SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Under the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), a Federal agency must receive approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) before it collects certain information from the public and a person is not required to respond to a collection of information by a Federal agency unless the collection displays a valid OMB control number. In compliance with these requirements, this notice announces that the following information collection request will be submitted OMB.

Title: Older Novice Driver Study.

OMB Control Number: New.

Form Numbers: NHTSA Forms 2228, 2229, 2230, 2231, 2232, 2233, and 2234.

Type of Request: Request for approval of a new information collection.

Type of Review Requested: Regular.

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

Summary of the Collection of Information:

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is seeking approval for a one-time voluntary information collection from older (ages 18 to 20) and younger (younger than age 17) novice drivers to investigate their driving performance and behavior during the first 12 months of independent (unsupervised) driving after licensure in a State(s) that does not apply GDL laws to novices 18 and older. Naturalistic driving data for each participant will be collected for 12 months following licensure using a smartphone-based data acquisition system (DAS) or using both the smartphone-based system and another, more comprehensive DAS installed in participant's personal vehicles. The smartphone-based DAS will use Global Positioning System (GPS) and accelerometer inputs to collect information related to velocity, ( printed page 66194) acceleration, and driver exposure. The vehicle DAS includes video cameras and sensors; data will also be collected from the vehicle data bus. In addition, at the beginning, at the end, and up to four times throughout the study, participants will complete questionnaires about demographic, psychological, or other individual characteristics, such as attitudes and beliefs about traffic safety, that prior research indicates is associated with increased risk of crashes or risky driving. Finally, participant-provided driver license numbers will be linked to State databases to obtain crash and citation information (number, type, and date) for the 12-month study period.

While the naturalistic data collection does not create a burden to participants, study tasks with associated burden include a 2-minute screening questionnaire and a 10-minute informed consent briefing for potential participants (and their parent/guardian, if under 18). At the beginning of the study, all enrolled participants will complete a baseline questionnaire and hazard perception test and have the smartphone DAS installed (30 minutes); a subgroup will also have the vehicle DAS installed (an additional 240 minutes). During the naturalistic driving data collection period, participants will complete a study questionnaire on their smartphones up to four times (84 minutes). Finally, at the end of the study, all participants will complete a final questionnaire and have the smartphone app uninstalled from their phones (two minutes); the subgroup with the vehicle DAS will also have it uninstalled (an additional 240 minutes).

The total expected annual burden for this collection is 2,574 hours, with an estimated opportunity cost of $110,378. The total annual cost burden is $0. Prior to conducting the study, the research team will obtain review and approval of this data collection from an Institutional Review Board (IRB) that meets all Federal requirements in 45 CFR 46, is registered with the Office for Human Research Protections, and has a Federalwide Assurance. NHTSA will use the results of this study to produce a technical report containing summary descriptive and inferential statistics. The technical report will be shared with State Highway Safety Offices, local governments, policymakers, researchers, educators, advocates, and others who may wish to use the results of this study to support their work on novice and teen driver safety.

Description of the Need for the Information and Proposed Use of the Information:

NHTSA's mission is to save lives, prevent injuries and reduce health care and other economic costs from motor vehicle crashes. To further this mission, NHTSA conducts research as a foundation for the development of motor vehicle standards and traffic safety programs. Because of their increased risk, novice drivers are an area of focus for NHTSA's behavioral safety efforts. State GDL laws have been successful at reducing crashes of younger novices, but an increasing number of young people are delaying licensure until they are 18 or older, when they are typically exempt from GDL provisions. Little is currently known about the driving performance and behavior of novices ages 18-20, but some research indicates older novices may be at higher risk than their teen counterparts.

This study aims to examine the driving performance and behavior of younger and older novice drivers during their first year of unsupervised driving to inform the feasibility of developing GDL provisions that apply to older novice drivers. This study will also examine the driving performance and behavior of novices who are consistently at higher- or lower-risk during this period to inform the development of other behavioral countermeasures like training, education, and messaging. Finally, this study employs the use of smartphone telematics for the collection of naturalistic driving data from all participants, with the goal of removing barriers to participation and recruiting a study sample that is more representative of the older and younger novice driver populations. Because a subgroup of participants will also have naturalistic driving data collected from a vehicle DAS, this study will provide methodological information about the correspondence of driving performance and behavior data collected with the two methods.

60-Day Notice

A Federal Register notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting public comments on the following information collection was published on May 26, 2026 (91 FR 30780). No comments were received regarding the information collection.

Affected Public: Newly-licensed drivers in one or more States, either less than 17 years old or between 18 and 20 years old.

