[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 50 (Tuesday, March 15, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14613-14615]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-05418]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-2021-0085]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Request for 
Comment; Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety Field Operational 
Test

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

ACTION: Notice and request for comments on an extension of a currently 
approved information collection.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), 
this notice announces that the Information Collection Request (ICR) 
summarized 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 document 
describes the collection of information for which NHTSA intends to seek 
OMB approval to allow NHTSA to continue to conduct research on the 
development of a driver alcohol detection system. NHTSA is seeking an 
extension of the information collection, titled ``Driver Alcohol 
Detection System for Safety Field Operational Test'' (OMB Control 
Number 2127-0734), which is currently approved through March 31, 2022. 
The extension is necessary to complete data collection that was delayed 
due to COVID-19 restrictions. The burden hour and cost calculations 
have been adjusted to reflect only the remaining data collection, 
adjustments for recruitment based on current experience, and 
adjustments in participation based on current experience. A Federal 
Register Notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments on the 
following information collection was published on December 30, 2021. 
One comment was received in response to this notice.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before April 14, 2022.

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 Eric Traube, Vehicle Safety Research, 
Human Factors/Engineering Integration Division (NSR-310), (202) 366-
5673, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, W46-424, U.S. 
Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 
20590. Please identify the relevant collection of information by 
referring to its OMB Control Number.

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: Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety Field Operational 
Test.
    OMB Control Number: 2127-0734.
    Form Number: None.
    Type of Request: Extension of a currently approved information 
collection.
    Type of Review Requested: Regular.
    Length of Approval Requested: Three years.
    Summary of the Collection of Information: NHTSA and the Automotive 
Coalition for Traffic Safety (ACTS) began research in February 2008 to 
try to find potential in-vehicle approaches to the problem of alcohol-
impaired driving. Members of ACTS comprise motor vehicle manufacturers 
representing approximately 99 percent of light vehicle sales in the 
U.S. This cooperative research partnership, known as the Driver Alcohol 
Detection System for Safety (DADSS) Program, is exploring the 
feasibility, the potential benefits of, and the public policy 
challenges associated with a more widespread use of non-invasive 
technology to prevent alcohol-impaired driving. The 2008 cooperative 
agreement between NHTSA and ACTS for Phases I and II outlined a program 
of research to assess the state of detection technologies that are 
capable of measuring blood alcohol concentration (BAC) or Breath 
Alcohol Concentration (BrAC). The 2008 cooperative agreement and a 
subsequent 2013 cooperative agreement support the creation and testing 
of prototypes and subsequent hardware that could be installed in 
vehicles. As part of this research program, and pursuant to the 2013 
cooperative agreement, NHTSA and ACTS developed both breath- and touch-
based sensors to evaluate the potential implementation and integration 
of both breath-and touch-based sensor technologies. The sensors are to 
be integrated into a vehicle in a manner that does not significantly 
alter the appearance of the vehicle interior. Further research is 
needed to evaluate the potential implementation and integration of both 
breath- and touch-based sensor technologies.
    The purpose of this information collection is to collect data 
needed to evaluate the functionality of the touch- and breath- based 
sensors in varying operating conditions by having study participants 
provide breath and touch samples in DADSS research vehicles equipped 
with the sensors. Although the sensors will undergo significant 
laboratory testing, it is necessary to evaluate their function in 
extreme real-

[[Page 14614]]

world environmental conditions to ensure that they will be operational 
for the harshest conditions that the sensors will encounter.
    The sensor-equipped research vehicles are used to gather data 
regarding sensor validity and reliability, as well as assess the real-
world use of the sensors with human participants in varying 
environmental conditions, such as weather conditions, road conditions, 
temperatures, altitudes, air conditioner or heater status, window up or 
down, etc. These are the first vehicles ever to be equipped with 
systems designed to be unobtrusive that can measure driver alcohol 
levels. As such, it represents the first opportunity for researchers to 
gain an understanding of the use of the sensors in the operational 
context for which they were designed. Data collected from the study's 
Field Operational Test (FOT or DADSS FOT) will be used to further 
refine the DADSS Performance Specifications and evaluate subsystem/
sensor performance.
    The collection of information consists of: (1) An eligibility 
interview with COVID screening questions and COVID test, (2) a multi-
day FOT of DADSS sensors, and (3) a post-test-day questionnaire. NHTSA 
is currently collecting information for the study and the data 
collection is ongoing. Extension of the study is necessary due to 
COVID-related delays which paused data collection for a period of time 
and during development of new COVID precautions.

