past five years, many

officials have indicated that, if they had the

kind of resources provided to States like

North Carolina for the Click It or Ticket

program, they too would be able to mount

similar programs and achieve similar results.

The significant amount of funding that has

become available under this grant program,

combined with the additional new resources

available under other TEA–21 programs,

should drastically reduce this obstacle.

The second most frequently mentioned

obstacle to mounting highly visible

enforcement programs is a lack of support

from key State and local leaders. Experience

with the national mobilizations (Operation

ABC) and with jurisdictions such as North

Carolina, Georgia, Maryland and the District

of Columbia suggests that this obstacle can be

overcome to a significant degree by proactive

efforts to gain the understanding, support

and endorsement of various public and

private organizations. Including a broad

spectrum of such organizations as coalition

members in the State’s occupant protection

program can be very effective in obtaining

the commitment of key persons (e.g., the

governor) and in gaining the support that is

essential for sustained, highly visible

enforcement efforts. Much innovation can be

demonstrated in the way of developing

public and official support for strong

enforcement efforts.

Another obstacle frequently voiced by

State and local enforcement officials is a lack

of judicial and prosecutorial support for the

enforcement of seat belt and child passenger

safety laws. It has frequently been pointed

out that an enforcement program can be

undermined quickly if prosecutors fail to

prosecute seat belt and child safety seat

violations and judges repeatedly dismiss

such cases. This can be overcome to some

extent by educating prosecutors and judges

across the State and urging them to value

occupant protection laws as highly as any

other traffic safety law.

Buckle Up America Campaign

In October 1997, the Buckle Up America

(BUA) Campaign established ambitious

national goals: (a) to increase seat belt use to

85 percent and reduce child-related fatalities

(0–4 years) by 15 percent by the year 2000;

and (b) to increase seat belt use to 90 percent

and reduce child-related fatalities by 25

percent by the year 2005. This Campaign

advocates a four part strategy: (1) building

public-private partnerships; (2) enacting

strong legislation; (3) maintaining high

visibility law enforcement; (4) and

conducting effective public education.

Central to this Campaign’s success is the

encouragement of primary seat belt use laws

and the implementation of two major

enforcement mobilizations each year

(Memorial Day and Thanksgiving holidays).

During the November 1999 mobilization

conducted throughout the week surrounding

Thanksgiving, over 7,100 police agencies

from all 50 states participated in Operation

ABC.

The BUA Campaign and the efforts of the

Air Bag and Seat Belt Safety Campaign

(including Operation ABC) provide a useful

framework for the implementation of this

grant program. They provide a blueprint for

projects that States may wish to implement,

using funds to be made available in

accordance with this notice. Conversely, this

grant program provides an unprecedented

opportunity to achieve the ambitious goals

established under the BUA Campaign.

[FR Doc. 00–13099 Filed 5–24–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–59–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Research and Special Programs

Administration

International Standards on the

Transport of Dangerous Goods; Public

Meetings

AGENCY: Research and Special Programs

Administration (RSPA), Department of

Transportation.

ACTION: Notice of public meetings.

33882 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 102 / Thursday, May 25, 2000 / Notices

1The transaction does not include the right or

obligation to conduct common carrier freight

operations. Heart of Georgia Railroad, Inc. (HOG)

acquired the exclusive rail freight easement over the

rail line. See Heart of Georgia Railroad, Inc.—

Acquisition and Operation Exemption—State of

Georgia and Georgia Southwestern Railroad, Inc.,

STB Finance Docket No. 33867 (STB served May 4,

2000). HOG currently conducts and will continue

to conduct common carrier freight operations over

the rail line. Neither GDOT nor GSWR will have a

common carrier obligation to provide freight

services when this transaction is completed.

2A motion to dismiss has been filed in this

proceeding. The motion will be addressed in a

subsequent Board decision.

SUMMARY: This notice is to advise

interested persons that RSPA will

conduct public meetings in preparation

for and to report the results of the

eighteenth session of the United

Nation’s Sub-Committee of Experts on

the Transport of Dangerous Goods

(UNSCOE) to be held July 3–13, 2000 in

Geneva, Switzerland.

DATES: June 21, 2000 10 a.m.–1 p.m.,

Room 6244–6248; July 19, 2000, 10

a.m.–1 p.m., Room 6244–6248.

ADDRESSES: Both meetings will be held

at DOT Headquarters, Nassif Building,

Room 6244–6248, 400 Seventh Street

SW., Washington, DC 20590.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Frits

Wybenga, International Standards

Coordinator, Office of Hazardous

Materials Safety, or Bob Richard,

Assistant International Standards

Coordinator, Office of Hazardous

Materials Safety, Department of

Transportation, Washington, DC 20590;

(202) 366–0656.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

primary purpose of the first meeting

will be to prepare for the eighteenth

session of the UNSCOE and to discuss

U.S. positions on UNSCOE proposals.

