Supporting Statements for FARS NTS - Part A 07202022 clean

Information Collection Request Supporting Statements: Part A

Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) and Non-Traffic Surveillance (NTS)

OMB Control No. 2127-0006

Abstract:¹

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is seeking approval from OMB of this information collection request (ICR) for an extension with modification of its currently approved information collection for the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) information collection. NHTSA is seeking approval to modify the collection to include the collection of the portion of NHTSA’s Non-Traffic Surveillance (NTS) data that comes is submitted through the FARS data collection effort. NHTSA is authorized by 49 U.S.C. 30182 and 23 U.S.C. 403 to collect data on motor vehicle traffic crashes to aid in the identification of issues and the development, implementation, and evaluation of motor vehicle and highway safety countermeasures to support efforts to reduce injuries and fatalities caused by motor vehicle crashes.

The FARS is a voluntary information collection of fatal motor vehicle traffic crashes. The FARS is in its forty-sixth year of operation and is a census of all defined crashes involving fatalities in the country. The FARS collects data from all 50 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico under cooperative agreements. State employees extract and transcribe information from existing State files including police crash reports as well as driver license, vehicle registration, highway department, and vital statistics files. NHTSA aggregates the data for research and analysis in support of motor vehicle regulations and highway safety programs. This supports NHTSA’s mission to save lives, prevent injuries, and reduce economic losses resulting from motor vehicle crashes by providing the agency vital information about fatal crashes. The aggregated data comprises a national database that is NHTSA’s and many States’ principal means of tracking trends in fatalities and quantifying problems or potential problems in highway safety. The FARS data are used extensively by all the NHTSA program and research offices, other DOT modes, States, and local jurisdictions. The highway research community uses the FARS data for trend analysis, problem identification, and program evaluation. Congress uses the FARS data for making decisions concerning safety programs. The FARS data are also available upon request to anyone interested in highway safety.

The Non-Traffic Surveillance (NTS) is an automated data collection effort for collecting information about non-traffic crashes and non-crash incidents. The NTS data provide counts and details regarding fatalities and injuries that occur in non-traffic crashes and in non-crash incidents. The NTS non-traffic crash data are obtained through NHTSA’s data collection efforts for the Crash Report Sampling System (CRSS),² the Crash Investigation Sampling System (CISS), ³ and the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS). NTS also includes data outside of NHTSA’s own data collections. NTS’ non-crash injury data is based upon emergency department records from a special study conducted by the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) All Injury Program. NTS non-crash fatality data is derived from death certificate information from the Centers for Disease Control’s National Vital Statistics System.

The burden for NTS is included across three data collection efforts because the data is collected differently under each of NHTSA’s three data collection efforts that feed into NTS. The CRSS and CISS data collection efforts obtain NTS applicable reports received from the sample sites during their normal data collection efforts for CRISS and CISS. The FARS data collection effort uncovers NTS applicable reports received from the State during their normal data collection activities for FARS. Therefore, the burden for NTS is included in each study’s calculation. This ICR only seeks approval for the collection of data for NTS that comes from the FARS data collection effort.

The annual burden has been adjusted from 106,244 to 107,209 hours (an increase of 965 hours) costs have decreased from $100,000 to $0 (a decrease of $100,000). The adjustment in burden hours is due to the increase in the complexity of coding the FARS cases and an increase in the number of fatal crashes across most States. The increase also accounts for the time to process the non-traffic fatalities for NTS. Furthermore, while time for manually inputting data has decreased with States implementing systems to electronically transfer police report data that prepopulate NHTSA’s data systems, including FARS,⁴ the overall burden increased because, over the past two years, there has been an increase in staff turnover at the State level, adding an increase in administrative hours, training, and coding assistance to continue operations. The decrease in costs is a result of removing labor costs associated with labor hours that were incorrectly included in our last ICR

1. Justification

1. Explain the circumstances that make the collection of information necessary. Identify any legal and administrative requirements that necessitate the collection. Attach a copy of the appropriate section of each statute and regulation mandating or authorizing the collection of information.

