23770 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 96 / Wednesday, May 20, 2009 / Notices 

(4) ways that the burden could be 

minimized, including the use of 

electronic technology, without reducing 

the quality of the collected information. 

The agency will summarize and/or 

include your comments in the request 

for OMB’s clearance of this information 

collection. 

Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act 

of 1995; 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, as amended; 

and 49 CFR 1.48. 

Issued On: May 14, 2009. 

James R. Kabel, 

Chief, Management Programs and Analysis 

Division. 

[FR Doc. E9–11727 Filed 5–19–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Highway Administration 

[U.S. DOT Docket No. FHWA–2009–0054] 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities: Request for Comments for a 

New Information Collection, Titled: 

Reports, Forms and Recordkeeping 

Requirements 

AGENCY: Federal Highway 

Administration, DOT. 

ACTION: Request for comments. 

SUMMARY: The FHWA invites public 

comments about our intention to request 

the Office of Management and Budget’s 

(OMB) approval for a new information 

collection, which is summarized below 

under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION. We 

published a Federal Register Notice 

with a 60-day public comment period 

on this information collection on 

February 26, 2009. We are required to 

publish this notice in the Federal 

Register by the Paperwork Reduction 

Act of 1995. 

DATES: Please submit comments by June 

19, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

identified by Docket ID Number FHWA– 

2009–0054 by any of the following 

methods: 

Web Site: For access to the docket to 

read background documents or 

comments received go to the Federal 

eRulemaking Portal: Go to http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the online 

instructions for submitting comments. 

Fax: 1–202–493–2251. 

Mail: Docket Management Facility, 

U.S. Department of Transportation, 

West Building Ground Floor, Room 

W12–140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., 

Washington, DC 20590–0001. 

Hand Delivery or Courier: U.S. 

Department of Transportation, West 

Building Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., 

Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. 

and 5 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday, 

except Federal holidays. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Thomas Granda, PhD, Team Leader, 

Human Centered Systems, Office of 

Safety Research and Development, 

HRDS–07, Turner-Fairbank Highway 

Research Center, Federal Highway 

Administration, 6300 Georgetown Pike, 

McLean, VA 22101, tel. 202–493–3365 

between 8 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., Monday 

through Friday, except Federal holidays, 

or Paul J. Tremont, PhD (same address) 

at 202–493–3338. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Title: Reports, Forms and 

Recordkeeping Requirements. 

The FHWA invites public comments 

on our intention to request the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) to 

approve a total of 30 field and 

laboratory research studies that will 

include collections of information from 

the general public. These studies will be 

conducted over a period not to exceed 

3 years with an annual burden of 

approximately 1000 hours and a grand 

total burden of approximately 3000 

hours. These collections are integral to 

the performance of various analytical, 

field, and laboratory human factors 

research projects that FHWA intends to 

conduct in support of its mission of 

improving safety and increasing 

mobility on our Nation’s highways 

through National Leadership, 

Innovation, and Program Delivery. 

The field and laboratory research 

FHWA conducts usually involves 

observations of driver behavior. In the 

field, these studies are often completely 

non-intrusive. However, some field 

research studies require that interview 

data be collected from individuals in the 

field. For example, if drivers are 

participating in a research study on a 

novel intersection, interview data might 

be acquired from a subset of drivers to 

determine what they observed while 

driving or how they made their 

decisions. In these cases the interview 

will be brief (10–15 minutes). The same 

procedure may be used with laboratory 

studies. 

The vast majority of laboratory and 

field studies that FHWA conducts 

acquire data on human performance in 

controlled experimental settings. For 

example, FHWA may be interested in 

drivers’ reactions to the visibility of 

signs of differing reflectivity. 

Research Areas and Associated 

Collections 

The FHWA Office of Safety Research 

and Development intends to conduct 

analytical, field, and laboratory research 

projects focused on highway safety that 

will require acquisition of data from 

small samples of the general public. 

