25544 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 89 / Friday, May 8, 1998 / Notices

information regulation. (49 CFR Part

512).

All comments received before the

close of business on the comment

closing date will be considered, and will

be available for examination in the

docket at the above address both before

and after that date. To the extent

possible, comments filed after the

closing date will also be considered.

The NHTSA will continue to file

relevant information as it becomes

available in the docket after the closing

date, and it is recommended that

interested people continue to examine

the docket for new material.

People desiring to be notified upon

receipt of their comments in the rules

docket should enclose a self-addressed,

stamped postcard in the envelope with

their comments. Upon receiving the

comments, the docket supervisor will

return the postcard by mail.

Authority: 49 U.S.C. 30111, 30168;

delegation of authority at 49 CFR 1.50 and

501.8.

William H. Walsh,

Associate Administrator for Plans and Policy.

[FR Doc. 98–12232 Filed 5–7–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–59–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety

Administration

Discretionary Grant To Support the

Demonstration and Evaluation of

Programs To Reduce the Incidence of

Illegal Passing of School Buses

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic

Safety Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Announcement of discretionary

grant agreement program to support the

demonstration and evaluation of

programs to reduce the incidence of

illegal passing of school buses.

SUMMARY: The National Highway Traffic

Safety Administration (NHTSA)

announces a discretionary grant

agreement program to support the

demonstration and evaluation of

programs to reduce the incidence of

illegal passing of school buses.

The goal of NHTSA’s school bus

safety program is to reduce school-busrelated fatalities and injuries. While the

number of fatalities and injuries related

to school bus crashes has been

consistently low for over a decade, the

number of motorists illegally passing

school buses is increasing, jeopardizing

the safety record of school

transportation. This cooperative

agreement program will support

development and implementation of

community-based demonstration

projects that have the potential to

substantially reduce the incidence of

illegal passing.

NHTSA anticipates funding up to four

demonstration projects for a minimum

demonstration period encompassing one

complete school year and a total period

of performance of no more than 15

months.

This notice solicits applications from

public and private, non-profit and forprofit organizations, state and local

governments and their agencies.

Interested applicants must submit an

application package as further described

in the Application Procedures section of

this notice. The applications will be

evaluated to determine the proposals

that will receive funding under this

announcement.

DATES: Applications must be received at

the office designated below on or before

3 pm June 10, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Applications must be

submitted to the National Highway

Traffic Safety Administration, Office of

Contracts and Procurement (NAD–30),

ATTN: Rose Watson, 400 7th Street,

SW., Room 5301, Washington, DC

20590. All applications submitted must

include a reference to NHTSA Grant

Agreement Program No. NTS–01–8–

05130.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

General administrative questions may

be directed to Rose Watson, Office of

Contracts and Procurement at (202)

366–9557. Programmatic questions

relating to this grant agreement program

should be directed to Diane Wigle,

Safety Countermeasures Division,

NHTSA, 400 7th Street, SW., (NTS–15),

Washington, DC 20590, by e-mail at

dwigle@nhtsa.dot.gov, or by phone at

(202) 366–4301. Interested applicants

are advised that no separate application

package exists beyond the contents of

this announcement.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

An estimated 23 million students ride

school buses twice daily every school

day to go to and from school. Their safe

travel is a top concern of Federal, State

and local governments, school districts,

school administrators, parents, and

citizens. To ensure their safety, NHTSA

established and currently enforces

Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards

governing the manufacture of buses to

be used to transport school children. In

addition, NHTSA’s Guideline #17

establishes minimum recommendations

for a pupil transportation safety

program, including the identification,

operation, and maintenance of buses

used for carrying students; training of

passengers, pedestrians, and bicycle

riders; and administration.

Even with school-bus-specific Federal

Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and

Guideline #17, some school bus safety

problems persist. One such problem is

the problem of motor vehicles illegally

passing school buses stopped to load/

unload students (also referred to as stoparm violations). Though it is illegal in

every state to pass a school bus stopped

to load or unload students, every state

faces the problem of citizens disobeying

the law.