NHTSA is authorized by 49 U.S.C. § 30182 and 23 U.S.C. § 403 to collect data on motor vehicle traffic crashes to aid in the identification of issues and the development, implementation, and evaluation of motor vehicle and highway safety countermeasures to reduce fatalities and the property damage associated with motor vehicle crashes. Using this authority, NHTSA established the Fatal Analysis Reporting System (FARS) and the Non-Traffic Surveillance (NTS), which collect data on fatal motor vehicle traffic crashes. Among other things, the information aids in the establishment and enforcement of motor vehicle regulations and highway safety programs.

The FARS is in its forty-sixth year of operation and is a census of all defined crashes involving fatalities. The FARS collects data from all 50 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. NHTSA established cooperative agreements with the 50 States, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico to report a standard set of data on each fatal crash within their jurisdictions. State employees extract and transcribe information from existing State files including police crash reports as well as driver license, vehicle registration, highway department, and vital statistics files. This collected information comprises a national database, Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), that is NHTSA’s and many States’ principal means of tracking trends involving motor vehicle traffic fatalities and quantifying problems or potential problems in highway safety.

The Non-Traffic Surveillance (NTS) is a data collection effort for collecting information about counts and details regarding fatalities and injuries that occur in non-traffic crashes and non-crash incidents. Congress required the Secretary (NHTSA by delegation) to collect and maintain information about fatalities and injuries in non-traffic and non-crash incidents in Public Law Number 109-59, Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), and in Public Law Number 110-189, Cameron Gulbransen Kids Transportation Safety Act of 2007 (K.T. Safety Act). NHTSA designed and implemented the Non-Traffic Surveillance (NTS) to fulfill the requirements of SAFETEA-LU and the K.T. Safety Act. This study is referred to as the Non-Traffic Surveillance (NTS).

Non-traffic crashes are crashes that occur off a public trafficway (e.g. private roads, parking lots, or driveways), and non-crash incidents are incidents involving motor vehicles but without a crash scenario such as, carbon monoxide poisoning and hypo/hyperthermia. The NTS non-traffic crash data are obtained through NHTSA’s data collection efforts for the Crash Report Sampling System (CRSS),⁵ the Crash Investigation Sampling System (CISS),⁶ and FARS. NTS also includes data outside of NHTSA’s own data collections. NTS’ non-crash injury data is based upon emergency department records from a special study conducted by the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) All Injury Program. The NTS non-crash fatality data is derived from death certificate information from the Centers for Disease Control’s National Vital Statistics System.

Data are collected differently under each of NHTSA’s three data collection efforts that feed into NTS. The CRSS and CISS data collection efforts obtain NTS applicable reports received from the sample sites during their normal data collection efforts for CRISS and CISS. The FARS data collection effort uncovers NTS applicable reports received from the State during their normal data collection activities for FARS. Therefore, the burden for NTS is included in each study’s calculation. This ICR only seeks approval for the collection of data for NTS that comes from the FARS data collection effort.

2. Indicate how, by whom, and for what purpose the information is to be used. Except for a new collection, indicate the actual use the agency has made of the information received from the current collection.

NHTSA’s mission is to save lives, prevent injuries, and reduce economic losses resulting from motor vehicle crashes. To accomplish this mission, NHTSA needs high-quality data on motor vehicle crashes. The FARS supports this mission by providing the agency with vital information about all crashes involving fatalities that occur on our nation’s roadways. The FARS does this by collection national fatality information directly from existing State files and documents and aggregate them for research and analysis. The collected information comprises a national database that is NHTSA’s and many States’ principal means of tracking trends in motor vehicle traffic fatalities and quantifying problems or potential problems in highway safety.

The FARS data are used extensively by all the NHTSA program and research offices and other DOT modes such as the Federal Highway Administration and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Other users, such as the State legislators, use the FARS data for identifying highway safety problem areas that could be addressed by enacting laws or creating programs (such as mandating the use of seat belts or adjusting speed limits). The highway research community, including the private sector (industry and associations), use the FARS data for trend analysis, problem identification, and program evaluation (e.g., air bag studies and drugged and drunk driving campaigns and programs). Congress uses the FARS data for making decisions concerning safety programs. The FARS data are also available upon request to anyone interested in highway safety. The FARS data are made available through the Internet and via specialized data run requests. The National Center for Statistics and Analysis (NCSA) responds to over 20,000 information requests for FARS data each year.

