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: Best Practices for Integrating Crash and Injury Surveillance Data Systems.

OMB Control Number: New.

Form Number(s): NHTSA Form 2261, NHTSA Form 2262.

Type of Request: New information collection. ( printed page 51219)

Type of Review Requested: Regular.

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

Summary of the Collection of Information: NHTSA is authorized by 23 U.S.C. 403 to collect and analyze data on motor vehicle traffic crashes and related injuries to support the identification of safety issues and the development, implementation, and evaluation of effective motor vehicle and highway safety countermeasures.

For decades, NHTSA has supported efforts to improve the quality, completeness, and integration of traffic records, including linking police-reported crash data with injury surveillance and clinical data ( e.g., EMS, trauma registries, emergency departments, hospital discharge, vital records). Programs such as the Crash Outcome Data Evaluation System (CODES) and, more recently, the introduction of the Universally Unique Identifier (UUID) in the Model Minimum Uniform Crash Criteria (MMUCC) have encouraged States to integrate crash and injury surveillance data to better understand crash outcomes, especially serious injuries.

NHTSA seeks to conduct a one-time information collection to obtain structured, comparable information on States' and territories' current practices related to crash and injury surveillance data linkage and integration.

The collection has three components:

1. Virtual stakeholder meetings: NHTSA, through a contractor, will facilitate virtual stakeholder meetings. NHTSA will request that State Highway Safety Offices provide information from the meeting participants acting in their official capacity, i.e., names and work email addresses, so that NHTSA can send virtual meeting invitations to the identified participants. These meetings will gather qualitative information about States' current efforts, successes, and challenges in linking crash and injury surveillance data and will help identify relevant stakeholders for the subsequent survey and interviews.

2. Online survey of State stakeholders: Following the virtual stakeholder meetings, the contractor will distribute individualized links to an online survey to crash and injury surveillance data systems stakeholders from the States and territories. The survey will collect information on:

• Availability and types of injury surveillance datasets;
• Use and formats of crash and injury surveillance data;
• Staffing, skills, and training related to data analysis and data linkage/integration;
• Current crash-injury data linkage/integration activities (including data sources, methods, tools, frequency, and use of UUID or other unique identifiers);
• Data governance, data sharing, and data quality control practices; and
• Use of linked/integrated data to support traffic safety decision-making.

The survey employs primarily checkbox, matrix, and multiple-choice questions and includes only two open-ended questions to limit burden. The survey will not collect personally identifiable information (PII) about individual respondents.

3. Follow-up in-depth interviews: Based on the information gathered from the stakeholder meetings and the survey, NHTSA will select up to nine States for follow-up structured virtual interviews to obtain more detailed qualitative information on their data linkage and integration processes, use of UUID, challenges, and best practices.

The information collection is intended to provide NHTSA with a clearer picture of the “state of the practice” across States and territories regarding crash and injury surveillance data linkage and integration, including both CODES-like programs and other data linkage efforts. The results will inform NHTSA's technical assistance, program planning, and development of best practice guidance to support States in initiating, sustaining, or enhancing their data linkage and integration activities.

Description of the Need for the Information and Proposed Use of the Information: Linked crash and injury surveillance data are critical for understanding crash outcomes (particularly serious injuries), evaluating countermeasures, and guiding investment decisions in traffic safety. While NHTSA has long supported data integration through programs such as CODES and MMUCC, the agency currently lacks comprehensive, up-to-date information on how States and territories are linking or integrating crash and injury surveillance data, what methods and tools are being used, how UUID and other unique identifiers are being implemented, and what challenges and successes States are experiencing.

This information collection will provide:

• A descriptive, national-level picture of state practices in crash-injury data linkage and integration;
• Insight into barriers (e.g., legal, technical, resource-related) and opportunities for improving linkage and data quality;
• Documentation of emerging technologies and methods, including use of the UUID introduced in the National Emergency Medical Services Information System (NEMSIS) and MMUCC; and
• Examples of effective practices, governance structures, and data use that can inform NHTSA's technical assistance and guidance to States.

NHTSA will use the findings to:

• Identify needs for targeted technical assistance, training, or guidance to States;
• Inform the development or refinement of best practices and tools to support crash-injury data linkage and integration; and
• Support broader Federal and state efforts to improve the use of linked data for problem identification, resource allocation, program evaluation, and performance management in traffic safety.