This research is directed at human 

factors issues within the following 

broad program areas: (A) infrastructure 

design including innovative intersection 

configurations and signage and roadway 

markings; (B) highway operations; (C) 

intelligent transportation systems, 

including traffic management centers; 

(D) driver-vehicle and infrastructurevehicle interfaces; (E) older and younger 

driver programs; and (F) pedestrian and 

bicyclist concerns. Given that the focus 

of the research in the above areas is on 

human factors issues, it will require that 

data be collected on a few key 

demographic variables such as age, 

gender, and driving experience. The 

data collected will not be linked to 

personal identifying information. Before 

any study is conducted under this 

approval request, a thorough review will 

be undertaken to ensure such data is not 

currently available, and that the 

proposed study does not duplicate other 

work. 

Situations that Require Collections of 

Information—Examples from Each 

Category 

Category A Infrastructure Design. An 

example from Category A would be a 

study designed to test an innovative 

intersection design such as a Diverging 

Diamond Interchange (DDI). This is a 

highly efficient intersection design, but 

if not properly implemented, it could 

potentially cause confusion. In a DDI, 

drivers cross over to the left side of the 

highway, with the result that opposing 

traffic is placed on their right side. 

When testing a DDI, FHWA will need to 

know whether drivers perceived any 

ambiguity in the signage, if they had any 

orientation problems seeing opposing 

traffic on their right, and if they have 

any suggestions for improving the 

overall ease with which such an 

intersection could be driven. Other 

innovative intersection designs would 

also benefit from similar information 

acquired from drivers. Roadway 

departure is another problem area that 

could benefit from individual driver 

data. For example, it would be helpful 

to know how drivers perceive their 

interaction with the infrastructure led to 

or prevented roadway design. 

Category B Highway Operations. One 

of the many challenges confronting 

highway engineers is designing a signal 

system that maximizes throughput and 

minimizes delay. Excess delay can have 

the unintended consequence of 

encouraging drivers to run red lights. 

This problem can be examined by 

Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 96 / Wednesday, May 20, 2009 / Notices 23771 

observing drivers’ behavior under 

differing signaling conditions. However, 

direct verbal reports of drivers are often 

needed to determine why drivers are 

making their decisions. For example 

FHWA may learn from questioning 

drivers that they would be less likely to 

speed up when approaching a signal if 

they knew the signal system would 

recognize this behavior and respond 

accordingly. One way this might happen 

is by advising the motorist earlier of the 

impending signal change. Driver 

interviews performed under this study 

area can provide information on many 

key issues including behavioral 

adaptation, decision making, and 

reaction times to signal phases and 

changes. This kind of information could 

lead to improvements to signal 

controllers that increase mobility and 

improve safety. Speed management is 

another area that could benefit from 

interview data. For example, lower 

speed limits in construction zones are 

difficult to enforce, and interview data 

with drivers can provide information on 

better methods of restraining driver 

speeds in these hazardous situations. 

Categories C and D (Intelligent 

Transportation Systems (ITS), including 

Driver-Vehicle and Driver-Infrastructure 

Interfaces and Traffic Management 

Centers). One ITS safety countermeasure 

being studied by FHWA is a system to 

protect the potential victim of a red light 

runner at a signalized intersection. ITS 

affords the capability, via wireless 

communication and advanced sensing 

technologies, to warn a driver if another 

driver is about to run a red light and a 

collision is imminent. This warning can 

be given in the car or from special 

signals placed in the infrastructure. 

FHWA is interested in determining how 

drivers respond to these new warnings 

that tell them to slow down or stop. 

Information acquired in interviews with 

drivers is needed to clarify their 

understanding of the purpose of various 

special signals, as well as aspects of 

their behavior not readily detectable, 

such as whether they checked their rear 

view mirror before braking, and whether 

they would have proceeded through the 

intersection had the signal not come on. 

Such information will assist FHWA in 

designing intelligent infrastructure 

systems to benefit highway safety and 

operations. 