In October 1997 the National School

Transportation Association conducted a

survey of state school transportation

directors. As part of that survey the

directors were asked to identify the

three biggest issues in their state for

school transportation. The problem of

illegal passing of school buses was

reported as one of their top safety

concerns.

The School Transportation

Management Section (STMS) of the

Florida Department of Education

recently documented the size of that

state’s illegal passing problem. It was

determined through a study conducted

by the University of South Florida for

STMS that on one day in May, 1995,

10,590 vehicles illegally passed stopped

school buses in 58 of Florida’s 67 school

districts (approximtaly 11,150 school

buses). During this same school year,

two of Florida’s public school children

were killed by motorists illegally

passing stopped school buses. However,

the statewide citation totals for the

illegal passing of stopped school buses

accounted for only 13,178 of the over 17

million citations issued for all traffic

violations in the state from 1988 to

1992.

A one-day study conducted

September 24, 1996 revealed that 3,394

Virginia motorists illegally passed a

stopped school bus on that day. Of that

total, 187 involved passing the bus on

the side that students enter and exit. A

total of 119 out of 131 school divisions

in the state participated in the study.

Though Virginia and Florida transport a

similar number of students on a

comparable number of school buses,

Virginia school buses only travel half

the miles Florida school buses travel in

a year.

The Evaluation Unit within the

Division of Traffic Safety of the Illinois

Department of Transportation

conducted a probability-based sample

survey of 250 school buses to arrive at

an estimate of the total number of stoparm violations of school buses in

Illinois. Drivers of the 250 buses were

asked to record stop-arm violations
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 89 / Friday, May 8, 1998 / Notices 25545

during a 41 school day time period. A

total of 135 of the drivers completed and

returned the survey. A total of 3,450

violations were reported by the school

buses involved in the study. Based on

the findings, the estimated number of

stop-arm violations each school year in

Illinois is over 1,900,000, a major traffic

safety problem in Illinois.

Due to the high number of incidents

of illegal passing of school buses, the

tremendous potential safety

consequences of the violations and the

results of the recent studies conducted

on the subject, NHTSA proposes to

support the development and

implementation of four communitybased programs to address the problem

of illegal passing of stopped school

buses. The results of these four

community programs and those of a

variety of other community programs

aimed at reducing the number of

incidents of illegal passing sites will be

included in a manual NHTSA plans to

produce in FY 2000.

Purpose

This grant will support the

development and implementation of up

to four community-based public

information and law enforcement

programs designed to decrease the

incidents of vehicles illegally passing

school buses stopped to load/unload

passengers.

Project eligibility

Applications may be submitted by

public and private, non-profit and forprofit organizations, and state and local

governments and their agencies or a

consortium of these groups. Thus,

schools, research institutions, law

enforcement agencies, community

traffic safety and injury prevention

programs, hospitals, other public and

private (non-or not-for profit)

organizations, and state and local

governments are eligible to apply.

Interested applicants are advised that no

fee or profit will be allowed under this

grant agreement program. Preference

will be given to the proposals that

contain pledges of financial

commitments to the project from other

sources.

Application Procedure

Each applicant must submit one

original signature and two copies of the

grant application package to: Office of

Contracts and Procurement, NAD–30,

DOT/National Highway Traffic Safety

Administration, ATTN: Rose Watson,

400 7th Street, SW, Washington, DC

20590. One additional copy will

facilitate the review process, but is not

required. Applications must include a

completed Application for Federal

Assistance (standard form 424—revised

4–88).

Only complete packages received at

this address on or before 3 pm, June 10,

1998, will be considered. No facsimile

transmissions will be accepted. Due to

the large number of actions being

processed, be certain that the project

number is indicated on the envelope

and the application. Please direct

program related questions to Diane E.

Wigle, (202) 366–4301 and those related

to grant application and administration

nature to Rose Watson, (202) 366–9557.

Application Contents

Applicants must prepare a proposal

that details the demonstration project

they propose to conduct and the specific

activities and costs for which

demonstration grant funds are being

requested.

