AGENCY:

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Department of Transportation (DOT).

ACTION:

Notice of a public meeting.

SUMMARY:

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) will hold a public meeting on December 1-2, 2026, to provide updates and insights into ongoing activities across NHTSA's safety research programs. The meeting will be held in-person and will feature panel presentations and research posters by representatives from the Offices of Vehicle Safety Research and Behavioral Safety Research. Each research panel will conclude with an opportunity for the audience to ask technical questions related to the presented materials. Visual slides used in presentations and posters will be made available in the public docket following the public meeting. The event will not be live streamed; however, panel presentations will be recorded and made available on the NHTSA website after the event. On the afternoon of the first day, Tuesday, December 1, the Agency will also convene an Automated Driving Systems (ADS) Workshop organized by the Office of Automation Safety. The ADS Workshop will not be recorded.

DATES:

NHTSA will hold the Safety Research Portfolio public meeting on December 1-2, 2026. The ADS workshop will be held on the afternoon of December 1, 2026. Registration for the public meeting must be completed no later than November 24, 2026. The public docket for the Safety Research Public Meeting and ADS Workshop will remain open for comments for 90 days following the Public Meeting, until March 2, 2027.

ADDRESSES:

The Research Public meeting and the ADS Workshop will both be held in person in the West Atrium of the DOT Headquarters: 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590.

Registration: Attendees must register at www.nhtsa.gov/​events/​nhtsa-safety-research-portfolio-public-meeting-fall-2026. Please follow the registration instructions presented at the registration site.

Comments: You may submit comments about either the public ( printed page 64223) meeting or the workshop by any of the following methods:

• Electronic submissions: Go to the Federal eRulemaking Portal at www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
• Fax: (202) 493-2251.
• Mail or Hand Delivery: Docket Management, U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building, Suite W58-213, Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except on Federal holidays. To be sure someone is there to help you, please call (202) 366-9826 or (202) 366-9317 before coming.

Instructions: All submissions must include the Agency name and docket number for this notice. Note that all comments received will be posted without change to www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided. Please see the Privacy Act below.

Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or comments received, go to www.regulations.gov at any time or the street address listed above. Follow the online instructions for accessing the dockets via internet.

Privacy Act: Anyone can search the electronic form of all comments received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review DOT's complete Privacy Act Statement in the Federal Register published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477-78), or you may visit www.regulations.gov/​privacy.html.

Confidential Business Information: If you wish to submit any information under a claim of confidentiality, you must submit your request directly to NHTSA's Office of the Chief Counsel. Requests for confidentiality are governed by 49 CFR part 512. NHTSA is currently treating electronic submission as an acceptable method for submitting confidential business information to the agency under part 512. If you would like to submit a request for confidential treatment, you may email your submission to Dan Rabinovitz in the Office of the Chief Counsel at Daniel.Rabinovitz@dot.gov or you may contact him for a secure file transfer link. At this time, you should not send a duplicate hardcopy of your electronic CBI submissions to DOT headquarters. If you claim that any of the information or documents provided to the agency constitute confidential business information within the meaning of 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4) or are protected from disclosure pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 1905, you must submit supporting information together with the materials that are the subject of the confidentiality request, in accordance with part 512, to the Office of the Chief Counsel. Your request must include a cover letter setting forth the information specified in our confidential business information regulation (49 CFR 512.8) and a certificate, pursuant to § 512.4(b) and part 512, appendix A. In addition, you should submit a copy, from which you have deleted the claimed confidential business information, to the Docket at the address given above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

If you have questions about the research portion of the public meeting, please contact Jennifer Oxenham at jennifer.oxenham@dot.gov. If you have questions about the ADS Workshop, please contact Debbie Sweet at debbie.sweet@dot.gov.