The National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA) proposes to collect information from
newly-licensed teen drivers for a one-time voluntary study to
evaluate Risk Awareness and Perception Training (RAPT), a hazard
perception and distracted driving training intervention to improve
novice driver safety. NHTSA proposes to collect information from a
sample of newly-licensed teen drivers in two States to determine
(1) their eligibility to participate in a study to evaluate RAPT
hazard perception training; (2) their hazard perception performance
before and after they complete RAPT or placebo training, and again
six months after training; and (3) their driving exposure via
driving logs to account for potential differences across
participants. In addition, participants will agree to allow
researchers to access their crash and citation records for six
months to support analyses of the effects of RAPT training on crash
and citation rates. NHTSA will invite an estimated 20,000 newly
licensed drivers ages 16 through 19 in two States to participate,
with the goal of recruiting 10,000 volunteers—7,500 from a first
State and 2,500 from a second State for validation. Participation
will be voluntary and solicited through the distribution of
recruiting letters at Department of Motor Vehicle locations (DMVs)
when new drivers obtain their license. Once obtaining consent from
the teen and their guardian(s) through an informed consent
agreement, study participants will be randomly assigned within age
and sex categories to either participation in the RAPT or the
placebo condition. Participants in the RAPT condition will complete
the training protocol; those in the placebo condition will view a
vehicle maintenance video. A subsample of 2,000 participants will
also be asked to complete a week-long trip log to record driving
exposure during the study period. The 7,500 participants in the
first State will be invited to complete a six-month follow-up test
to see whether they retained the RAPT training; these participants
will also be asked questions about any crashes or traffic tickets
during their first six months of driving to capture any unreported
crashes or incidents. 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 personal information. The
technical report will be shared with State Highway Safety Offices
as well as other stakeholders interested in improving the safety of
novice teen drivers. The total estimated burden for recruitment
(2,000 hours), the initial training (7,500 hours), the trip log
(1,167 hours) and the follow-up data collection (1,875 hours) is
12,542 hours.
US Code:
23
USC 403 Name of Law: Highway Safety Act
This is a new information
collection to support NHTSA's efforts to improve teen novice driver
safety. As such, it requires a program change to add the estimated
12,542 hours for the new collection to NHTSA’s existing
burden.
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that
the collection of information encompassed by this request complies
with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR
1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding
the proposed collection of information, that the certification
covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a
benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control
number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of
these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked
and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.