The primary purpose of the second

meeting will be to provide a briefing on

the outcome of the UNSCOE session and

to prepare for the twenty-first Session of

the United Nations Committee of

Experts on the Transport of Dangerous

Goods (UNSCOE) which is scheduled

for December 4–13, 2000 in Geneva,

Switzerland. Topics to be covered

during the public meetings include: (1)

Global harmonization of classification

criteria, (2) Reformatting the UN

Recommendations into a model rule, (3)

Criteria for Environmentally Hazardous

Substances, (4) Intermodal portable tank

requirements including requirements for

the transport of solids in portable tanks,

(5) Requirements applicable to small

quantities of hazardous materials in

transport (limited quantities) including

package marking requirements, package

quantity limits and requirements

applicable to consumer commodities,

(6) Harmonized requirements for

compress gas cylinders, (7)

Classification of individual substances,

(8) Requirements for bulk and non-bulk

packagings used to transport hazardous

materials and (9) Hazard

communication requirements including

harmonized shipping paper

requirements.

The public is invited to attend

without prior notification.

Documents

Copies of documents for the UNSCOE

meeting may be obtained by

downloading them from the United

Nations Transport Division’s web site at

http://www.unece.org/trans/main/dgdb/

dgsubc/dgscomm.html. Information

concerning UN dangerous goods

meetings including agendas can be

downloaded at http://www.unece.org/

trans/danger/meetings.htm#ST/SG.

These sites may also be accessed

through RSPA’s Hazardous Materials

Safety Homepage at http://

hazmat.dot.gov/intstandards.htm.

RSPA’s site also provides information

regarding the UNSCOE and related

matters such as a summary of decisions

taken at the 17th session of the

UNSCOE, meeting dates and a summary

of the primary topics which the

UNSCOE plans to address in the 1999–

2000 biennium.

Issued in Washington, DC, on May 22,

2000.

Robert A. McGuire,

Acting Associate Administrator for

Hazardous Materials Safety.

[FR Doc. 00–13183 Filed 5–24–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–60–M

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board

[STB Finance Docket No. 33876]

State of Georgia, Department of

Transportation—Acquisition

Exemption—Georgia Southwestern

Railroad, Inc.

The State of Georgia, Department of

Transportation (GDOT), a noncarrier,

has filed a verified notice of exemption

under 49 CFR 1150.31 to acquire from

Georgia Southwestern Railroad, Inc.

(GSWR) certain railroad assets,

including approximately 71.13 miles of

rail line extending between Rochelle,

GA (milepost 644.00), and a point near

Preston, GA (milepost 713.00), and

between Omaha, GA ( milepost 753.00),

and Mahrt, AL (milepost 755.13).1

The transaction is scheduled to take

place as soon as possible after the May

22, 2000 effective date of the exemption.

If the notice contains false or

misleading information, the exemption

is void ab initio.2 Petitions to reopen the

proceeding to revoke the exemption

under 49 U.S.C. 10502(d) may be filed

at any time. The filing of a petition to

revoke will not automatically stay the

transaction.

An original and 10 copies of all

pleadings, referring to STB Finance

Docket No. 33876, must be filed with

the Surface Transportation Board, Office

of the Secretary, Case Control Unit, 1925

K Street, NW., Washington, DC 20423–

0001. In addition, a copy of each

pleading must be served on Luke

Cousins, State of Georgia, Department of

Transportation, #2 Capitol Square, S.W.,

Atlanta, GA 30334–1002.

Board decisions and notices are

available on our website at

‘‘WWW.STB.DOT.GOV.’’

Decided: May 18, 2000.

By the Board, David M. Konschnik,

Director, Office of Proceedings.

Vernon A. Williams,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 00–13171 Filed 5–24–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4915–00–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Submission for OMB Review;

Comment Request

May 16, 2000.

The Department of Treasury has

submitted the following public

information collection requirement(s) to

OMB for review and clearance under the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995,

Public Law 104–13. Copies of the

submission(s) may be obtained by

calling the Treasury Bureau Clearance

Officer listed. Comments regarding this

information collection should be

addressed to the OMB reviewer listed

and to the Treasury Department

Clearance Officer, Department of the

Treasury, Room 2110, 1425 New York

Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20220.

DATES: Written comments should be

received on or before June 26, 2000 to

be assured of consideration.