NHTSA designed and implemented the Non-Traffic Surveillance (NTS) to fulfill the requirements of SAFETEA-LU and the K.T. Safety Act to collect and maintain information about fatalities and injuries in non-traffic crashes and non-crash incidents. Non-traffic crashes occur outside of the trafficway and result in injuries and fatalities to persons involving motor vehicles in un-stabilized situations and harmful events. On the contrary, non-crash incidents are injuries and fatalities to persons involved in incidents concerning motor vehicles but without a crash scenario such as, carbon monoxide poisoning and hypo/hyperthermia. The FARS, CRSS, and CISS data collection efforts, through their partnership with local and State police agencies, access non-traffic crashes and submit the reports for NTS coding throughout the data collection year using the same processes to acquire their studies cases, respectively.

The NTS data users include practically every program area in NHTSA, other federal agencies such as the Federal Highway Administration and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, State and local governments, domestic and foreign motor vehicle manufacturers, insurance and consumer organizations, safety research organizations, universities, foreign government agencies, and individual citizens.

3. Describe whether, and to what extent, the collection of information involves the use of automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses, and the basis for the decision for adopting this means of collection. Also, describe any consideration of using information technology to reduce burden.

Many police agencies have shifted from paper-based crash data collection to utilizing automated technology to report crash information. When possible, the FARS and NTS studies leverage this technology to electronically transfer data to NHTSA’s Crash Data Acquisition Network (CDAN) to minimize any burden on law enforcement.

The CDAN is an integrated, web-based information technology system that provides a single, central IT platform that maintains the data NHTSA collects from its FARS, CRSS, and NTS studies. These crash data collections are centered on the Police Accident Report (PAR), the form which law enforcement agencies use to document a motor vehicle crash. NHTSA collects a PAR from cooperating police jurisdictions and custodial agencies in each State. In addition to data derived from the PAR, NHTSA may obtain additional information to further the understanding of a crash, its causal factors, or outcomes. This information may be obtained from crash report supplements, driver records, roadway classification, vehicle registration, death certificates, emergency medical service reports, and toxicology reports. This additional information is also stored and maintained in CDAN.

NHTSA has conducted a Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) for the CDAN system and has made that assessment publicly available.⁷

As States’ crash data collection systems have increasingly become electronic, the access to crash reports has become centralized.

Improved technology is constantly being sought and evaluated to reduce the burden of the data collection and reporting effort. A greater part of the burden, however, remains with the State analyst, who has the task of obtaining appropriate data sources and encoding the data into FARS standard formats or coding directly into the software of the computer program. Each State has its own unique records system and data retrieval capabilities that dictate much of the burden necessary for FARS. Nevertheless, our provided technology will offer the ability to directly access various State data files, as the State deems appropriate.

The NTS effort is essentially a data collection that pulls data from multiple databases to obtain the non-traffic crash and non-crash injuries and fatalities. The non-traffic crashes are a combination of all the FARS and the various CRSS crash report access methods. Once the NTS information is collected, it is processed electronically into a database.

4. Describe efforts to identify duplication. Show specifically why any similar information already available cannot be used or modified for use for the purposes described in Item 2 above.

No existing data file is like FARS. It is a central source of national highway fatality data containing a standard set of data on each fatal crash. The method of acquisition is totally unique in that it overcomes problems with inconsistent local reporting and multiple local records systems that are not linked. It is the only census of all defined fatal crashes in the country.

Studies have been conducted to support the need for FARS and assure no duplication. One such study was: "Feasibility Study -- Review of Accident, Traffic and Highway Data Collection" which was completed and forwarded to OMB in November 1981. It concluded that no unnecessary duplication existed in FARS. Other studies include: "Office of the Inspector General's Report On Review of the Fatal Accident Reporting System, No. AS-NH-4-00, November 1983"; "Feasibility Study - National Center for Statistics and Analysis of Highway Operations, A Report to Congress from the Secretary of Transportation", February 1975; "Highway Safety Data, A Report to the Secretary of Transportation by the National Highway Safety Advisory Committee", June 1979; "Accident Data Collection Systems of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, A Report to the House Appropriations Committee", December 1979.

