[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 105 (Wednesday, May 31, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34797-34800]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-13535]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
[Docket No. NHTSA-99-6270]
Notice of Public Meeting and Internet Forum on the Safety
Implications of Driver Distraction When Using In-Vehicle Technologies
AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice of public meeting and internet forum.
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SUMMARY: NHTSA is holding two public events that focus on the potential
safety implications associated with driver distraction while using
advanced in-vehicle technologies that receive, transmit, or display
various types of information. The devices of interest include those
that allow drivers to phone, fax, obtain route guidance, view infrared
images on a head-up display, and use the Internet and other such
devices.
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One event is an international Internet Forum which is expected to
begin on July 5, 2000, and end on August 11, 2000. The Internet Forum
will provide an opportunity for technical experts as well as the
general public to download technical papers, ask questions about the
papers, relate their experiences regarding the use of in-vehicle
devices and their impact on safety in general and driving performance
in particular, and participate in exchange of views on related
technical issues. Researchers and technical experts are invited to
submit papers for inclusion in the Internet Forum that focus on
characterizing the current and future safety impact of driver
distraction when using in-vehicle technologies, evaluating how device
characteristics affect vehicle safety and determine the impact of
driver distraction on safe operation of vehicles, identifying and
evaluating approaches to minimize driver distraction, and recommending
needed research and other safety initiatives. Overviews of ongoing
research programs and descriptions of industry practices are also
welcome.
NHTSA will also hold a public meeting on Tuesday, July 18, 2000, at
which representatives of the public, industry, government, and safety
groups are invited to share viewpoints, information, and
recommendations regarding strategies to minimize potential adverse
effects of driver distraction on safety when using such telematic
devices. In particular, NHTSA is interested in hearing about different
technologies and devices being proposed for use in vehicles which may
have a bearing on safe driving, viewpoints regarding the roles of
various entities in promoting best practices in the design of those
devices and their use, approaches for evaluating the safety impacts of
such systems, and what new research and other safety initiatives are
needed. NHTSA will utilize the information from the public meeting and
Internet Forum as a basis for discussions at a Technical Workshop of
invited researchers and technology developers to be scheduled at a
later date. The goal of the Technical Workshop is to generate
recommendations for distraction reducing strategies, data needs, and
research methodologies.
Persons interested in attending the public meeting might also be
interested in attending the National Intelligent Vehicle Initiative
Meeting, July 19-20, 2000, which will be held at the Ronald Reagan
Building and International Trade Center in Washington, DC. This
meeting, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation and
administered by SAE International, will promote public/stakeholder
awareness of efforts to improve traffic safety using intelligent
vehicle technologies, showcase accomplishments, and validate research
and development efforts. Further information on this meeting can be
found at http://www.its.dot.gov.
DATES: Internet Forum: The Internet Forum will be open for registration
on June 23, 2000, while the technical papers will be posted on July 5,
2000. The Forum will remain active until August 11, 2000. Thereafter,
the information will remain available through NHTSA's Web site for
viewing only.
Public Meeting: NHTSA will hold the public meeting on Tuesday, July
18, 2000, starting at 8:30 a.m. and ending at about 5:00 p.m. or
earlier as determined by the number of presenters. A preliminary agenda
will be posted on NHTSA's Web site at URL http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/nhtsa/announcements/meetings/, by June 30, 2000.
ADDRESSES: Internet Forum: The Internet Forum Web site address will be
www.driverdistraction.org.
Public Meeting: The public meeting will be held in Room 2230, U.S.
Department of Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, S.W., Washington, DC
20590.
Written Comments: If you wish to submit written comments on the
issues related to distraction or any topics discussed at the public
meeting, those comments should be submitted to Docket No. NHTSA-99-6270
at the following address: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department
of Transportation, Room PL-401, 400 Seventh Street, S.W., Washington,
DC 20590. Docket hours for hand delivery are from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00
p.m. on weekdays. Comments can be sent by fax to 202-493-2251 or by
electronic submission. The electronic submission procedure is described
in the Docket Management section of NHTSA's Web site.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
For technical questions: Michael Perel, Office of Vehicle Safety
Research, NRD-13, 400 Seventh Street, S.W., Washington, DC 20590
(telephone 202-366-5675, fax 202-366-7237, E-mail:
[email protected]).