NHTSA does not intend to use the information collected to produce statistical estimates that are generalizable to a broader population in the sense of a probability-based survey. Instead, the collection is a one-time, descriptive assessment of identified state-level stakeholders and their practices.

Affected Public: State and territorial crash and injury surveillance data systems stakeholders who manage, link, integrate, or use these data as part of their professional responsibilities. This includes staff from State Highway Safety Offices, Departments of Transportation, Departments of Public Safety or Police, Departments of Motor Vehicles, Departments of Health, hospital associations, trauma systems, and related organizations.

Estimated Number of Respondents: NHTSA estimates a total of 129 respondents participating in all three project components, broken down as follows:

• Virtual stakeholder meetings: 10 virtual meetings with an average of 20 participants per meeting, for an estimated total of 200 respondents (participants are counted once, although some may also complete the survey or interviews).
• Online survey: Approximately 100 respondents, including participants from the meetings and additional relevant stakeholders identified by NHTSA Regions and State partners.
• Follow-up in-depth interviews: Up to nine States, with an average of four stakeholders per State, for an estimated total of 36 interview respondents.

( printed page 51220)

Because some individuals will participate in more than one activity ( e.g., a stakeholder may attend a virtual meeting, complete the survey, and participate in a follow-up interview), the total number of unique individuals will be somewhat less than the sum of activity-specific counts.

Frequency: This is a one-time collection of information.

Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 378 hours.

This information collection includes three components: virtual stakeholder meetings, an online survey, and follow-up interviews.

Virtual Stakeholder Meetings

• Number of virtual stakeholder meetings: 10.
• Estimated participants per meeting: 20.
• Duration per meeting: 1.5 hours.
• Total burden hours: 300 hours (10 meetings × 20 participants/meeting × 1.5 hours).

Online survey

• Based on the number and type of questions, skip logic, and instrument review, NHTSA estimates that it will take an average of 25 minutes (0.42 hours) for each respondent to complete the survey.
• Estimated number of survey respondents: 100.
• Burden per response: 0.42 hours.
• Total burden hours: 42 hours (100 respondents × 0.42 hours = 42 hours).

Follow-Up in-Depth Interviews

• NHTSA estimates that each follow-up interview will last approximately 60 minutes and that an average of four stakeholders will participate per State.
• Number of States: up to nine.
• Participants per State: four.
• Duration per interview session: one hour.
• Total burden hours: 36 hours (9 States × 4 participants × 1 hour = 36 hours).

Estimates from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) were used to estimate the labor costs for each component ^[1] . The BLS estimates that wages represent an average 61.5 percent of total compensation for State and local government workers. To determine the fully loaded hourly labor cost, which encompasses both base wages and fringe benefits, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration divides the BLS estimated average hourly wage rate by 0.615. Based on an estimated average hourly wage of $40.00, dividing this rate by 0.615 results in a total estimated fully loaded hourly labor cost of approximately $65.04 per hour.

Using this hourly labor cost, the estimated labor cost for each component is:

1. Virtual meetings: $19,512.00 (300 burden hours × $65.04 hourly labor cost).

2. Online survey: $2,731.68 (42 burden hours × $65.04 hourly labor cost).

3. Follow-up in-depth interviews: $2,341.44 (36 burden hours × $65.04 hourly labor cost).

The total labor cost is approximately $24,585.12. Table 1 provides a summary of the estimated burden hours and labor costs associated with those respondents.

Because this is a one-time collection, these burden and cost estimates represent the total (and thus annual) burden associated with this effort.

Estimated Total Annual Burden Cost: This collection is not expected to result in any additional costs to respondents beyond the opportunity cost of their time, which is captured in the burden hour estimates above. Respondents are professionals who already possess the information needed to participate, and the collection does not require the purchase of any equipment or services, the development of new data systems, or the retention or submission of records beyond what agencies already maintain for their own purposes.

Public Comments Invited: You are asked to comment on any aspects of this information collection, including (a) whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Department, including whether the information will have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the Department's estimate of the burden of the proposed information collection; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995; 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, as amended; 49 CFR 1.49; and DOT Order 1351.29A.

91 FR 51218