While other organizations such as the National Safety Council and the Department of Health and Human Services also collect highway crash information, the detailed data necessary for highway safety analysis are not included on these other files. Additionally, there are no assurances in those systems that the fatality counts are all-inclusive, and the data elements are not consistent from State to State. FARS is the largest and most comprehensive data base of fatal crash data in the world.

5. If the collection of information impacts small businesses or other small entities, describe any methods used to minimize burden.

The actual collection of the FARS data involves the State governments from the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. These respondents are not “small government jurisdictions” (i.e. none are the government of a city, county, town, township, school district, or special district with a population of less than 50,000).

6. Describe the consequence to Federal program or policy activities if the collection is not conducted or is conducted less frequently, as well as any technical or legal obstacles to reducing burden.

The FARS collection is a major source of information in the country for highway safety problem identification multi-year trend analysis and counter measure program evaluation. Without this collection, NHTSA would not have access to standard data on fatal crashes occurring on the nation’s roadways.

FARS is unique in that it is the only census of all police-reported fatal motor traffic crashes. Being a census allows NHTSA many advantages: (1) the individual State totals as well as the National totals produced from FARS are accurate, (2) sampling techniques and statistical estimations are not necessary, (3) year-to-year changes, even minor ones, can be detected, and (4) case detection and record keeping is easier for the analysts since they do not have to select a sample of fatal cases. If FARS were a sample of fatal crashes, none of the above advantages would exist. If FARS were conducted every second or third year, yearly increases and decreases could not be detected. Furthermore, NHTSA could not maintain the corps of adequately trained State personnel who perform the data acquisition.

As NTS is congressionally mandated, the information must be collected, but the burden is slight because it is an electronic collection.

7. Explain any special circumstances that would cause an information collection to be conducted in a manner:

   1. requiring respondents to report information to the agency more often than quarterly,

   2. requiring respondents to prepare a written response to a collection of information in fewer than 30 days after receipt of it,

   3. requiring respondents to submit more than an original and two copies of any document,

   4. requiring respondents to retain records, other than health, medical, government contract, grant-in-aid, or tax records, for more than three years,

   5. in connection with a statistical survey, that is not designed to produce valid and reliable results that can be generalized to the universe of study,

   6. requiring the use of a statistical data classification that has not been reviewed and approved by OMB,

   7. that includes a pledge of confidentiality that is not supported by authority established in statute or regulation, that is not supported by disclosure and data security policies that are consistent with the pledge, or which unnecessarily impedes sharing of data with other agencies for compatible confidential use, or

   8. requiring respondents to submit proprietary trade secrets, or other confidential information unless the agency can demonstrate that it has instituted procedures to protect the information's confidentiality to the extent permitted by law.

NHTSA has determined that there are special circumstances that would cause this collection to be collected in a manner inconsistent with 5 CFR 1320.5(d)(2). Specifically, this information collection requires reporting more often than quarterly. The requests for information usually occur daily, a direct result of fatal crash occurrences. States (respondents) track and collect fatal crash information from the moment of crash notification until the entire case information is entered in the FARS data entry system. This comprehensive fatal crash data collection and entry process by all 50 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, is a year-round effort to deliver a nationwide census of motor vehicle crashes annually.

8. If applicable, provide a copy and identify the date and page number of publications in the Federal Register of the agency’s notice, required by 5 CFR 1320.8(d), soliciting comments on the information collection prior to submission to OMB. Summarize public comments received in response to that notice and describe actions taken by the agency in response to the comments. Specifically address comments received on cost and hour burden. Describe efforts to consult with persons outside the agency to obtain their views.

NHTSA published a 60-day notice on April 4, 2022, requesting comment on NHTSA’s intention to submit this ICR to OMB for approval (87 FR 19573). NHTSA received three public comments in support of this ICR from the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC), the Oklahoma Department of Transportation, and Safe Kids Worldwide. NAMIC emphasizes that the proposed data collection is necessary and appropriate and believes that the information surveyed will have significant practical utility. Furthermore, NAMIC supports this initiative to better understand and improve highway and auto safety, as well as inform policy development and other decision making. The Oklahoma DOT acknowledges the great role the FARS plays in compiling information that helps it develop plans to reduce occurrences of fatalities. The Oklahoma DOT also believes NHTSA’s estimate of burden to be valid, and believes that, as technology progresses, the burden could be minimized while the system is enhanced. Safe Kids Worldwide asserts the importance of the FARS/NTS programs to NHTSA’s mission and the broader safety community and that it is an incredibly robust and valuable system for research purposes. Safe Kids Worldwide suggests inclusion of more detailed information be available through the online query and more detailed coding for train-related injuries and fatalities at railroad crossings.