Description of the Need for the Information and Proposed Use of the 
Information

    60-Day Notice: A Federal Register notice with a 60-day comment 
period soliciting public comments on the following information 
collection was published on December 30, 2021 (89 FR 74427).
    NHTSA received one comment in response to this notice. Mothers 
Against Drunk Driving (MADD) ``supports NHTSA's request for an 
extension of the information collection.'' They further urge action to 
help meet the deadline mandated in the advanced technology provisions 
of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act calling for the Agency to 
mandate that drunk and impaired driving prevention technology become 
standard equipment in all new passenger motor vehicles. MADD recognizes 
the timing of completion of NHTSA efforts and ``adherence to the 
deadline mandated in the law is vital to the lives of the American 
public.'' NHTSA appreciates the time and consideration of MADD in 
responding to the 60-day Federal Register notice.
    Affected Public: General Public.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 2,787.
    When NHTSA sought approval for the currently approved information 
collection, it described its plan for collecting data from 480 unique 
respondents. In order to recruit 480 participants who would complete 
the field operational test, NHTSA estimated that 600 respondents would 
need to complete the initial eligibility screening (a 75% recruitment 
rate). Based on experience, NHTSA has found that the actual recruitment 
rate is much lower than anticipated. As of August 31, 2021, 62 
participants had been successfully recruited and participated in the 
FOT. Successful recruitment involved a screening of 420 individuals, 
for a recruitment rate of 15 percent. Since NHTSA needs to recruit 418 
more participants, NHTSA estimates that the research team would need to 
screen 2,787 individuals.
    Frequency: Varies.
    There are four different components to this information collection 
and the frequency for response varies across the components: The 
initial eligibility screening is conducted one-time; the full 
orientation is conducted one-time; the health screening is conducted 
each time that an individual participates in the FOT; and the FOT is 
conducted as many times as the individual wishes, up to 60 times.
    Number of Responses: Varies.
    Each of the different components in this information collection has 
a different number of responses: The initial eligibility screening is 
estimated at 2,787 responses; the full orientation is estimated at 418 
responses; the health screening is estimated at 468 responses; and the 
FOT is estimated at 890 responses.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 3,249.
    When NHTSA originally obtained clearance for this ICR, the agency 
did not expect to need to renew the collection. Instead, it was 
expected that the data collection would have been completed within the 
three-year clearance period. However, COVID-19 delayed the research 
effort, necessitating this request for extension. Accordingly, NHTSA is 
requesting an extension of this currently approved information 
collection for the portion of the planned data collection that still 
needs to be completed. As of August 31, 2021, collection is complete 
for 62 participants of the necessary 480 participants. Therefore, NHTSA 
is requesting approval for the collection of information from 418 
remaining participants and individuals screened in order to recruit the 
418 participants. In estimating the burden of this collection, NHTSA 
has made adjustments, based on its experience with recruitment and data 
collection under the current collection, to its estimates for numbers 
of screenings, duration associated with information collection, and 
frequency of data collection of various phases of the study. NHTSA has 
also added new COVID-19 screening questions and a COVID-19 test 
requirement for the safety of both researchers and study participants. 
These new COVID-19 safety measures will be carried out in accordance 
with CDC guidelines and the data from the screening questions and tests 
will not be retained nor used for analytic purposes.
    When NHTSA originally sought approval for this research study, it 
estimated that each initial eligibility/demographic interview would 
take approximately 15 minutes. With experience, NHTSA is now revising 
the estimate to be 30 minutes. NHTSA is also revising its burden 
estimates to include time for health screenings each time a respondent 
participates in the FOT after their first day. On the first day, 
participants will go through a full orientation, which is expected to 
last 1 hour and includes both a health screening and in-vehicle 
instruction. NHTSA estimates that the health screening portion takes 
approximately 30 minutes.
    NHTSA originally estimated burdens associated with this collection 
assuming that each participant would complete the FOT 60 times. This 
was based on the maximum amount of participation. However, based on the 
experience of the data collection through August 31, 2021, participants 
are, on average, completing the FOT 2.13 times. Of the 62 participants 
who have completed the FOT thus far, 27 participated only once. The 
remaining 35 participated an average of 3 times each. Using this 
average, NHTSA estimates that the remaining 418 participants will 
complete a total of 890 operational tests.
    Based on experience, NHTSA has also revised the estimated burden 
hours for the FOT. NHTSA now estimates the average duration of the pre-
drive, drive, and post-drive recovery to be five hours (this estimate 
does not include orientation time, which is estimated separately).
    NHTSA has also revised estimates to include the time for test-day 
questions in the burden estimate for FOT. These questions were counted 
separately in the initial ICR. However, the question responses are 
collected during the post-drive recovery time and included in the

