Generic ICR Fast Track Request

Request for Approval under the “Generic Clearance for the Collection of Routine Customer Feedback” (OMB Control Number: 2127-0682)

TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION: Focus Groups to Develop Distracted Driving Public Service Advertising Campaign

PURPOSE:

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) was authorized by the Highway Safety Act of 1966 to carry out a Congressional mandate to reduce the mounting number of deaths, injuries and economic losses resulting from motor vehicle crashes on our Nation’s highways. In support of this mission, NHTSA is developing a public service campaign designed to reduce fatalities and injuries that result from distracted driving. The campaign focuses on texting and driving behavior and targets U.S. drivers.

NHTSA would like to conduct a limited number of focus group sessions to help assess creative concepts designed for this national public service advertising campaign. NHTSA proposes to conduct 6 focus group sessions, each lasting 75 minutes. NHTSA proposes to recruit 6 people to seat up to 6 participants per focus group session. Recruiting will be done via telephone screening calls estimated to take no more than 10 minutes each. The total estimated burden for this information collection is 72 hours.

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS:

The respondents for this survey will be U.S. drivers age 18-34. Screening criteria will require that all respondents hold a driver’s license, drive at least 3 days per week, and currently use the texting function on their cell phones. The campaign will be distributed nationwide, so all respondents participating in the survey have the potential to be exposed to the public service advertising.

The breakdown of focus groups includes three age segments since this age span covers multiple life stages and we want respondents to feel comfortable among their own peer group. Specifically, in each market, we will segment groups by age: 18-22, 23-27, and 28-34.

For each focus group, we will recruit three friendship pairs to comprise a group of six individuals. This recruitment strategy will encourage accountability and honesty among individuals who typically engage in texting behavior together. In particular with younger respondents, this type of discussion with a friend fosters an environment where respondents are open to sharing their opinions more quickly than when they are among a group of strangers.

TYPE OF COLLECTION: (Check one)

[ ] Customer Comment Card/Complaint Form [ ] Customer Satisfaction Survey

[ ] Usability Testing (e.g., Website or Software [ ] Small Discussion Group

[X] Focus Group [ ] Other: ____________________

CERTIFICATION:

I certify the following to be true:

1. The collection is voluntary.

2. The collection is low-burden for respondents and low-cost for the Federal Government.

3. The collection is non-controversial and does not raise issues of concern to other federal agencies.

4. The results are not intended to be disseminated to the public.

5. Information gathered will not be used for the purpose of substantially informing influential policy decisions.

6. The collection is targeted to the solicitation of opinions from respondents who have experience with the program or may have experience with the program in the future.

NAME: Susan McMeen, Director, Office of Consumer Information, NHTSA

To assist review, please provide answers to the following question:

Personally Identifiable Information:

1. Is personally identifiable information (PII) collected? [ ] Yes [X] No

2. If Yes, will any information that is collected be included in records that are subject to the Privacy Act of 1974? [ ] Yes [ ] No

3. If Yes, has an up-to-date System of Records Notice (SORN) been published? [ ] Yes [ ] No

Gifts or Payments:

Is an incentive (e.g., money or reimbursement of expenses, token of appreciation) provided to participants? [ X] Yes [ ] No

Each respondent will be provided with $75 following their participation in a focus group session. This amount is in line with the industry standard, relative to focus group participation by people in the target market. These industry-standard stipends help to ensure that respondents can be recruited efficiently and ensure their arrival and participation in the groups. These standards exist to provide fair compensation for costs incurred by participants while attending groups, based on the location of and expenses in each market.

BURDEN HOURS

Category of Respondent	No. of Respondents	Participation Time	Burden Hours
Individual for pre-screening (online)	900	1 minute	15
Individual for screening call (non-qualifers)	60	6 minute call	6
Individual for screening call (qualifers)	36	10 minute call	6
Individual for focus group discussion	36	75 minute discussion	45
Total			72 hours

To lower the burden of contacting respondents for the phone screening interview, the market research vendor may initially contact respondents through a secure, online survey that includes basic demographic questions from the recruitment screener and whether the respondent has a driver’s license. It only takes respondents 1-2 minutes to complete, so we have averaged one minute based on the fact that not all respondents contacted will opt to complete the survey. Based on the answers, recruiters can determine which individuals are potential respondents and contact them for a telephone interview. Based on what we know about this audience, we estimate that 96 persons in total will need to be contacted via phone to qualify 36. We’ve estimated 6 minutes per screening interview for the 60 respondents who will not qualify to participate since they may be terminated at different points throughout the interview (i.e. some will take less than 2 minutes whereas others may take 10 minutes).

FEDERAL COST: The estimated annual cost to the Federal government is $25,000.

If you are conducting a focus group, survey, or plan to employ statistical methods, please provide answers to the following questions:

The selection of your targeted respondents

1. Do you have a customer list or something similar that defines the universe of potential respondents and do you have a sampling plan for selecting from this universe? [ X] Yes [ ] No

If the answer is yes, please provide a description of both below (or attach the sampling plan)? If the answer is no, please provide a description of how you plan to identify your potential group of respondents and how you will select them?

Please see recruitment screener attached.

Administration of the Instrument

1. How will you collect the information? (Check all that apply)

[X] Web-based or other forms of Social Media

[X] Telephone

[X] In-person

[ ] Mail

[ ] Other, Explain

2. Will interviewers or facilitators be used? [X ] Yes [ ] No

Please make sure that all instruments, instructions, and scripts are submitted with the request.