Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 44 / Tuesday, March 6, 2001 / Notices 13625

International Hotel in Romulus,

Michigan. Questions relating to the

vehicle regulatory program must be

submitted in writing with a diskette

(Wordperfect) by Friday, March 23,

2001, to the address shown below or by

e-mail. If sufficient time is available,

questions received after March 23, may

be answered at the meeting. The

individual, group or company

submitting a questions(s) does not have

to be present for the questions(s) to be

answered. A consolidated list of the

questions submitted by March 23, 2001,

and the issues to be discussed, will be

posted on NHTSA’s web site (http://

www.nhtsa.dot.gov) by Monday, April

16, 2001, and also will be available at

the meeting. The agency will not hold

a second research and development

public meeting on April 19.

ADDRESSES: Questions for the April 19,

NHTSA Rulemaking Status Meeting,

relating to the agency’s vehicle

regulatory program, should be

submitted to Delia Lopez, NPS–01,

National Highway Traffic Safety

Administration, Room 5401, 400

Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC

20590, Fax Number 202–366–4329, email dlopez@nhtsa.dot.gov. The meeting

will be held at the Best Western

Gateway International Hotel, 9191

Wickham Road, Romulus, Michigan.

The telephone number for the Best

Western Gateway International Hotel is

734–728–2800.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Delia Lopez, (202) 366–1810.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NHTSA

holds a regular, quarterly meeting to

answer questions from the public and

the regulated industries regarding the

agency’s vehicle regulatory program.

Questions on aspects of the agency’s

research and development activities that

relate directly to ongoing regulatory

actions should be submitted, as in the

past, to the agency’s Safety Performance

Standards Office. The purpose of this

meeting is to focus on those phases of

NHTSA activities which are technical,

interpretative or procedural in nature.

Transcripts of these meetings will be

available for public inspection in the

DOT Docket in Washington, DC, within

four weeks after the meeting. Copies of

the transcript will then be available at

ten cents a page, (length has varied from

80 to 150 pages) upon request to DOT

Docket, Room PL–401, 400 Seventh

Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590. The

DOT Docket is open to the public from

10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The transcript

may also be accessed electronically at

http://dms.dot.gov, at docket NHTSA–

99–5087. Questions to be answered at

the quarterly meeting should be

organized by categories to help us

process the questions into an agenda

form more efficiently. Sample format:

I. Rulemaking

A. Crash avoidance

B. Crashworthiness

C. Other Rulemakings

II. Consumer Information

III. Miscellaneous

NHTSA will provide auxiliary aids to

participants as necessary. Any person

desiring assistance of ‘‘auxiliary aids’’

(e.g., sign-language interpreter,

telecommunications devices for deaf

persons (TDDs), readers, taped texts,

brailled materials, or large print

materials and/or a magnifying device),

please contact Delia Lopez on (202)

366–1810, by COB Monday, April 16,

2001.

Issued: February 28, 2001.

Stephen R. Kratzke,

Associate Administrator for Safety

Performance Standards.

[FR Doc. 01–5293 Filed 3–5–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–59–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety

Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA–2001–9023]

RIN 2127–AG18

Automobile Parts Content Labeling;

Review: American Automobile

Labeling Act; Evaluation Report

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic

Safety Administration (NHTSA),

Department of Transportation.

ACTION: Request for comments on

technical report.

SUMMARY: This notice announces

NHTSA’s publication of a Technical

Report reviewing and evaluating its

existing regulation Part 583, Automobile

Parts Content Labeling. The report’s title

is Evaluation of the American

Automobile Labeling Act.

DATES: Comments must be received no

later than July 5, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Report: You may obtain a

copy of the report free of charge by

sending a self-addressed mailing label to

Publications Ordering and Distribution

Services (NAD–51), National Highway

Traffic Safety Administration, 400

Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC

20590. A summary of the report is

available on the Internet for viewing on

line at www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/rules/

regrev/evaluate/809208.html. The full

report is available on the Internet in

PDF format at www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/

rules/regrev/evaluate/pdf/809208.pdf.

Comments: All comments should

refer to the Docket number of this notice

(NHTSA–2001–9023). You may submit

your comments in writing to: U. S.

Department of Transportation Docket

Management, Room PL–401, 400

Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC

20590. You may also submit your

comments electronically by logging onto

the Dockets Management System

website at http://dms.dot.gov. Click on

‘‘Help & Information’’ or ‘‘Help/Info’’ to

obtain instructions for filing the

document electronically.

You may call Docket Management at

202–366–9324 and visit the Docket from

10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through

Friday.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Charles J. Kahane, Chief, Evaluation

Division, NPP–22, Plans and Policy,

National Highway Traffic Safety

Administration, Room 5208, 400

Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC

20590. Telephone: 202–366–2560. FAX:

202–366–2559. E-mail:

ckahane@nhtsa.dot.gov.

For information about NHTSA’s

evaluations of the effectiveness of

existing regulations and programs: Visit

the NHTSA web site at http://

www.nhtsa.dot.gov and click

‘‘Regulations & Standards’’ underneath

‘‘Car Safety’’ on the home page; then

click ‘‘Regulatory Evaluation’’ on the

‘‘Regulations & Standards’’ page.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NHTSA

regulation Part 583 (49 CFR 583),

Automobile Parts Content Labeling

requires passenger vehicles

manufactured after October 1, 1994 to

have labels specifying their percentage

value of U.S./Canadian parts content,

the country of assembly, and countries

of origin of the engine and transmission

(59 FR 37294). This regulation

implements the American Automobile

Labeling Act (AALA) of 1992, and its

purpose is to help consumers in the

selection of new vehicles by providing

information about the country of origin

of vehicles and their parts.

