OMB0127_Bicycle_Helmets_SupportingStatement_2020

Information Collection Request (ICR) Supporting Statement and Privacy Act
Assessment
Safety Standard for Bicycle Helmets
A. Justification
1. Information to be collected and circumstances that make the collection of information
necessary
On June 16, 1994, the Children’s Bicycle Helmet Safety Act of 1994 became law. 15
U.S.C. 6001-6006 provided that bicycle helmets manufactured after March 16, 1995,
conform to at least one of several specified interim safety standards. This Act directed
the Consumer Product Safety Commission to begin a proceeding under the
Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. 553, to review the requirements of the interim
standards and establish a final standard, include a provision to protect against the risk of
helmets coming off the heads of bicycle riders and address the risk of injury to children.
The final standard, issued under the Consumer Product Safety Act, became effective
March 10, 1999 as to products manufactured after that date. The final rule is codified at
16 CFR 1203. The standard requires manufacturers and importers of bicycle helmets to
conduct a reasonable testing program to ensure their products comply with the standard.
Manufacturers are required to affix durable labels to the helmets stating that the helmet
complies with the applicable U.S. CPSC standard. These labels are the “certificates of
compliance.” Companies are required to keep records of their testing so that the
Commission’s staff can verify that the testing was conducted properly. This enables the
staff to obtain information indicating that a company’s helmets comply with the standard,
without always having to test the helmets.
The Commission uses the information compiled and maintained by manufacturers,
importers, and private labelers of bicycle helmets subject to the standard to help protect
the public from risks of injury or death associated with head injury associated with
bicycle riding. More specifically, this information helps the Commission determine
whether bicycle helmets subject to the standard comply with all applicable requirements.
The Commission also uses this information to obtain corrective actions if bicycle helmets
fail to comply with the standard in a manner that creates a substantial risk of injury to the
public.
2. Use and sharing of collected information
Testing is performed and the required records are maintained to assure compliance with
the standard. Records are maintained for a period of at least three years from the date of
certification of the last bicycle helmet in each production lot. Manufacturers’ records are
made available to any designated CPSC officer during inspection to demonstrate that
their bicycle helmets comply with the requirements of the standard. If the records are not
available during inspection because they are maintained at a different location, the firm
must provide them to the staff within 48 hours.

Based on a review of the proposed information collection activities, staff has found the
Privacy Act does not apply because no electronic information system or records subject
to the Privacy Act will be created.
3. Use of information technology (IT) in information collection
The records required to be maintained by this standard may be in any appropriate form or
format that clearly provides the required information. Certification test results may be
kept on paper, microfiche, computer disk, or other retrievable media. Where records are
kept on computer disk or other retrievable media, the records shall be made available to
the Commission on paper copies, or via electronic mail in the same format as paper
copies, upon request.
4. Efforts to identify duplication
The CPSC regulates the safety standard for bicycle helmets. The testing and
recordkeeping requirements are not duplicated elsewhere.
5. Impact on small businesses
As discussed in the final rule published on March 10, 1998 (63 FR 11729) the impact on
small businesses is not substantial.
6. Consequences to Federal program or policy activities if collection is not conducted or
is conducted less frequently
This approval to collect information enables the staff to obtain information indicating that
a company’s helmets comply with the standard, without having to test the helmets.
7. Special circumstances requiring respondents to report information more often than
quarterly or to prepare responses in fewer than 30 days
None.
8. Agency’s Federal Register Notice and related information
The first FR notice announcing CPSC’s intent to request an extension of approval of
information collection requirements was published on September 14, 2020. No
substantive comments were received.
9. Decision to provide payment or gift
There is no payment or gift to respondents.
10. Assurance of confidentiality

Any information required to be maintained by the Commission’s standard which the
manufacturer or importer claims to be confidential is subject to procedures for
withholding confidential information from public disclosure set forth at 16 C.F.R. Part
1015, subpart B.
11. Questions of a sensitive nature
There are no questions of a sensitive nature.
12. Estimate of hour burden to respondents
The Commission estimates that the industry consists of 38 manufacturers and importers
subject to the collection of information requirements. These manufacturers and importers
will maintain test records of an estimated 200 models total annually, including older
models and new models. Testing on bicycle helmets must be conducted for each new
production lot and the test records must be maintained for 3 years. Total hourly burden is
estimated as 200 hours/model to test 40 new models (including new prototypes), and 100
hours/model to test new production lots of 160 older models. Additionally, manufacturers
and importers may require 4 hours annually per model for recordkeeping for 200 models.
This gives a total estimated burden of 24,800 hours (24,000 hours for testing and 800
hours for recordkeeping). The annualized cost to respondents for the hour burden for
collection of information is about $1,685,520 for testing, based on 24,000 hours times
$70.23/hour (total hourly compensation for private industry management, professional,
and related occupations in goods-producing industries in the U.S., in March 2020,
according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics) plus $26,192 based on 800 hours for
recordkeeping times $32.74/hour (based on total compensation for private industry sales
and office workers in goods-producing industries, March 2020). Thus, total annualized
costs to respondents are estimated to be $1,711,712.
13. Estimate of total annual cost burden to respondents
Capital costs would be to new manufacturers entering the helmet industry although they
may contract out the testing with a contract laboratory/facility. Cost estimates for the
equipment required to test to the standard are approximately $70,000 per new entrant.
14. Estimate of annualized costs to the Federal government
The estimated cost to the Federal government is approximately $150,000 which includes
10 staff months and travel costs expended for examination of the information in records
required to be maintained by the standard and implementing regulations. This estimate
uses an annual wage of $116,353 (the equivalent of a GS-13, Step 5 employee) which
comprises 68.3 percent of the costs of compensation, with the remaining 31.7 percent
added for benefits (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Employer Costs for Employee
Compensation”, March 2020, Table 2, percentage of wages and salaries for all civilian
management, professional, and related employees) for total annual compensation of

$170,356. Therefore, ten staff months amounts to an estimated annualized cost to the
Federal government of $141,963.
15. Program changes or adjustments
No changes or adjustments.
16. Plans for tabulation and publication
There are no plans for tabulation and/or publication. Because CPSC does not plan to
disseminate the data collected, the requirements of the OMB and the CPSC Information
Quality Guidelines do not apply.
17. Rationale for not displaying the expiration date for OMB approval
Not applicable.
18. Exception to the certification statement
Not applicable.
B. Statistical Methods – Collection of information will not employ statistical methods.