Agency Information Collection Activities; Notice and Request for Comment; Reporting of Information and Documents About Potential Defects

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), before an agency submits a proposed collection of information to OMB for approval, it must first publish a document in the Federal Register providing a 60-day comment period and otherwise consult with members of the public and affected agencies concerning each proposed collection of information. The OMB has promulgated regulations describing what must be included in such a document. Under OMB's regulation (at 5 CFR 1320.8(d)), an agency must ask for public comment on the following: (a) whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information will have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (c) how to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) how to minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g. permitting electronic submission of responses. In compliance with these requirements, NHTSA asks for public comments on the following proposed collection of information for which the agency is seeking approval from OMB.

Title: Reporting of Information and Documents About Potential Defects.

OMB Control: 2127-0616.

Type of Request: Extension without change of a currently approved information collection.

Type of Review Requested: Regular.

Requested Expiration Date of Approval: 3 years from date of approval.

Summary of the Collection of Information: This notice requests comment on NHTSA's intention to seek approval from OMB to extend without change a currently approved collection of information, OMB No. 2127-0616, covering requirements in 49 CFR 579, Reporting of Information and Communications about Potential Defects. Part 579 implements, and addresses with more specificity, requirements from the Transportation Recall Enhancement Accountability and Documentation (TREAD) Act (Pub. L. 106-414), which was enacted on November 1, 2000, and is codified at 49 U.S.C. 30166.

The purpose of part 579 is to enhance motor vehicle safety by specifying information and documents that manufacturers of motor vehicles and motor vehicle equipment must provide to NHTSA concerning possible safety-related defects and non-compliances in their products, including the reporting of safety recalls and other safety campaigns the manufacturers conduct outside the United States. Under part 579, there are three categories of reporting requirements: (1) Requirements at § 579.5 to submit notices, bulletins, customer satisfaction campaigns, consumer advisories, and other communications (found in subpart A of part 579); (2) requirements at § 579.11 to submit information related to safety recalls and other safety campaigns in the foreign countries (found in subpart B of part 579); and (3) requirements at §§ 579.21-28 to submit Early Warning Information (found in subpart C of part 579). The Early Warning Reporting (EWR) requirements (U.S.C. 30166(m); 49 CFR part 579, subpart C) specify that manufacturers of motor vehicles and motor vehicle equipment must submit to NHTSA information periodically or upon NHTSA's request, that includes claims or notices for incidents involving death or injury; numbers of property damage claims, consumer complaints, warranty claims, and field reports; copies of field reports; and other information that may assist NHTSA in identifying potential safety-related defects. The intent of this information collection is to provide early warning of such potential safety-related defects to NHTSA.

Description of the Need for the Information and Proposed Use of the Information: The information required under 49 U.S.C. 30166 and 49 CFR part 579 is used by NHTSA to promptly identify potential safety-related defects in motor vehicles and motor vehicle equipment in the United States. When a trend in incidents arising from a potentially safety-related defect is discovered, NHTSA relies on this information, along with other agency data, to determine whether to open a defect investigation.

Affected Public: Manufacturers of motor vehicles and motor vehicle equipment.

Estimated Number of Respondents: NHTSA receives part 579 submissions from approximately 297 manufacturers per year. We estimate that there will be a total of 297 respondents per year to this extension of the OMB No. 2127-0616, instead of the previously estimated 337 respondents per year.

Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: When this approved information collection was last renewed in April 2022, NHTSA estimated the annual burden associated with this collection to be 53,810 burden hours. NHTSA is updating these estimates to better align with the current volume of submissions. NHTSA now estimates the annual burden hours associated with this collection to be 54,088 hours based on analysis of EWR reporting data from the 2021 through 2023 reporting years.

NHTSA estimated the burdens associated with this collection by calculating the burden associated with submitting information under each subpart of part 579. In addition to these burdens, NHTSA also estimates that manufacturers will incur computer maintenance burden hours, which are estimated on a per manufacturer basis.

Requirements Under Part 579, Subpart A

The first component of this collection request covers the requirements found in part 579 subpart A, § 579.5, Notices, bulletins, customer satisfaction campaigns, consumer advisories, and other communications. Section 579.5 requires manufacturers to furnish (1) a copy of all notices, bulletins, and other communications sent to more than one manufacturer, distributor, dealer, lessor, lessee, owner, or purchaser, in the United States, regarding any defect in its vehicles or items of equipment (including any failure of malfunction beyond normal deterioration in use, or any failure of performance, or any flaw or unintended deviation from design specifications), whether or not such defect is safety-related and (2) a copy of each communication relating to a customer satisfaction campaign, consumer advisory, recall, or other safety activity involving the repair or replacement of motor vehicles or equipment, that the manufacturer issued to, or made available to, more than one dealer, distributor, lessor, lessee, other manufacturer, owner, or purchaser, in the United States. Manufacturers are required to submit these documents monthly. Section 579.5 does not require manufacturers to create these documents. Instead, only copies of these documents must be submitted to NHTSA, and manufacturers must index these communications and email them to NHTSA within 5 working days after the end of the month in which they were issued. Therefore, the burden hours are only those associated with collecting the documents and submitting copies to NHTSA.

NHTSA estimates that it receives approximately 17,615 notices a year. We estimate that it takes about 5 minutes to collect, index, and submit each notice to NHTSA. Therefore, we estimate that it takes 1,468 hours for manufacturers to submit notices as required under Section 579.5 (17,615 notices × 5 minutes = 88,075 minutes or 1,468 hours).

To calculate the labor cost associated with submitting Section 579.5 notices, bulletins, customer satisfaction campaigns, consumer advisories and other communications that are sent to more than one dealer or owner, NHTSA looked at wage estimates for the type of personnel submitting the documents. While some manufacturers employ clerical staff to collect and submit the documents, others use technical computer support staff to complete the task. Because we do not know what percent of the work is completed by clerical or technical computer support staff, NHTSA estimates the total labor costs associated with these burden hours by looking at the average wage for the higher-paid technical computer support staff. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) estimates that the average hourly wage for Computer Support Specialists (BLS Occupation code 15-1230) in the Motor Vehicle Manufacturing Industry is $37.62. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated that private industry workers' wages represented 70.4 percent of employer costs for employee compensation in December 2023 (ECEC adjustment). Based on the BLS average hourly wage and ECEC adjustment factor, NHTSA estimates the hourly labor costs to be $53.44 for Computer Support Specialists ($37.62 ÷ 0.704 = $53.44). The incremental labor cost per submission is estimated to be $4.45 ($53.44 per hour × 5 minutes). NHTSA estimates the total labor cost associated with the 1,468 burden hours for § 579.5 submissions to be $78,387 ($4.45 × 17,615 submissions). Table 1 provides a summary of the burden estimates using the average annual submission count for monthly reports submitted pursuant to § 579.5 and the estimated burden hours and labor costs associated with those submissions. The average number of annual submissions under § 579.5 decreased by approximately 29 percent from the currently approved information collection, dropping from 24,884 to 17,615 manufacturer communication submissions. The incremental cost per submission rose from $3.73 to $4.45, a 19 percent increase. The annual burden hours dropped from 2,074 to 1,468, matching the 29 percent drop in submissions. The annual labor costs dropped from $92,817 to $78,387, a 16 percent decrease with the reduction in submissions partially offset by the increased labor cost per submission.