[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 242 (Tuesday, December 19, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60273-60274]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-27273]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-2017-0083]


Reports, Forms, and Record Keeping Requirements

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

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this 
notice announces that the Information Collection Request (ICR) 
abstracted below is being forwarded to the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) for review and comments. A Federal Register Notice with a 
60-day comment period soliciting comments on the following information 
was published on September 15, 2017.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before January 18, 2018.

ADDRESSES: Send comments regarding the burden estimate, including 
suggestions for reducing the burden, to the Office of Management and 
Budget, Attention: NHTSA Desk Officer, 725 17th Street NW, Washington, 
DC 20503.
    Comments are invited on the following:

    i. Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary 
for the proper performance of the functions of the Department, 
including whether the information will have practical utility;
    ii. The accuracy of the Department's estimate of the burden of 
the proposed information collection;
    iii. Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected, and
    iv. Ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information 
on respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques 
or other forms of information technology.


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Debbie Sweet, NHTSA, 1200 New 
Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590; Telephone (202) 366-7179; Fax: 
(202) 366-2106; email address: [email protected]. For access to the 
docket to read background documents, go to http://www.regulations.gov 
or the street address listed above. Follow the online instructions for 
accessing the dockets.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: Automated Driving Systems 2.0: A Vision for Safety.
    OMB Clearance Number: 2127-0723.
    Type of Request: Modification of a currently approved information 
collection.
    Abstract: In a separate notice published in the Federal Register on 
September 15, the Department of Transportation announced the 
publication of Voluntary Guidance titled Automated Driving Systems 2.0: 
A Vision for Safety. Recognizing the potential that Automated Driving 
Systems (ADSs) have to enhance safety and mobility, Automated Driving 
Systems 2.0 sets out to support the safe testing and deployment of 
Automated Driving Systems (SAE Automation Levels 3 through 5--
Conditional, High, and Full Automation Systems as defined in SAE J3016) 
on public roads. Automated Driving Systems 2.0: A Vision for Safety 
contains two primary sections: Voluntary Guidance for Automated Driving 
Systems and Technical Assistance to States.
    Consistent with its statutory purpose to reduce traffic crashes and 
deaths and injuries resulting from traffic crashes, NHTSA is amending 
its recommendations for recordkeeping and disclosure of information 
related to automated vehicle technologies by vehicle manufacturers and 
other entities as described in the Voluntary Guidance section of 
Automated Driving Systems 2.0: A Vision for Safety. Specifically, NHTSA 
recommends that manufacturers and other entities assess their ADS-
equipped vehicle against specific safety elements (which were developed 
from industry best practices, existing research, and public input) and 
document that assessment. Further, the Voluntary Guidance recommends 
that entities summarize that assessment and then voluntarily disclose 
that summary to the public. The section Technical Assistance to States 
contains no information collection and thus no associated burden.
    The Voluntary Guidance is meant to help entities evaluate and 
achieve safety goals while assisting states and the public in 
understanding how safety is being considered by manufacturers and other 
entities developing and testing ADSs. By encouraging documentation, 
recordkeeping, and disclosures, NHTSA hopes to encourage safe system 
design while speeding the safe deployment of these potentially life-
saving technologies and reducing crashes that occur on the nation's 
roadways.
    As stipulated in the September 15, 2017 Federal Register notice 
announcing the proposed collection of information (81 FR 43450), the 
burden estimates are based on the Agency's present understanding of the 
ADS market and the time associated with

[[Page 60274]]