Estimated Number of Respondents: The study anticipates screening up to 3,337 potential participants annually. Of this group, an estimated 1,001 potential participants annually (plus an estimated 501 parents/guardians for potential participants younger than 18) will undergo the informed consent briefing. Finally, of this group, about 834 respondents are expected to consent and enroll in the study annually.

Frequency: This study is a one-time data collection.

Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours

A screening questionnaire to identify respondents who are eligible for the study will be administered in person or over the telephone. We estimate that 2,336 respondents annually will complete the screening questionnaire but will not be eligible or interested in participating in the study. For this group (“Screened, Ineligible”), completing the screening questionnaire (two minutes) has an estimated annual burden of 78 hours (Table 1).

We estimate that 30% of those who complete the screening questionnaire will be eligible and interested in participating in the study. These respondents will then complete the informed consent briefing. In this briefing, a member of the research team will share an overview of the study, explain the consent form, and answer any of the potential participant's questions. However, we estimate that about 17% of respondents who undergo the informed consent briefing will ultimately decline to participate in the study (167 respondents annually). For this group (“Eligible, Not Enrolled”), completing the screening questionnaire (two minutes) and informed consent briefing (10 minutes) has an estimated annual burden of 33 hours (Table 1). In addition, about half of all respondents who complete the informed consent briefing are expected to be younger than 18. For these respondents, a parent or guardian must also complete the informed consent briefing. We estimate that about 501 parent/guardians will complete the informed consent briefing (10 minutes) annually, for an estimated annual burden of 84 hours (Table 1).

Finally, we anticipate enrolling 834 respondents in the study annually. Of these 834 respondents, 759 respondents will be assigned to smartphone DAS group and will only have naturalistic driving data collected via smartphone telematics. The remaining 75 respondents will be assigned to the vehicle DAS group and will additionally have driving data collected via in-vehicle equipment. ( printed page 66195)

All respondents enrolled in the study will complete the screening questionnaire (two minutes), the informed consent briefing (10 minutes), and all other study activities. These study activities include (Table 2):

• Completing a baseline questionnaire (15 minutes), a hazard perception test to measure the respondent's ability to correctly identify driving hazards in static images (10 minutes), having the app that will collect naturalistic driving data installed on their smartphone (five minutes), and, for the vehicle DAS group, having the in-vehicle data collection equipment installed in their personal vehicles (240 minutes). These baseline activities have an estimated total burden of 30 minutes for the smartphone DAS group and 270 minutes for the vehicle DAS group.
• Completing a study period questionnaire up to four times during the 12-month study period (up to 84 minutes). This questionnaire asks participants to self-report a variety of information that prior research indicates is associated with increased risk of crashes or risky driving, including mindfulness, anxiety, depression, parental involvement, sense of purpose, neighborhood collective efficacy, perceived community support, safety attitudes and behaviors, sensation seeking personality, and sleep quality.
• Completing a final questionnaire that asks participants about any crashes or citations they experienced during the study period (one minute), having the data collection app uninstalled from their smartphones (one minute), and, for the vehicle DAS group only, having the in-vehicle data collection equipment uninstalled from their vehicles (240 minutes). These final study activities have an estimated total burden of two minutes for the smartphone DAS group and 242 minutes for the vehicle DAS group.

Overall, we estimate that for the 759 annual respondents in the smartphone DAS group, the burden per response is 128 minutes, for a total annual burden of 1,619 hours. For the 75 annual respondents in the vehicle DAS group, the burden per response is 608 minutes, for a total annual burden of 760 hours.

The total hour burden for all respondents is 2,574 hours annually (Table 1). A summary of the number of study participants expected to complete each stage of the study ( i.e., screening, informed consent, and enrollment) is shown in Table 3.

Estimated Total Annual Burden Cost: $0.

The subset of participants ( n = 225) who will have both the smartphone DAS and vehicle DAS installed will need to travel to and from a study location where the vehicle DAS equipment installation will occur. While at the study location, these participants will also have the smartphone DAS installed and complete the baseline questionnaire and hazard perception test. Then, at the end of the study, this subgroup of participants will again travel to and from the study location to have the DASs uninstalled and complete the final questionnaire. NHTSA estimates that each of the 225 participants will travel less than 10 miles one-way to the study location (20 miles round trip), for a total of 40 miles for the two days. Using the IRS standard mileage rate of $0.725 per mile, each participant is expected to incur no more than $29 in transportation costs. Therefore, NHTSA estimates that the total costs to the respondents enrolled in the study will be no more than $2,175 annually ($6,525 total). The costs ( printed page 66196) associated with this travel are minimal and are expected to be offset by the compensation that will be provided to participants ( i.e., $220 for the smartphone DAS group and $340 for the vehicle DAS group).

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.