Parents of Teen Drivers Generic Clearance

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 for Exploratory Research Among Parents of New Teenage Drivers Regarding Teaching Knowledge, Resources

and Techniques

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 needing to assess and understand levels of knowledge, teaching and guidance that parents provide to children who are deemed to be “young drivers.” NHTSA refers to “young drivers” generally as people ages 15 to 20 years old operating motor vehicles, and who have obtained their licenses for the first time. As noted below, fatality and injury statistics related to these drivers are of significant concern. Based on the assessments and findings through this research, NHTSA will be better informed to develop communications and messaging materials to enhance parents’ knowledge and instructional efforts to their young drivers.

Per data from the National Center for Statistics and Analysis. (2017, February). Young drivers: 2015 data. (Traffic Safety Facts. Report No. DOT HS 812 363). Washington, DC: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration):

• Young, inexperienced drivers have higher crash rates than older, more experienced drivers in the U.S.

• In 2015, 1,866 young drivers died in motor vehicle crashes. This represented a 9 percent increase over 1,723 deaths in 2014.

• An estimated 195,000 young drivers were injured in motor vehicle crashes in 2015, an increase of 14 percent from 170,000 in 2014.

• Motor vehicle crashes are a leading cause of death for 15- to 20-year-olds, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.

• Numerous factors have been associated with the fatalities and injuries. These include young drivers not wearing seatbelts, driving while distracted (in particular, cell phone usage), speeding, and alcohol consumption.

An integral part of NHTSA’s communications efforts related to young drivers is development of effective messages and materials that will assist parents of these drivers. Parental instruction and guidance are known to be significant influencers to young drivers. For assessment of these parents’ present levels of knowledge about driving instruction, resources they use, and teaching/guidance techniques the use, NHTSA seeks to use a qualitative research methodology in the form of focus groups. For NHTSA communications programs’ development in the past, focus groups have provided an important means of gathering insightful feedback because they allow for a more in-depth understanding of participants’ levels of knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, motivations, and feelings than do quantitative studies. Focus groups serve the narrowly defined need for direct and informal opinion on a specific topic.

NHTSA proposes conducting a total of eight focus groups among parents of young drivers. For this research, the young drivers would be people ages 15 to 18 and who are the first children in their households to be licensed (or soon to be licensed). The groups will be conducted in four cities in states where young driver fatalities lead the nation and/or where young driver fatalities represent a disproportionately higher percentage of all traffic fatalities (compared with other states). Under these criteria, the proposed states are Alabama, California, Michigan and Oklahoma. Within each of those states, the proposed cities (respectively) for the focus groups are Birmingham, Sacramento, Canton (situated between Detroit and Ann Arbor), and Oklahoma City. Two groups would be conducted in each city.

Focus groups will play an important role in gathering this information because they allow for more in-depth understanding of people’s knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and motivations than do other kinds of studies. If such information is not collected, it will be more difficult and less cost-effective for NHTSA to develop and distribute potentially life-saving messages to its target audience. 

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS:

Each focus group respondent will match these criteria:

• Mom or dad whose oldest child (if more than one in the household) is age 15 to 18

• The oldest child either (1) has received a driver’s license for the first time within the past six months; (2) has a learner’s permit, but not yet received a driver’s license; or (3) intends to get a learner’s permit within the coming six month.

For fuller, more in-depth discussion, each group will be composed of four to five pre-screened parents. Each group is projected to last 90 minutes in duration. (This total time is a combination of an “arrive early” window of 15 minutes plus a 75-minute focus group session). Although no more than five participants will be seated for each group, more than five per group will be recruited. Given the target market profile for this effort, seven people will be recruited for each group in anticipation of at least four or five showing. Even with advance confirmations from qualified recruits, the relatively unpredictable schedules of parents of teens to show for focus groups necessitates the higher number of recruits. Should more than five arrive on time, only five will be seated in the group, and the others will be released (as well as paid their promised incentives).