FARS is an on-going data acquisition system; reviews are conducted yearly to determine whether the data acquired are responsive to the total user population needs. Annual changes in the data collected in FARS are minor in terms of operation and method of data acquisition. The changes do not affect the reporting burden of the respondent. In fact, the changes are based on a continuous data collection and quality improvement process. The changes usually involve clarifying adjustments to aid statisticians in conducting more precise analyses and to remove potential ambiguity for the respondents. As part of this continual review process, NHTSA will consider Safe Kids Worldwide’s suggestion regarding making more FARS data available through NHTSA’s online query tool. NHTSA will also separately consider Safe Kids Wordwide’s suggestion to include more detailed coding for train-related injuries and fatalities at railroad crossings.

NHTSA published a 30-day notice on July 20, 2022 requesting comment on NHTSA’s intention to submit this ICR to OMB for approval (87 FR 43880, Pages 43380-43383).

9. Explain any decision to provide any payment or gift to respondents, other than remuneration of contractors or grantees.

This information collection involves payment to respondents under cooperative agreements. The FARS is a mutually beneficial data collection effort by the respondents which requires fiscal support to sustain all manual and electronic methods of reporting. Because of the amount of resources necessary to sustain the FARS, it would not be viable without Federal resources.

NHTSA estimates that it pays respondents a total of $6.4 million annually. These payments are to go toward the cost of labor for the State employees who input the information into the FARS. Most of the costs associated with respondents’ participation in FARS are charged to the Federal Government through the FARS Cooperative Agreements.

10. Describe any assurance of confidentiality provided to respondents and the basis for the assurance in statute, regulation, or agency policy. If the collection requires a systems of records notice (SORN) or privacy impact assessment (PIA), those should be cited and described here.

The CDAN is an integrated, web-based information technology system that provides a single, central information technology (IT) platform that maintains the data NHTSA collects from its FARS, CRSS, and NTS studies. These crash data collections are centered on the Police Accident Report (PAR), the form in which law enforcement agencies use to document a motor vehicle crash. In addition to data derived from the PAR, NHTSA may obtain additional information to further the understanding of a crash, its causal factors, or outcomes. This information may be obtained from crash report supplements, driver records, roadway classification, vehicle registration, death certificates, emergency medical service reports, and toxicology reports. This additional information is also stored and maintained in CDAN.

NHTSA has conducted a Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) for the CDAN system and has made that assessment publicly available.⁸

The FARS and NTS are not a system of records that are subject to the Privacy Act. No names of individuals are entered into automated case files. The data acquired for FARS and NTS are taken from State public record files. Personal identifiers are not required, requested, or recorded on analytical files released to the public. NHTSA makes FARS and NTS data available to the public.

Assurance of privacy and confidentiality are provided to respondents through the FARS Cooperative Agreement. The Cooperative Agreement recipients understand that data entered to the FARS Records-Based Information Solution (RBIS) will comply with Federal law and DOT security and privacy policies and requirements where applicable. Recipients are advised that U.S. DOT privacy policies are available at https://www.transportation.gov/individuals/privacy/dot-privacy-policy. In addition, recipients are advised that all IT services utilized to meet the FARS requirements must comply with the requirements of OMB Memorandum M-06-16, “Protection of Sensitive Agency Information” and “DOT Information Technology and Information Assurance Policy Number 2006-22: Implementation of DOT’s Protection of Personally Identifiable Information (PII).”

11. Provide additional justification for any questions of a sensitive nature, such as sexual behavior and attitudes, religious beliefs, and other matters that are commonly considered private. This justification should include the reasons why the agency considers the questions necessary, the specific uses to be made of the information, the explanation to be given to persons from whom the information is requested, and any steps to be taken to obtain their consent.

FARS does not collect any information that is of a sensitive nature.

12. Provide estimates of the hour burden of the collection of information on the respondents and estimates of the annualized labor cost to respondents associated with that hour burden.