[[Page 14615]]

average time for participants in the FOT portion of the study.
    NHTSA estimates the total burden for the remaining data collection 
to be 6,498 hours. The research team expects the data collection to 
take place over 24 months, for an average of 3,249 hours per year. This 
is longer than initially estimated due to observed difficulty in 
recruitment.
    NHTSA estimates the opportunity cost associated with this 
information collection using the median hourly wage for the Southwest 
Virginia nonmetropolitan area of $15.34 per hour for all 
occupations,\1\ resulting in a total opportunity cost of $99,679.32 and 
an annual opportunity cost of $49,839.66.
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    \1\ Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. May 2020 
Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and 
Wage Estimates-Southwest Virginia nonmetropolitan area. U.S. Bureau 
of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/oes/2020/may/oes_5100001.htm. Last Accessed 12/27/21.
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    Table 1 provides a summary of the remaining burden hours for this 
information collection.

                                            Table 1--Estimated Burden Hours and Associated Opportunity Costs
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                                                                                                                                              Estimated
                 Instrument                    Number of    Number of                  Duration                   Estimated       Cost per   opportunity
                                               responses   respondents                                           burden hours       hour         cost
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Eligibility/Demographic Interview...........        2,787        2,787  30 min (0.5 hrs).....................          1,393.5       $15.34   $21,376.29
Full Orientation............................          418          418  1 hour...............................              418        15.34     6,412.12
Health Screening Only.......................          468          234  30 min (0.5 hrs).....................              234        15.34     3,589.66
Field Operational Test......................          890          418  5 hours..............................            4,452        15.34    68,293.68
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    Total (covering a 24-month period)......  ...........  ...........  .....................................  6,497.5 (6,498)  ...........    99,679.32
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Estimated Annual Burden.....................  ...........  ...........  .....................................            3,249  ...........    49,839.66
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    The 30-day Federal Register notice contained errors in the 
estimated opportunity cost for the Full Orientation, Health Screening 
Only, and Field Operational Test. Those errors were typographical, did 
not affect the calculations for total, and have been corrected in this 
notice.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Cost: $0.
    NHTSA estimates that there are no additional costs to respondents 
beyond those associated with opportunity cost. To offset these costs, 
NHTSA is paying respondents who participate in the FOT $19.50 per hour.
    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, e.g., permitting electronic submission of 
responses.
    Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995; 44 U.S.C. chapter 
35, as amended; 49 CFR 1.49; and DOT Order 1351.29.

Cem Hatipoglu,
Associate Administrator, Vehicle Safety Research.
[FR Doc. 2022-05418 Filed 3-14-22; 8:45 am]
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