To participate in the public meeting: Rita Gibbons (telephone: 202-
366-4862, fax: 202-366-5930, E-mail: [email protected]). E-
mail or fax is preferred.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
A. Background
The increasing utilization of certain advanced technologies in
automobiles brings both the promise of enhanced safety, comfort,
security, and convenience as well as concerns about possible impact on
safety if they distract driver attention from the driving task.
Technologies which transmit, receive, or display information from a
motor vehicle include devices such as wireless phones and Internet
connections, navigation/route guidance systems, and fax capability
collectively known as telematics, as well as night vision systems and
others. Some in-vehicle technologies provide direct safety benefits,
such as automatic crash notification to emergency medical services and
hazard alerts to inform drivers of dangerous traffic and roadway
conditions. However, any devices which require drivers to look at
displays and/or process information, or which require drivers to
perform various tasks in order to operate controls of in-vehicle
devices, will also distract them and thus increase their crash risk.
Distraction occurs from looking away from the road and from being
mentally distracted while attending to traffic. Sometimes the
activities required to operate these devices lead to drivers
occasionally taking their hands off the steering wheel even for a short
while. If the distraction coincides with any of such events as the
sudden braking of a lead vehicle, a lead vehicle in an adjacent lane
cutting in front, a pedestrian crossing the road, or an unanticipated
obstacle or curve in the road simultaneously occurring, the likelihood
of a crash increases substantially.
NHTSA has been concerned about the potential safety impact of
driver distraction from using advanced, in-vehicle technologies for a
number of years. In 1998, NHTSA published available information on the
potential effects of wireless phones on traffic safety. In conjunction
with the DOT Intelligent Vehicle Initiative, NHTSA completed several
research studies that focused on measuring the effect of driver
distraction from navigation systems on driving performance. Additional
research is currently underway that focuses on drivers' use of wireless
phones in naturalistic driving situations. In 1998, NHTSA sent a letter
(available in Docket NHTSA-99-5098-01) to vehicle manufacturer
executives urging them to personally ensure that the application of
advanced technologies does not pose safety risks and to ``maintain or
establish rigorous internal design protocols to address this
possibility.'' While the primary focus of
[[Page 34799]]
that letter was inflatable restraints, the letter pointed out that the
``introduction of all new technologies, such as navigation and warning
systems, head-up displays, and other intelligent systems'' must be
accomplished in a way that is safe for drivers. In a February 10, 1999,
public statement, the agency said that, ``Manufacturers have an
obligation to thoroughly and adequately test the safety of any new
technology under real world conditions prior to introduction into the
marketplace.''
B. Internet Forum on the Safety Implications of Driver Distraction
When Using In-Vehicle Technologies
To provide an opportunity for further technical discussions among a
wider range of participants than is possible at the public meeting,
NHTSA is initiating an international Internet Forum devoted to
presentations of research studies and other initiatives related to the
safety impact of driver distraction when using in-vehicle devices. It
will also provide a forum for discussions of research and related
issues by interested parties, technical professionals, and the public,
both in the United States and internationally. NHTSA will also post on
the Internet information on past and present research on driver
distraction.
The key topics to be addressed in the Internet Forum are:
1. How do in-vehicle technologies influence driver distractions?
What are the effects of distraction on safety and safe driving
performance? How does distraction from in-vehicle technologies differ
from and compare to distraction due to other sources?
2. Methodological challenges in measuring the influence of design
features of devices, their operation, and their impact on distraction
and safe driving performance.
3. Effective government, industry, and consumer actions to minimize
distraction.
4. Current and future research necessary to support actions to
minimize distraction.