For both FARS and NTS, there are 52 respondents (50 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico) reporting on approximately 34,817 fatal crash cases per year. Of these cases, 34,232 are reported to FARS and approximately 585 are identified and reported as non-traffic fatal crashes (NTS).

The State employee (or employees depending on the number of fatal crashes per year occurring in the jurisdiction) acquires and codes the required information, as fatal crashes occur, in the FARS records-based system. For FARS, although there is only one information collection, NHTSA calculates the total burden using four burden categories: (1) FARS Manual Protocol Case Entry, (2) overhead burden for FARS in States without EDT, (3) FARS coding in States with EDT, and (4) FARS EDT mapping maintenance.

FARS Manual Protocol Case Entry

NHTSA estimates that there are currently 33 States providing crash reports (including case materials) via manual protocol. For these respondents, NHTSA estimates that it takes analysts approximately 4.25 hours to collect fatal crash information and code a FARS case entry in the FARS data entry system. This estimate is based on information, over a five-year period, of the average number of analysts, full- and part-time, back-up analysts, FARS supervisors, and coding assistance respondents needed to complete an annual FARS file. NHTSA estimates that, on average, 16,205 cases are collected and coded annually using this access method. Therefore, NHTSA estimates the total annual burden associated with FARS Manual Protocol case entry to be approximately 68,871 hours annually (16,205 cases × 4.25 hours = 68,871 hours).

FARS Manual Protocol In-kind Process Support

In addition to the time for each crash entry, some respondents using the FARS Manual Protocol are also expected to incur overhead burden time. NHTSA estimates that 8 States provide overhead support and that the total annual burden for this support is 2,000 hours, or an average of 250 hours per respondent. This burden includes hours spent by supervisors and State managers responding to and supporting FARS operations that are not accounted for in the coding hours every year, including supporting data acquisition and other associated tasks.

FARS EDT Mapping Maintenance

NHTSA estimates that there are approximately 19 States already participating in Electronic Data Transfer (EDT). For these respondents, PAR data is automatically transferred from the State’s centralized crash database to NHTSA’s CDAN system. The crash data is then prepopulated in NHTSA’s crash data systems, including FARS.

NHTSA estimates the burden to maintain the protocol is estimated at two hours per State (respondent) or a total of 38 hours per year (19 States × 2 hours). This represents time to monitor case quality and timeliness, conduct quality control processes, and maintain communications with NHTSA and its contractors to ensure accurate data transfer. The specific task associated with this maintenance of effort is referred to as “mapping”. Upon becoming an EDT State, the respondent participates in an initial mapping process. The process requires an alignment between the State Specific Coding Instructions and the FARS Coding and Validation guidance.⁹ During quality control processes, which are conducted year-round, data anomalies may be detected, at which time action must be taken to review and ultimately correct the shifts in the data. This process, while managed by the Office of Data Acquisition, requires concurrence from the respondent, which is what the burden represents.

FARS EDT Manual Case Entry for Supporting Case Materials

Participation in EDT reduces but does not eliminate the manual entry of data into FARS. Although information from PARs is pre-populated into the system, EDT State respondents must still collect and enter supporting case materials, such as driver records, toxicology reports, death certificate information, and coroner’s/medical examiners reports to complete a FARS case. NHTSA estimates that completing each case entry in an EDT States takes 2 hours, which is slightly less than half the time the process is estimated to take for non-EDT States. On average, NHTSA estimates that 18,000 FARS cases will have pre-populated data. Accordingly, NHTSA estimates the total burden associated with completing the FARS case entries for these cases to be 36,000 hours (18,000 cases × 2 hours).

Total Burden for FARS

The collective and cumulative efforts of all 52 respondents results in an estimated annual burden of 106,909 hours (68,871 hours + 2,000 hours + 38 hours + 36,000 hours). Table 1 provides a summary of the burden associated with FARS.