As noted previously for the eight groups, four cities will be used, with two groups per city. Each proposed city meets important criteria: (1) it is located in a state where either the number of young driver fatalities leads the nation and/or where young driver fatalities represent a disproportionately higher percentage of all traffic fatalities (compared with other states); (2) it is a metropolitan area, which will facilitate a sufficiently large pool of potential respondents matching NHTSA’s screening criteria for recruiting; and (3) it has marketing research industry-accredited focus group facilities available. The cities are - -

• Birmingham, AL

• Sacramento, CA

• Canton, MI

• Oklahoma City, OK

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 __________________________________________

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 her/his 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. As noted earlier, pre-screened and invited respondents who arrive on time but are released prior to the group will also be awarded their stipends (also in keeping with marketing research industry standards).

BURDEN HOURS

No. of Respondents	No. of Responses per Respondent	Average Burden per Response (hours)	Total Burden Hours
56 (recruits for screening purposes)	1	6 minutes (1/10-hours) phone interview	5.6
40 (participants)	1	90 minutes (1-1/2 hours) pre-group arrival plus discussion	60.0
16 (recruits arriving, but released prior to participation)	1	15 minutes (1/4-hours) pre-group arrival only, subsequently released	4.0
			69.6 hours

TOTAL BURDEN HOURS: 69.6 hours

FEDERAL COST: The estimated annual cost to the Federal government is $63,385.

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.

Each focus group facility in each city does the recruiting on NHTSA’s and NHTSA’s contractor’s behalf, per the screener NHTSA provide.  The facility’s recruiting staff works primarily from a pool within its proprietary database of people in that particular marketplace who have previously submitted demographic, lifestyle and product preference information.  So when NHTSA submits a screener such as the one proposed for this project, the recruitment manager will filter the database to search for potential respondents in the designated target group (and any other relevant specs if the firm happens to have one or more of those other criteria established in the database).  Then the recruiters will use telephone calls to those potential respondents to administer the full screener.

 

In any given household, only one person will be screened and confirmed.

 

After going through the database, if the recruiters can't fill the specified total numbers and/or quotas, the secondary step is procuring sample from any of numerous national sample providers of names, addresses and phone numbers.  The recruiters will then make phone calls to this list until the recruiting is completed.

Administration of the Instrument

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

[ ] 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.

Instructions for completing Request for Approval under the “Generic Clearance for the Collection of Routine Customer Feedback”

TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION: Provide the name of the collection that is the subject of the request. (e.g. Comment card for soliciting feedback on xxxx)

PURPOSE: Provide a brief description of the purpose of this collection and how it will be used. If this is part of a larger study or effort, please include this in your explanation.

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS: Provide a brief description of the targeted group or groups for this collection of information. These groups must have experience with the program.

TYPE OF COLLECTION: Check one box. If you are requesting approval of other instruments under the generic, you must complete a form for each instrument.

CERTIFICATION: Please read the certification carefully. If you incorrectly certify, the collection will be returned as improperly submitted or it will be disapproved.

Personally Identifiable Information: Provide answers to the questions. Note: Agencies should only collect PII to the extent necessary, and they should only retain PII for the period of time that is necessary to achieve a specific objective.

Gifts or Payments: If you answer yes to the question, please describe the incentive and provide a justification for the amount.

BURDEN HOURS:

Category of Respondents: Identify who you expect the respondents to be in terms of the following categories: (1) Individuals or Households; (2) Private Sector; (3) State, local, or tribal governments; or (4) Federal Government. Only one type of respondent can be selected per row.

No. of Respondents: Provide an estimate of the Number of respondents.

Participation Time: Provide an estimate of the amount of time required for a respondent to participate (e.g. fill out a survey or participate in a focus group)

Burden: Provide the Annual burden hours: Multiply the Number of responses and the participation time and divide by 60.

FEDERAL COST: Provide an estimate of the annual cost to the Federal government.

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. Please provide a description of how you plan to identify your potential group of respondents and how you will select them. If the answer is yes, to the first question, you may provide the sampling plan in an attachment.

Administration of the Instrument: Identify how the information will be collected. More than one box may be checked. Indicate whether there will be interviewers (e.g. for surveys) or facilitators (e.g., for focus groups) used.

Submit all instruments, instructions, and scripts are submitted with the request.

8