Applicants need to consult and gain

commitment to the proposed project

from the school system(s) and law

enforcement agencies of the community

in which the project is to be

implemented. At a minimum, letters of

commitment and support from the

involved school system(s) and law

enforcement agencies must be included

in the proposal package. The minimum

demonstration period should

encompass one complete school year

and the total period of performance no

more than 15 months.

The application (one original) and

two copies shall consist of the

following: A signed copy of OMB

standard Form 424 (revised 4/88,

including 424A and 424B) ‘‘Application

for Federal Assistance’’ with the

required information provided and the

Certification Regarding Debarment,

Suspension and Other Responsibility

Matters—Primary Covered Transactions,

Certification Regarding Debarment

Suspension, Ineligibility and Voluntary

Exclusion—Lower Tier Covered

Transactions and Certification regarding

Drug-Free Workplace Requirements:

identification of any portions of the

application for which the applicant

seeks confidentiality (in accordance

with 49 CFR part 512); the Program

Narrative Statement; and address the

following:

A. In accordance with SF 424A,

Budget Information, Sections A, B and

C, a detailed budget estimate of all

activities to be conducted with grant

funding must be provided. Funding

sources, other than the funds being

provided through this grant, are

encouraged. Since activities may be

performed with a variety of financial

resources, applicants need to fully

identify all project costs and their

funding sources in the proposed budget.

The proposed budget must identify all

funding sources in sufficient detail to

demonstrate that the overall objectives

of the demonstration will be met.

B. Program Narrative Statement:

Proposal must fully describe the scope

of the demonstration project, detailing

the activities and costs for which

funding is being requested.

1. Specific activities to implement a

program to reduce the incidence of

illegal passing of school buses for one

complete school year and the total

period of performance of no more than

15 months. This should include goals,

objectives, and strategies. The proposed

countermeasures must be devised from

an analysis of the community problem

of illegal passing of school buses, and

the problem must be fully described in

the proposal, including a demographic

description of the community, e.g. size

of school district, students transported

by school buses, etc.

2. The application should also

include plans for the following:

—Specific education programs for the

target group;

—Broad-based mass media Public

Information and Education program

support;

—Enhanced enforcement program,

including waves of enforcement

throughout the school year;

—Time schedules and milestones for

each activity;

—Interaction between the grantee, local

school system(s), and law

enforcement organizations;

—The responsible agency or

organization to conduct each activity;

—Source, type, and level of support.

3. A description of what will be done

specifically with the demonstration

grant funds, along with the time

schedules, milestones, and any product

deliverables.

4. An identified reporting schedule

for quarterly and final reports to be

submitted as a performance requirement

of the awarded cooperative agreement.

(See TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF

AWARD)

5. An evaluation plan which describes

how the grantee will evaluate the

demonstration project. As a minimum

the Evaluation Plan must contain:

—A description of the evaluation to be

employed to assess the program and

project activities and their

effectiveness. Specify variables

necessary to assess performance and/

or impact for each objective.

Evaluation Criteria and Review Process

Initially all application packages will

be reviewed to ensure that they contain
25546 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 89 / Friday, May 8, 1998 / Notices

all of the items specified in the

Application Contents section of this

announcement. Each complete

application will then be evaluated by a

Technical Evaluation Committee within

NHTSA. The committee will evaluate

the proposals based on the following

criteria presented in order of

importance:

1. Goals, Objectives, and Workplan (35

Percent)

The applicant’s goals are clearly

articulated and the objectives are timephased, specific, measurable, and

achievable. The proposal will achieve

the desired outcome of reducing the

incidence of motorists illegally passing

school buses stopped to load/unload

passengers. The proposal addresses

what the applicant plans to develop and

implement, how this will accomplished,

activities that are appropriate to reach

the target audience, and includes the

major tasks and milestones necessary to

complete the project.

2. Analysis of Community Problem (25)

The proposed program

countermeasures are devised from an

analysis of the community problem of

motorists illegally passing school buses

stopped to load/unload students. This

problem identification data must be

presented in the submitted proposal.