Table 1. Burden Category Estimates and Total Burden for FARS

Burden Category	Cases Processed	Participating Respondents	Burden per Response	Hours per Respondent	Total Hours
FARS EDT (mapping maintenance)	19	19	N/A	2	38
FARS EDT Manual Case Entry (supporting case materials)	18,000	19	2.00	1,895	36,000
FARS Manual Protocol Case Entry Process (including supporting case materials)	16,205	33	4.25	2,087	68,871
FARS Manual Protocol In-kind Process Support	8	8	N/A	250	2,000
Total	34,232	52	3.13 hours	2,056.94 hours	106,909 hours

NTS Data Collection

Non-traffic fatal crashes are collected by approximately 25 States as part of the FARS data collection process. NHTSA estimates that it takes twelve hours per respondent annually to account for NTS cases. Therefore, NHTSA estimates that the total burden for NTS case identification and coding is 300 hours annually (25 respondents × 12 hours).

Burden for FARS and NTS

NHTSA estimates the total annual burden for the two information collections, FARS and NTS, is 107,209 hours per year (106,909 hours + 300 hours). Table 2 provides a summary of the burdens for the two information collections.

Information Collection	Responses	Respondents	Burden per Response	Hours per Respondent	Total Burden
FARS	34,232	52	3.13 hours	2,056.94 hours	106,909 hours
NTS	585	25	0.5	12	300 hours
Total	34,817	52			107,209 hours

Table 2: Summary of Burdens for FARS and NTS

To estimate the labor costs associated with the two information collections, NHTSA looked primarily at the annualized costs NHTSA provides to States under the FARS Cooperative Agreements and the amount of “in-kind” kind funding provided by the States. Annually, NHTSA provides approximately $6.4 million to States to go toward the labor costs associated with this information collection. Additionally, because collecting fatal information is mutually beneficial to the Federal Government and the respondents, eight State respondents have provided “in-kind funding” to cover State overhead costs associated with managing FARS operations. While “in-kind funding” varies from respondent to respondent, the average annualized labor costs are estimated at $50,000 per in-kind respondent, for a total of $400,000 in annual in-kind contributions (8 States × $50,000). Therefore, NHTSA estimates the total cost associated with labor hours to be approximately $6.8 million per year, or $63.43 per hour ($6.8 million ÷ 107,209 hours).

13. Provide an estimate of the total annual cost burden to respondents or record keepers resulting from the collection of information. Do not include the cost of any hour burden already reflected in the response provided in question 12.

NHTSA does not expect respondents to incur any additional costs (beyond labor costs as discussed in question 12) as a result of this information collection.

14. Provide estimates of annualized costs to the Federal government. Provide a description of the method used to estimate cost, which should include quantification of hours, operational expenses (such as equipment, overhead, printing, and support staff), and any other expense that would not have been incurred without this collection of information.

The total cost of the FARS study for FY 2020 is approximately $9.7 million. This figure includes the cost of the data acquisition (approximately $6.4 million paid under FARS Cooperative Agreements). The remainder of the costs are for: the data processing costs associated with data collection (file maintenance, hardware, software development and time-sharing); the data quality control costs (training, consistency, timeliness, completeness and error rate monitoring); analysis of data to respond to inquiries; and related administrative/support activities.

The major costs for FARS and NTS involve reimbursement to the States for the FARS analysts’ person hours (approximately $6.4 million annually). The person hours spent in each State is dependent upon many factors: (a) the number of fatal traffic and non-traffic crashes in that jurisdiction, (b) the quality and status of the traffic records in the jurisdiction, (c) the experience and training of the analyst, and (d) the skill of the analyst in coding and entering data. Measures are being taken to improve the cost efficiency of data acquisition including better training and cross-fertilization of methods and techniques used by very efficient jurisdictions to jurisdictions with higher costs per case.

15. Explain the reasons for any program changes or adjustments reported on the burden worksheet. If this is a new collection, the program change will be entire burden cost and number of burden hours reported in response to questions 12 and 13. If this is a renewal or reinstatement, the change is the difference between the new burden estimates and the burden estimates from the last OMB approval.

The annual burden has been adjusted from 106,244 to 107,209 hours (an increase of 965 hours) costs have decreased from $100,000 to $0 (a decrease of $100,000). The adjustment in burden hours is due to the increase in the complexity of coding the FARS cases and an increase in the number of fatal crashes across most States. The increase also accounts for the time to process the non-traffic fatalities for NTS. Furthermore, while time for manually inputting data has decreased with States implementing systems to electronically transfer police report data that prepopulate NHTSA’s data systems, including FARS,¹⁰ the overall burden increased because, over the past two years, there has been an increase in staff turnover at the State level, adding an increase in administrative hours, training, and coding assistance to continue operations. The decrease in costs is a result of removing labor costs associated with labor hours that were incorrectly included in our last ICR. Costs decreased from $100,000 to $0. When NHTSA last sought approval, labor costs were included in response to question 13, which was incorrect.