As required by the Government

Performance and Results Act of 1993

and Executive Order 12866 (58 FR

51735), NHTSA reviews existing

regulations to determine if they are

achieving policy goals. This evaluation

is based on a 1998 consumer survey to

see if new-vehicle purchasers know

about the labels, understand them, and/

or use them to help select a vehicle;

manufacturer and dealer surveys to

learn about their response to the labels;

and statistical analyses of the actual

trends in U.S./Canadian parts content in

new motor vehicles after 1994.

13626 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 44 / Tuesday, March 6, 2001 / Notices

Over 75 percent of the 646 consumer

survey participants were unaware of the

existence of the AALA labels. Many

participants who did read the label said

they used the country-of-assembly

information, but none said they used the

numerical U.S./Canadian parts content

score or the engine/transmission

information. Overall U.S./Canadian

parts content in new cars and light

trucks dropped from 70 percent in

model year 1995 to 67.6 percent in

1998; however, it increased from 47 to

59 percent in transplants while

dropping from 89 to 84 percent in Big

3 vehicles.

How can I influence NHTSA’s thinking

on this evaluation?

NHTSA welcomes public review of

the technical report and invites

reviewers to submit comments about the

data and the statistical methods used in

the analyses. NHTSA will submit to the

Docket a response to the comments and,

if appropriate, additional analyses that

update, supplement or revise the

technical report.

The agency is especially interested in

learning of any additional data or

information on the following topics:

• Measures that could make the labels

more widely known, more convenient,

easier to understand or more influential

for consumers, or less costly to produce.

• Evidence that consumers are aware

of and/or influenced by the labels, or

related information.

• Evidence that the labels, or related

data, have been used as a marketing,

advertising, or public-information tool

by manufacturers, dealers, or any other

organizations.

• Evidence that the labels, or related

considerations have influenced

decisions on where to manufacture or

purchase parts, or to assemble vehicles.

• Factors that have influenced the

trends in U.S./Canadian parts content

before, during and after the 1994–98

period studied in the report.

How do I prepare and submit

comments?

Your comments must be written and

in English. To ensure that your

comments are correctly filed in the

Docket, please include the Docket

number of this document (NHTSA–

2001–9023) in your comments.

Your primary comments must not be

more than 15 pages long (49 CFR

553.21). However, you may attach

additional documents to your primary

comments. There is no limit on the

length of the attachments.

Please send two paper copies of your

comments to Docket Management or

submit them electronically. The mailing

address is U. S. Department of

Transportation Docket Management,

Room PL–401, 400 Seventh Street, SW,

Washington, DC 20590. If you submit

your comments electronically, log onto

the Dockets Management System

website at http://dms.dot.gov and click

on ‘‘Help & Information’’ or ‘‘Help/Info’’

to obtain instructions.

We also request, but do not require

you to send a copy to Charles J. Kahane,

Chief, Evaluation Division, NPP–22,

National Highway Traffic Safety

Administration, Room 5208, 400

Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC

20590 (alternatively, FAX to 202–366–

2559 or e-mail to

ckahane@nhtsa.dot.gov). He can check

if your comments have been received at

the Docket and he can expedite their

review by NHTSA.

How can I be sure that my comments

were received?

If you wish Docket Management to

notify you upon its receipt of your

comments, enclose a self-addressed,

stamped postcard in the envelope

containing your comments. Upon

receiving your comments, Docket

Management will return the postcard by

mail.

How do I submit confidential business

information?

If you wish to submit any information

under a claim of confidentiality, send

three copies of your complete

submission, including the information

you claim to be confidential business

information, to the Chief Counsel, NCC–

01, National Highway Traffic Safety

Administration, Room 5219, 400

Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC

20590. Include a cover letter supplying

the information specified in our

confidential business information

regulation (49 CFR Part 512).

In addition, send two copies from

which you have deleted the claimed

confidential business information to

Docket Management, Room PL–401, 400

Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC

20590, or submit them electronically.

Will the agency consider late

comments?

In our response, we will consider all

comments that Docket Management

receives before the close of business on

the comment closing date indicated

above under DATES. To the extent

possible, we will also consider

comments that Docket Management

receives after that date.

Please note that even after the

comment closing date, we will continue

to file relevant information in the

Docket as it becomes available. Further,

some people may submit late comments.

Accordingly, we recommend that you

periodically check the Docket for new

material.

How can I read the comments

submitted by other people?

You may read the comments by

visiting Docket Management in person

at Room PL–401, 400 Seventh Street,

SW., Washington, DC from 10:00 a.m. to

5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.

You may also see the comments on

the Internet by taking the following

steps:

• Go to the Docket Management

System (DMS) Web page of the

Department of Transportation (http://

dms.dot.gov).

• On that page, click on ‘‘search.’’

• On the next page ((http://

dms.dot.gov/search/) type in the fourdigit Docket number shown at the

beginning of this Notice (6545). Click on

‘‘search.’’

• On the next page, which contains

Docket summary information for the

Docket you selected, click on the

desired comments. You may also

download the comments.

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. 01–5392 Filed 3–5–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–59–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Research and Special Programs

Administration

[Docket No. RSPA–01–8587;

Notice No. 01–06]

Hazardous Materials Safety: Public

Meeting Related to Customer Service

and Regulatory Review

AGENCY: Research and Special Programs

Administration (RSPA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting.

SUMMARY: RSPA will hold a public

meeting to seek information from the

public on improving safety, reducing

costs (especially to small businesses),

and increasing customer service through

RSPA’s management of the national

hazardous materials transportation

safety program. This meeting is being

held in conjunction with a Hazardous

Materials Multimodal Training Seminar

sponsored by RSPA on March 27 and

28, 2001.

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be

held at the Sheraton North Charleston