[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 154 (Wednesday, August 11, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43811-43812]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-20710]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration


Research and Development Programs Meeting

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces a public meeting at which NHTSA will 
describe and discuss specific research and development projects. 
Further, the notice requests suggestions for topics to be presented by 
the agency.

Dates and Times

    The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will hold a 
public meeting devoted primarily to presentations of specific research 
and development projects on September 16, 1999, beginning at 1:30 p.m. 
and ending at approximately 5:00 p.m. The deadline for interested 
parties to suggest agenda topics is 5:00 p.m. on August 31, 1999. 
Questions may be submitted in advance regarding the agency's research 
and development projects. They must be submitted in writing by 
September 3, 1999, to the address given below. If sufficient time is 
available, questions received after the September 3 date will be 
answered at the meeting during the discussion period. The individual, 
group, or company asking a question does not have to be present for the 
question to be answered. A consolidated list of answers to questions 
submitted by September 3 will be available at the meeting and will be 
mailed to requesters after the meeting.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Tysons Westpark Hotel, 8401 
Westpark Drive, McLean, Virginia. Suggestions for specific research and 
development topics as described below and questions for the September 
16, 1999, meeting relating to the agency's research and development 
programs should be submitted to the Office of the Associate 
Administrator for Research and Development, NRD-01, National Highway 
Traffic Safety Administration, Room 6206, 400 Seventh St., SW, 
Washington, DC 20590. The fax number is (202) 366-5930.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In recent years, since April 1993, NHTSA has 
provided detailed information about its research and development 
programs in presentations at a series of public meetings. The purpose 
is to make available more complete and timely information regarding the 
agency's research and development programs. This is the twenty-fourth 
meeting in that series, and it will be held on September 16, 1999, at 
the Tysons Westpark Hotel, 8401 Westpark Drive, McLean, Virginia.
    Based on the suggestions received in previous meetings, NHTSA 
intends to limit its presentation at the September 16, 1999, meeting to 
a single research topic. NHTSA requests suggestions from interested 
parties on the specific agenda topic to be presented at this meeting. 
NHTSA will base its decisions about the agenda, in part, on the 
suggestions it receives by 5:00 p.m. on August 31, 1999. Before the 
meeting, NHTSA will publish a notice with an agenda listing the 
research and development topic to be discussed. The agenda can also be 
obtained by calling or faxing the request to the telephone numbers 
listed in this notice, through the E-mail address listed in this 
notice, or from NHTSA's Web site under Announcements/Public Meetings at 
URL http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/nhtsa/announce/meetings/.
    NHTSA asks that the suggestions be limited to three, in priority 
order, so that the presentation at the September 16, 1999, meeting can 
be most useful to the audience. Specific research and development 
topics are listed below. Many of these topics have been discussed at 
previous meetings. Suggestions for agenda topics are not restricted to 
this listing, and interested parties are invited to suggest other 
research and development topics of specific interest to their 
organizations. Additionally, if any interested parties would like to 
make a presentation regarding technical issues concerning any of 
NHTSA's research programs, information concerning the proposed topic 
and speaker should be submitted in writing by 5:00 p.m. on August 31, 
1999.
    Specific R&D topics are: Fiscal Year 1999 R&D Research Efforts, 
International Harmonized Research Activities (IHRA), On-line tracking 
system for NHTSA's research projects, and Crash Injury Research and 
Engineering Network (CIREN).
    Specific Crashworthiness R&D topics are:

Status of advanced air bag research and up-to-date results,
Demonstration of CD ROM for child restraint/vehicle compatibility,
Preparation of new dummies for assessment of advanced air bag 
technology,
Improved frontal crash protection (program status, problem 
identification, offset testing),
Upgrade side crash protection,
Child restraint/air bag interaction (CRABI) dummy testing,

[[Page 43812]]

Head and neck injury research,

Lower extremity injury research, and
Thorax injury research.
    Specific Crash Avoidance R&D topics are:

National Advanced Driving Simulator (NADS),
Intelligent vehicle initiative (the rear-end collision avoidance system 
operational test),
Drowsy driver monitoring,
Driver workload assessment, and Lane change/merge collision avoidance 
system guidelines.

    Specific National Center for Statistics and Analysis (NCSA) topics 
are:

NCSA Overview,
Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), and
Special crash investigation studies of air bag cases.

    Separately, questions regarding research projects that have been 
submitted in writing not later than 5:00 p.m. on September 3, 1999, 
will be answered. The summary minutes of the meeting, copies of 
materials handed out at the meeting, and answers to the questions 
submitted for response at the meeting will be available for public 
inspection in the DOT Docket in Washington, DC, within 3 weeks after 
the meeting. Copies of this material will then be available at ten 
cents a page upon request to DOT Docket, Room PL-401, 400 Seventh 
Street, SW, Washington, DC 20590. The DOT Docket is open to the public 
from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The summary minutes, handouts, and answers 
to the questions will also be available on NHTSA's Web site at 
Announcements/Public Meetings at URL http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/nhtsa/
announce/meetings/.
    NHTSA will provide technical aids to participants as necessary, 
during the Research and Development Programs Meeting. Thus, any person 
desiring the assistance of ``auxiliary aids'' (e.g., sign-language 
interpreter, telecommunication devices for deaf persons (TTDs), 
readers, taped texts, braille materials, or large print materials and/
or a magnifying device), please contact Rita Gibbons by telephone on 
(202) 366-4862, by telefax on (202) 366-5930, or by E-mail at 
[email protected] by 5:00 p.m. September 7, 1999.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rita Gibbons, Staff Assistant, Office 
of Research and Development, 400 Seventh Street, SW, Washington, DC 
20590. Telephone: (202) 366-4862. Fax number: (202) 366-5930. E-mail: 
[email protected].

    Issued: August 6, 1999.
Raymond P. Owings,
Associate Administrator for Research and Development.
[FR Doc. 99-20710 Filed 8-10-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P