Participation in the Internet Forum: Persons interested in
submitting technical papers on current or past research or activities
related to the above topics should send an electronic copy to Michael
Perel by June 15, 2000. Technical papers should include an abstract, be
in English, modeled after conference style proceedings, and should be
about 4-5 pages in length (not including graphics). Overviews of
ongoing research programs and discussions of industry practices are
also welcome. NHTSA will review submissions and notify authors of
acceptance within 2 weeks of receipt. Submissions will be reviewed
according to the relevance of the paper to the Forum, the clarity of
the writing, the validity of experimental methodology used, if any, the
degree to which conclusions are supported by data, and the usefulness
of the paper to decision makers in the government, practitioners,
researchers, and others. Due to the relatively short time for
preparation and review, persons interested in submitting material are
strongly encouraged to contact Michael Perel in advance of submitting
such material. The documents should be in Microsoft WORD, Corel
Wordperfect, Adobe pdf, or ASCII text format. If authors have
previously published studies and wish to have the studies included on
the Internet Forum Web site as a resource for others interested in the
topic, they should send the studies in electronic format or submit a
Web site link to the material if it is already on line.
Persons not submitting a technical paper, may register to join the
Forum to view technical papers, post questions to authors, join
discussion groups on related topics, or answer questions about their
experience using in-vehicle technologies. The Web site for registering
for the conference will be www.driverdistraction.org.
Procedural matters: The Internet Forum will be open for
registration on June 23, 2000. Technical papers will be posted on July
5, 2000. The Forum will be active until August 11, 2000. After that
date, the material presented will be archived and remain available for
viewing on NHTSA's Web site. Also, a summary of the Forum will be
prepared and posted on this Web site.
C. Public Meeting
On July 18, 2000, NHTSA will conduct a public meeting, providing a
forum for industry, safety, research groups, and the general public to
discuss strategies for realizing the benefits of in-vehicle
technologies without increasing the risk of crashes due to driver
distraction. The objective of this meeting is to share viewpoints and
information on the following general topics:
1. What new technologies and features are being planned for use by
drivers
2. The role of various entities in promoting best practices in the
design and use of these devices
3. How to evaluate the safety impacts of such systems and what are
safety-relevant ways to measure driver distraction
4. Ongoing activities to promote safe use of in-vehicle
technologies
5. Additional activities and research needed.
1. Written Statements, Presentations, and Comments: The agency has
established Docket No. NHTSA-99-6270 as a repository for presentations,
statements, and comments on issues related to the safety of in-vehicle
technologies. Written or electronic submissions may be made to this
docket at any time. For written materials, two copies should be
submitted to Docket Management at the address given at the beginning of
this document. The materials must not exceed 15 pages in length (49 CFR
553.21). Necessary attachments may be appended to the submissions
without regard to the 15-page limit. This limitation is intended to
encourage commenters to detail their primary arguments in a concise
fashion. Presentations made at the public meeting will also be posted
in a separate section of the Internet Forum Web site if the presenter
submits an electronic version of the presentation including a separate
brief abstract or overview by July 5, 2000. Any comments made at the
public meeting and a summary of the discussions that take place will be
posted on the Internet after the meeting. The electronic submissions
for the Internet Forum should be sent by E-mail (5 mb max), floppy
disk, or CD ROM to Michael Perel at the address given above.
If a commenter wishes to submit certain information under a claim
of confidentiality, three copies of the complete submission, including
purportedly confidential business information, should be submitted to
the Chief Counsel, NHTSA, at 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC
20590. Additionally, two copies of the above document from which the
purportedly confidential information has been deleted should be
submitted to Docket Management. A request for confidentiality should be
accompanied by a cover letter setting forth the information specified
in the agency's confidential business information regulation, 49 CFR
Part 512.
2. Meeting Participation: This is a public meeting, and attendance
is open to all members of the public. You may attend as a participant
or an observer. If you plan to attend the meeting, contact Rita Gibbons
at the address, telephone, fax, or the E-mail listed above before July
5, 2000. E-mail or Fax is preferred. If you wish to present a prepared
oral statement during the meeting, please send a copy of your statement
to Mr. Perel by July 5, 2000.
3. Procedural Matters: A written transcript of the meeting will be
made. Speakers will have a maximum of 15-
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20 minutes. Presenters may be questioned by a panel of government
officials. Time permitting, audience members may submit written
questions for the panel to ask the presenters.
Issued on: May 25, 2000.
Raymond P. Owings,
Associate Administrator for Research and Development.
[FR Doc. 00-13535 Filed 5-30-00; 8:45 am]
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