Category E (Older and Younger 

Drivers). The opinions of these two high 

risk groups are needed for almost all 

FHWA safety related studies. For 

example, data on the ease of use 

expressed by older drivers with respect 

to an innovative design informs the 

engineer which aspects of the new 

design present potential safety problems 

and may be in need of modification. In 

contrast, young drivers present a 

separate set of challenges for highway 

engineers. Their ability to negotiate a 

new design may be less of a concern, 

however; it is necessary to understand 

how these drivers regard the conflict 

points presented by new designs. This 

is of particular importance as some 

younger drivers may be willing to take 

extra risks in situations where 

ambiguity exists. Gathering verbal 

feedback from younger drivers will help 

engineers determine areas of potential 

ambiguity in design and modify these 

areas as necessary to ensure they are not 

introducing safety hazards. 

Category F (Pedestrians and 

Bicyclists). Research related to 

pedestrians and bicyclists arises from 

the need to determine the most effective 

ways to accommodate these 

infrastructure users. While overt 

pedestrian and bicyclist behavior can be 

directly observed fairly easily, it is 

sometimes necessary to collect user 

opinions and reactions. For example, 

when a new intersection design is being 

introduced (e.g., a triple lane 

roundabout) it is especially 

advantageous to acquire data that 

provides insights into the needs and 

challenges that pedestrians and 

bicyclists face as they negotiate such an 

intersection. The needs of disabled 

pedestrians are also considered when 

researching new intersection treatments, 

and in these efforts FHWA works 

closely with the U.S. Access Board to 

ensure that novel intersection 

treatments accommodate their needs. 

Another example of research in this area 

is determining bicyclists’ reactions to 

such treatments as separately marked 

bicycle lanes, signage, and overall 

roadway configuration. 

Description of How Field and 

Laboratory Study Participants Will Be 

Acquired 

Samples for research studies will be 

acquired by advertisement in local 

papers, by the distribution of flyers, or 

by postings to the internet. Typically, 

interested parties contact FHWA and 

they are asked a few questions to 

determine whether they qualify for the 

study. These questions involve such 

issues as age, driver familiarity with the 

location or scenario being used, number 

of miles driven per year, and gender. 

Estimate of the Total Annual Reporting 

and Recordkeeping Burden Resulting 

From These Information Collections 

and Requests for Comments 

Frequency: This approval request is 

for 30 studies over a 3-year period. 

Individual Respondent Burden: 

FHWA estimates data acquisition from 

persons participating in research will 

average about 1 hour. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden 

Hours: The maximum burden for any 

single field study with in-person 

interviewing will be (200*10)/60 or 33 

hours. The maximum burden for any 

single research study (including a short 

interview of approximately 10 minutes) 

will be (200*60)/60 or 200 hours. The 

grand total of burden hours under this 

approval request is 3,000 hours (30 

studies, at 1 hour per study). Since this 

burden will be over a three-year period, 

the total annual burden becomes 1,000 

hours. Respondents will not incur any 

reporting or record keeping cost, or any 

record keeping burden as a result of 

these collections. 

Public Comments Invited: You are 

asked to comment on any aspect of 

these information collections, including: 

(1) Whether the proposed collections are 

necessary for FHWA’s performance; (2) 

the accuracy of the estimated burden; 

(3) ways for FHWA to enhance the 

quality, usefulness, and clarity of the 

collected information; and (4) ways that 

the burden could be minimized, 

including the use of electronic 

technology, without reducing the 

quality of the collected information. 

FHWA will respond to your comments 

and summarize or include them when 

requesting clearance from OMB for 

these information data collections. 

Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act 

of 1995; 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, as amended; 

and 49 CFR 1.48. 

Issued on May 14, 2009. 

James R. Kabel, 

Chief, Management Programs and Analysis 

Division. 

[FR Doc. E9–11726 Filed 5–19–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Highway Administration 

[Docket No. FHWA–2009–0039] 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities: Notice of Request for 

Renewal of a Previously Approved 

Information Collection Titled: Federal 

Highway Administration (FHWA) State 

Reports for American Recovery and 

Reinvestment Act (ARRA) 

AGENCY: Federal Highway 

Administration (FHWA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of request for comments. 

SUMMARY: The FHWA invites public 

comments about our intention to request