following the Voluntary Guidance, generating a self-assessment, and 
voluntarily making a summary of that self-assessment public.
    In summary, NHTSA believes there will be 60 respondents annually 
during the three years covered by this information collection request. 
The modification from the previous estimate considers the addition of 
new entrants as well as the fact that many entities have already begun 
testing automated vehicles and thus are already included in the figure. 
The adjustments of burden hours from the previously approved collection 
are a result of the following changes to the Voluntary Guidance: 
reducing the number of priority safety design elements for 
consideration from 15 to 12, removing data sharing from the data 
element in the Voluntary Guidance, and limiting the scope to SAE system 
levels 3-5 rather than levels 2-5. NHTSA estimates the total burden 
associated with conforming to the documentation and disclosure 
recommendations contained in the Voluntary Guidance would be 1,435 
hours per manufacturer or entity per year. The estimated cost for 
following this Voluntary Guidance is $100 per hour. Therefore, the 
total annual cost is estimated to be $8,610,000 (1,435 hours x 60 
respondents x $100/hour).
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 60.
    Estimated Number of Responses: 60.
    Annual Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 86,100 hours.
    Frequency of Collection: Annual.
    NHTSA published a notice announcing the proposed collection of 
information pursuant to 44 U.S.C 3501 et seq. and providing a 60-day 
comment period (81 FR 43450). The Agency received 4 comments on this 
notice. Two of the four comments did not pertain to Automated Driving 
Systems, vehicles, automation technology, or the estimated burden 
associated with Automated Driving Systems 2.0. Rather, they provided 
comments regarding various other Congressional Acts previously passed. 
One of the four comments pertained to the Automated Driving Systems 2.0 
document in general with no comments regarding paperwork burden.
    The final of the four comments cited support for the implementation 
of ADS 2.0 and urges entities to implement the Voluntary Guidance. The 
commenter also maintains that ``information sharing leads to 
transparency, which leads to public trust, and should be a clear part 
of a duty and responsibility to advance the safety of vehicles.'' 
However, the commenter offers the information collection could be 
``inadequate for the agency to perform its functions related to the 
safety of ADSs.'' This is based on the Department's removal of safety 
elements pertaining to Ethical Considerations, Privacy, and removal of 
Data Sharing from the Data Collection safety element as well as 
removing Level 2 ADSs from the scope of the Voluntary Guidance.
    NHTSA and the Department focused the Voluntary Guidance on SAE 
Automation Levels 3 through 5 in order to focus on systems in which the 
system takes over full control of the vehicle, including monitoring of 
the environment. However, parts of the Voluntary Guidance could be 
applied to any level of automation, and NHTSA recommends companies use 
them for safe testing and development.
    With respect to the changes in the safety elements, NHTSA reviewed 
the safety elements from the Federal Automated Vehicles Policy in 
conjunction with public comments and focused elements on those that 
affect motor vehicle safety, have consensus around acceptable 
considerations, and have feasible metrics for evaluation. As privacy is 
not directly relevant to motor vehicle safety and, generally, is under 
the protection of the Federal Trade Commission, this safety element was 
removed from the Voluntary Guidance. Ethical considerations, while 
essential to automated driving technology development, there is 
currently no consensus around acceptable ethical decision-making, and 
there are no metrics against which to evaluate. NHTSA plans to work 
with stakeholders to further research this area. Data sharing was 
removed from a safety element, as the agency has chosen to focus on 
data recording needed for crash reconstruction. NHTSA is working with 
industry to voluntarily collaborate on data sharing and appropriate new 
safety metric development. As such, NHTSA believes that removal of 
these safety elements and components does not diminish the usefulness 
of data that would be voluntarily disclosed through the Voluntary 
Safety Self-Assessment. And though these safety elements are currently 
not in the Voluntary Guidance, NHTSA continues to emphasize the 
importance of all these aspects of ADSs throughout design, testing, and 
deployment of ADSs.
    It is important to note that the Automated Driving Systems 2.0: A 
Vision for Safety was effective on September 15, 2017, and is intended 
to be updated frequently. Therefore, the burden hours outlined in the 
60-day notice and this subsequent 30-day notice are reflective of that 
version of the policy. If the agency significantly changes the burden 
with any future updates, further modifications will be sought.
    The 60-day Federal Register notice published on September 15, 2017 
estimated 50 respondents annually based on the number of entities 
registered to test in California as of August 30, 2017. The number of 
entities registered to test in California has since increased to 45 as 
of November 16, 2017. Thus, NHTSA has increased the estimated number of 
respondents annually from 50 to 60.
    The actual number of burden hours estimated per entity each year 
has not changed since the September 15, 2017 Federal Register notice. 
That notice (81 FR 43450) detailed modifications to the calculation of 
burden hours (based on the limiting of scope and removal of safety 
elements) since the January 2017 OMB clearance for information 
collection.
    Considering the increase in number of respondents and the same 
number of estimated burden hours per respondent, the total number of 
burden hours increased from 71,750 hours to 86,100 hours, and the total 
estimated annual cost from $7,175,000 to $8,610,000. This is the only 
change in burden hours since the previous 60-day notice.

    Authority:  44 U.S.C. Section 3506(c)(2)(A).

Nathaniel Beuse,
Associate Administrator for Vehicle Safety Research.
[FR Doc. 2017-27273 Filed 12-18-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-59-P


