NHTSA Generic Clearance Submission ADS Research

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

T ITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION: Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on How to Communicate More Effectively with Consumers about Automated Driving Systems.

PURPOSE:

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is responsible for keeping people safe on America’s roadways and its mission is to save lives, prevent injuries and reduce economic costs due to road traffic crashes, through education, research, safety standards and enforcement activity.

Knowledge gained from this research will improve the agency’s ability to engage the public through increased awareness of autonomous driving systems, functions and levels of vehicle automation; inform NHTSA’s messaging efforts to better educate consumers on automated driving systems; and increase public confidence with the technology to accelerate their adoption, with the ultimate goal to save more lives.

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS:

The respondents for this study will include U.S. residents, ages 18 or older who have a valid driver’s license, are a decision-maker (primary or shared) for purchasing vehicles for their household, have either purchased a vehicle in the last 12 months or are likely to do so in the next 12 months, and vehicle safety must be at least somewhat important in their purchase decision. Respondents will be split into two groups based on their interest in and experience with driver assistance technology. The first group is a more experienced and engaged audience and will include respondents who have experience with three or more driver assistance technologies and/or is very or extremely interested in driver assistance technology. The second audience will include those with limited experience with driver assistance technologies (two or less) and less interest but are not opposed toward automated vehicles. Understanding the distinct positive and negative factors each group associates with autonomous driving, as well as the levels of understanding of the technology, will provide insights into underlying values driving subconscious emotions, and consequently conscious judgment.

To ensure we are sampling a diverse set of perspectives, the focus group sessions will be held in four target locations across the contiguous United States (West Coast, Midwest, East Coast/D.C. area and East Coast/Non-D.C. area). In addition, participants will be screened to ensure a good mix of key demographic criteria (gender, race/ethnicity and employment status) as well as specific socioeconomic factors (household income and education).

We plan to conduct qualitative research using a focus group methodology. As the current lexicon surrounding autonomous vehicles and the technologies featured therein continues to evolve and develop, we recommend a traditional focus group design to allow for more focused probing and open brainstorming. We find that when you are at such an early stage in consumer education around a topic, it can be extremely helpful to sit a small group of people in a room and have them use their own words and phrases to discuss the topic.

The focus groups will recruit 12 participants per group with the intention to seat at least nine. There will be two groups per market (one group per audience) and four markets overall for a total of 96 recruited participants to seat at least 72. The table below shows our expected recruits per market, per audience.

	Location 1 e.g. Alexandria, VA	Location 2 e.g. Paramus, NJ	Location 3 e.g. Kansas City, MO	Location 4 e.g. Sacramento, CA	TOTAL
Experience/Engaged	Recruit 12 to seat 9	Recruit 12 to seat 9	Recruit 12 to seat 9	Recruit 12 to seat 9	Recruit 48 to seat 36
Limited experience	Recruit 12 to seat 9	Recruit 12 to seat 9	Recruit 12 to seat 9	Recruit 12 to seat 9	Recruit 48 to seat 36
Total	Recruit 24 to seat 18	Recruit 24 to seat 18	Recruit 24 to seat 18	Recruit 24 to seat 18	Recruit 96 to seat 72

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? [X] Yes [ ] No

The third-party vendor collects information from the research participants in order to provide them with the incentive. No PII is reported to NHTSA. No responses will be connected to individual respondents; only aggregate data will be reported.

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

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

Gifts or Payments:

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

It is standard practice to provide a basic incentive in order to avoid bias of receiving responses only from individuals generally predisposed to be helpful. Participants in this research will not be offered incentives provided directly by NHTSA. The third-party vendor will fulfill incentives at the rate of $75 for each participant.

BURDEN HOURS

Category of Respondent	No. of Respondents	Participation Time	Burden
Pre-screen completes (Initial outreach from facility to find potential respondents interested in participating in research and meet screening requirements)	320	2.9 minutes	15.5 hours
Validation screener (Follow-up among those who qualify, and fit quota targets for screening estimated 30%)	96	1.5 minutes	2.4 hours
Experience/Engaged groups (execution of the groups among those who are interested, qualify and are available the date/time of the groups)	36	90 minutes	54 hours
Limited experience groups (execution of the groups among those who are interested, qualify and are available the date/time of the groups)	36	90 minutes	54 hours
GRAND TOTAL BURDEN HOURS			125.9 hours

FEDERAL COST: The estimated annual cost to the Federal government is $119,000.

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? [ ] Yes [X] 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?

Convenience samples of research participants are screened and recruited to reflect the target audiences. NHTSA plans to work with Heart+Mind Strategies and focus group facilities (third-party vendors) to recruit individuals that meet the criteria for each audience. Each focus group facility maintains a database of potential participants in the local area that will serve as the sample frames for this research.

Recruitment will take place using seasoned recruiters from each facility who will make calls to prospective participants within their respective operating area. After being pre-screened on the telephone an email invitation and reminder will be sent to individual qualified participants, followed by additional instructions with expected start and arrival times and facility directions. Recruitment will be monitored to include a mixture of gender, age, race/ethnicity, employment, income, and education. Participants will complete a short validation screener at the facility prior to being seated at the focus group.

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 (pre-screening)

[X] In-person (validation screening at facility & participant discussion)

[ ] 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.

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