16. For collections of information whose results will be published, outline plans for tabulation and publication. Address any complex analytical techniques that will be used. Provide the time schedule for the entire project, including beginning and ending dates of the collection of information, completion of report, publication dates, and other actions as applicable.

The data files are released annually and made available to the public each year after completion of quality control. The previous calendar years’ data are available at https://www.nhtsa.gov/crash-data-systems/fatality-analysis-reporting-system. For example, data collected during calendar year 2021 will be available for public release in fall/winter of 2022 at https://www.nhtsa.gov/crash-data-systems/fatality-analysis-reporting-system.

Due to the limited non-traffic data obtained from respondents, the NTS non-traffic data are published every two to three years.

17. If seeking approval to not display the expiration date for OMB approval of the information collection, explain the reasons that display would be inappropriate.

NHTSA intends to display the expiration date for OMB approval and the PRA burden statement on each of the 52 FARS Cooperative Agreements and in the RBIS data entry system.

18. Explain each exception to the topics of the certification statement identified in "Certification for Paperwork Reduction Act Submissions." The required certifications can be found at 5 CFR 1320.9.

FATALITY ANALYSIS REPORTING SYSTEM: This collection of information is voluntary and will be used for informative purposes only so that we may develop and evaluate programs designed to reduce the number of traffic-related injuries and deaths. A federal agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, nor shall a person be subject to a penalty for failure to comply with a collection of information subject to the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act unless that collection of information displays a current valid OMB Control Number. The OMB Control Number for this information collection is 2127-0006. NHTSA estimates that FARS entries take approximately 3 hours per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, completing, and reviewing the collection of information. All responses to this collection of information are voluntary. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden to: Information Collection Clearance Officer, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, W45-205, 1200 New Jersey Ave, S.E., Washington, DC, 20590.¹¹

1 The Abstract must include the following information: (1) whether responding to the collection is mandatory, voluntary, or required to obtain or retain a benefit; (2) a description of the entities who must respond; (3) whether the collection is reporting (indicate if a survey), recordkeeping, and/or disclosure; (4) the frequency of the collection (e.g., bi-annual, annual, monthly, weekly, as needed); (5) a description of the information that would be reported, maintained in records, or disclosed; (6) a description of who would receive the information; (7) if the information collection involves approval by an institutional review board, include a statement to that effect; (8) the purpose of the collection; and (9) if a revision, a description of the revision and the change in burden.

2 The CRSS information collection is assigned OMB Control No. 2127-0714.

3 The CISS information collection is assigned OMB Control No. 2127-0706.

4 The EDT information collection is assigned OMB Control No. 2127-0753.

5 NHTSA’s information collection for CRSS is covered by the ICR with OMB Control No. 2127-0714.

6 NHTSA’s information collection for CISS is covered by the ICR with OMB Control No. 2127-0706.

7 https://www.transportation.gov/individuals/privacy/crash-data-acquisition-network-cdan-pia

8 https://www.transportation.gov/individuals/privacy/crash-data-acquisition-network-cdan-pia

9 The burden associated with this task is accounted for under NHTSA ICR that covers EDT (OMB Control Number 2127-0753).

10 The EDT information collection is assigned OMB Control No. 2127-0753.

11 Specifically explain how the agency display the OMB control number and expiration date and will inform potential respondents of the information required under 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3): the reasons the information is planned to be and/or has been collected; the way such information is planned to be and/or has been used to further the proper performance of the functions of the agency; an estimate, to the extent practicable, of the average burden of the collection (together with a request that the public direct to the agency any comments concerning the accuracy of this burden estimate and any suggestions for reducing this burden); whether responses to the collection of information are voluntary, required to obtain or retain a benefit (citing authority), or mandatory (citing authority);the nature and extent of confidentiality to be provided, if any (citing authority); and the fact that an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.

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