The applicant provides sufficient

evidence of community cooperation and

commitment to be able to successfully

carry out the proposed project. Letters of

commitment from the local school

system(s) and law enforcement agencies

are included in the application.

Community demographics are detailed

in the application.

3. Evaluation Plan (20 Percent)

The proposal clearly describes the

proposed evaluation design and the

methods for measuring the outcomes of

the project. The applicant provides

sufficient evident of community

cooperation and commitment to allow

the plan to be implemented.

4. Staffing and Budget (20 Percent)

The proposed staff are clearly

described, appropriately assigned, and

have adequate skills and experience to

conduct the project. The applicant has

the capacity and facilities to design,

implement, and evaluate the proposed

project. The proposal describes the

project activities in sufficient detail to

support the estimated budget; the

budget is sufficient detailed to allow

NHTSA to determine that the estimated

coats are reasonable and necessary to

perform the proposed efforts. Financial

or in-kind commitment of resources by

the applicant or other supporting

organizations has been clearly

identified.

Availability of Funds and Period of

Support

Approximately $170,000 has been

allocated for this demonstration

program. Subject to the availability of

funds, award amounts may be

approximately $40,000, depending on

the type of demonstration proposed and

the estimated resources required to

accomplish the demonstration

objectives. At the discretion of the

government, funds may be obligated

fully at the time of award of this grant

or incrementally over the period of the

grant. Nothing in this solicitation

should be constructed as committing

NHTSA to make any award.

Special Award Selection Factors

While not a requirement of this

announcement, applicants are strongly

urged to seek funds from other Federal,

state, local, and private sources to

augment those available under this

announcement. For those applicants

that are evaluated as meritorious for

consideration for award, preference may

be given to those that have proposed

cost-sharing strategies and/or have other

proposed funding sources in addition to

those in this announcement.

Terms and Conditions of Award

1. Prior to award, each grantee must

comply with the certification

requirements of 49 CFR part 20,

Department of Transportation New

Restrictions on Lobbying, and 49 CFR

part 29, Department of Transportation

Government-wide Debarment and

Suspension (Non-procurement) and

Government-wide Requirements for

Drug Free Workplace (Grants).

2. Reporting requirements and

deliverables:

A. Quarterly Performance Reports—

Three copies of a letter-type report shall

be submitted to the NHTSA office

designated in the grant award document

within 30 days or the end of the quarter

being reported. This report shall briefly

present information on the progress

made in implementing, operating, and

evaluating and demonstration, and shall

contain information specified in 49 CFR

18.40, Monitoring and Reporting of

Program Performance.

B. Final Report—Three copies of a

final report shall be submitted to the

NHTSA office designated in the grant

award document within 60 days of

project completion. The report must be

submitted in a printed version and in a

WorldPerfect 6.1 file on a standard 1.44

floppy diskette. The final report shall

include the following information at a

minimum:

(a) A two-to-three page executive

summary of the activities undertaken

and the results achieved:

(b) A detailed description of all

activities conducted (during the period

being reported) which impacted the

demonstration:

(c) An analysis and interpretation of

those activities and an assessment of the

results achieved:

(d) A copy of all materials (print,

audio, video, electronic, camera-ready

material, etc.) created under the grant

agreement. In addition all print

materials must be provided in finished

form and on computer diskette with

complete printing instructions

including all fonts used in the product:

and

(e) Recommendations for follow-on

efforts.

3. During the effective performance

period of cooperative agreements

awarded as a result of this

announcement, the agreement as

applicable to the grantee, shall be

subject to the National Highway Traffic

Safety Administration’s General

Provisions for Assistance Agreements,

dated July 1995.

Issued on: April 29, 1998.

James Nichols,

Acting Associate Administrator for Traffic

Safety programs.

Appendix A—Application for Federal

Assistance, Standard Form 424

(rev 4–88)

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[FR Doc. 98–11796 Filed 5–7–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–59–C