June 28 -- The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Department of Transportation (DOT), invites comments to OMB by July 28, 2022 on the proposed new Survey of Driver Awareness of Motorcycles.
NHTSA is seeking approval to collect information from two samples of randomly selected adults who are aged 18 years or older and have driven a motor vehicle at least once in the past three months for a new one-time voluntary survey to report their knowledge, attitudes, and awareness of safe-driving behaviors towards motorcycles. One sample consists of adult drivers residing in Florida, and the other sample consists of adult drivers residing in Pennsylvania.
Surveys would be conducted with respondents using an address-based sampling design that encourages respondents to complete the survey online. NHTSA will contact a total of 33,460 to achieve a target of at least 2,486 complete voluntary responses consisting of 1,243 completed instruments from the Florida sample and 1,243 completed instruments from the Pennsylvania sample. The large geographic and demographic sizes of Florida and Pennsylvania allow for complex driving environments in which motorcycles and passenger vehicles operate in a range of traffic conditions. An Institutional Review Board (IRB) determined that this proposed information collection is exempt from IRB oversight.
NHTSA will summarize the results of the collection using aggregate statistics in a final report to be distributed to NHTSA program and regional offices, State Highway Safety Offices, and other traffic safety and motorcycle safety stakeholders. This collection supports NHTSA's mission by obtaining information needed for the development of traffic safety countermeasures, particularly in the areas of communications and outreach, for the purpose of reducing fatalities, injuries, and crashes associated with multi-vehicle motorcycle crashes.
Motorcycle safety is a behavioral area for which NHTSA has developed programs to meet its injury reduction goals. Motorcycle safety is an increasing safety concern in highway transportation. For example, per vehicle miles traveled in 2019, motorcyclist fatalities occurred nearly 29 times more frequently than passenger car occupant fatalities in traffic crashes, and an estimated 84,000 motorcyclists were injured in 2019, which is a 2-percent increase from 82,000 motorcyclists injured in 2018; the most harmful event for 55 percent of the 5,114 motorcycles involved in fatal crashes in 2019 was a collision with another motor vehicle; and in two-vehicle crashes, 76 percent of the motorcycles involved in fatal crashes were struck in the front. Thus, strategies for improving motorcycle safety include addressing other motorists' perceptions and awareness of motorcycles.
This collection supports NHTSA's efforts to increase motorcyclist safety by examining factors related to the interactions between motorcycles and other motorists and their vehicles. The information from this collection will assist NHTSA in (a) assessing the extent and limitations of motorist knowledge of safe behaviors toward motorcycles, and (b) identifying the issues to emphasize in traffic safety campaigns and driver education. The collected information will help identify the beliefs, attitudes, and perceptions underlying driving behaviors towards motorcycles and inform the development of countermeasures to improve the safety of interactions between motor vehicles, specifically, motorcycles, and other vehicle types (primarily passenger cars and Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs)).
The survey data will be used to assist NHTSA in its ongoing responsibilities for: (a) planning and designing research and program activities to improve motorcycle safety; (b) providing support to groups involved in developing and implementing motorcycle safety outreach programs and driver safety campaigns; and (c) identifying areas in driver awareness and knowledge that need attention. NHTSA will use the information to produce a technical report that presents the results of the study. The technical report will provide aggregate (summary) statistics and tables as well as the results of statistical analysis of the information, but it will not include any personally identifiable information. The project data will serve as a resource for NHTSA and stakeholders to identify gaps in knowledge among the driving public. The technical report will be shared with State highway offices, local governments, and those who develop traffic safety communications that aim to improve motorcycle safety.
NHTSA Motorcycles:
https://www.nhtsa.gov/road-safety/motorcycles
NHTSA submission to OMB:
https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAViewICR?ref_nbr=202206-2127-003 Click IC List for data collection instruments, View Supporting Statement for technical documentation. Submit comments through this webpage.
FRN:
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2022-13721
For AEA members wishing to submit comments, "A Primer on How to Respond to Calls for Comment on Federal Data Collections" is available at
https://www.aeaweb.org/content/file?id=5806