
[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 6 (Monday, January 11, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1288-1289]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-296]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-2015-0121]


Developing Evidence Based Fatigue Risk Management Guidelines for 
Emergency Medical Services

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

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is 
announcing a meeting that will be held in Washington, DC on February 
2nd, 2016 to announce a new initiative and accept comments from the 
public about the development of voluntary evidence-based guidelines 
(EBGs) for fatigue risk management tailored to the Emergency Medical 
Services (EMS) occupation. The meeting will include presentations by 
NHTSA and the project team. These presentations will address the 
following: (1) A brief overview of the potential dangers of drowsy and 
fatigued driving and the work of EMS practitioners, including the risk 
of traffic crashes and providing patient care; (2) a summary of the 
project goals and methods for coming to consensus on EBG fatigue risk 
management guidelines, (3) the plan for dissemination of EBGs, and (4) 
additional project related activities and information. Due to space 
limitations, attendance at the meeting is limited to invited 
participants and those who register in advance. Time for comment and 
questions from attendees will be included. Written comments can also be 
made on http://www.regulations.gov.

DATES: The meeting will be held on February 2nd, 2016 from 8:00 a.m. to 
12:00 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held in the Conference Center of the 
U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., 
Washington, DC 20590.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. J. Stephen Higgins, Telephone: 
202-366-3976; email address: james.higgins@dot.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The National Highway Traffic Safety 
Administration (NHTSA) is announcing a meeting that will be held in 
Washington, DC on February 2nd, 2016 to announce a new initiative and 
accept comments from the public about the development of voluntary 
evidence-based guidelines (EBGs) for fatigue risk management tailored 
to the EMS occupation. This initiative (http://www.ems.gov/pdf/nemsac/2013/NEMSAC-AdvisoryFatigueJan2013.pdf) was started at the behest of 
the National Emergency Medical Services Advisory Committee (NEMSAC), a 
congressionally authorized Federal Advisory Committee; sponsored by 
NHTSA; and the work performed by the National Association of State EMS 
Officials (NASEMSO). The fatigue risk management guidelines for the EMS 
community will be developed by an interdisciplinary team of sleep and 
fatigue scientists, Evidence Based Guideline (EBG) development 
specialists, and experts in emergency medicine and EMS. Final results 
and dissemination are expected within the next two years. The evidence 
based fatigue risk management guidelines will be widely disseminated 
across the EMS community through publications, presentations, and at 
national stakeholder meetings.
    The meeting will be attended by members of the project team, the 
EBG panel, members of the public, and members of the EMS community. The 
meeting will begin with short presentations by NHTSA staff and the 
project team discussing the dangers of drowsy and fatigued driving and 
work, a summary of the project goals and methods for coming to 
consensus on the guidelines, the eventual dissemination of the 
guidelines, and additional project related activities. A majority of 
the time in the meeting will be set aside to accept questions and 
comments from the registered attendees after the brief initial 
presentations. This is to ensure that the voluntary fatigue risk 
management guidelines will address the needs of the entire and diverse 
EMS community. Due to space limitations, attendance at the meeting is 
limited to invited participants and those who register in advance. All 
attendees must bring

[[Page 1289]]

government issued identification to gain admittance to the DOT 
Building. Those who do not register in advance may not be able to 
attend because of limited space in the DOT Conference Center. To 
register please contact J. Stephen Higgins by email: 
james.higgins@dot.gov or by phone: 202-366-3976 (email preferred).
    Public Comment: Members of the public are encouraged to comment 
either in person at the meeting or at http://www.regulations.gov. In 
order to allow as many people as possible to provide comments at the 
meeting, speakers are requested to limit their remarks to 5 minutes. 
You may submit written comments identified by DOT Docket ID Number 
NHTSA-2015-0121 using any of the following methods:
    Electronic submissions: Go to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow 
the on-line instructions for submitting comments.
    Mail: Docket Management Facility, M-30, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., West Building Ground Floor, 
Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590.
    Hand Delivery: West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New 
Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday 
through Friday, except Federal holidays. Fax: 1-(202) 493-2251.
    Instructions: Each submission must include the Agency name and the 
Docket number for this Notice. Note that all comments received will be 
posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov including any 
personal information provided.

    Authority: 49 U.S.C. 30182; 23 U.S.C. 403

Mike Brown,
Acting Associate Administrator, Research and Program Development.
[FR Doc. 2016-296 Filed 1-8-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-59-P


