[Federal Register: September 26, 2001 (Volume 66, Number 187)]
[Notices]
[Page 49254]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr26se01-116]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
[Docket No. NHTSA-99-6583; Notice 3]
Cancellation of Public Workshop
AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
ACTION: Cancellation of public workshop.
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SUMMARY: We are issuing this notice to inform the public of the
cancellation of the public workshop for the New Car Assessment Program
(NCAP) on Consumer Braking Information. The workshop, scheduled for
September 26, 2001, in Washington, DC, will not be held. The agency
strongly urges all interested parties to submit written comments to the
subject docket by October 15, 2001. These comments, and any data that
are submitted, will be used to assist in finalizing plans for a pilot
program on brake testing of model year 2003 vehicles.
DATES: We are canceling the public workshop scheduled for September 26,
2001.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Jeff Woods, Office of Safety
Performance Standards, NPS-22, National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration, 400 Seventh Street SW, Washington, DC 20590. Telephone:
(202) 366-6206; Fax: (202) 366-4329, email: jwoods@nhtsa.dot.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On July 17, 2001, we published a Federal Register Notice (66 FR
37253) requesting comments on our consumer braking information program
for light vehicles that are currently subjected to the NCAP program. We
also announced a public workshop for September 26, 2001, to discuss
technical issues of this program. On September 4, 2001, the agency
published a second notice (66 FR 46305), providing more details of the
meeting. The purpose of the meeting was to have an open discussion on
issues including driver variability, test surface variability, and the
consumer information format, prior to the public preparing their formal
comments and submitting them to the docket.
A number of people who had planned to attend the meeting have
contacted NHTSA to tell us that they cannot travel to Washington at
this time. Therefore, NHTSA has decided to cancel the public meeting
scheduled for September 26, 2001. We believe we can have an effective
public dialogue on this subject using the normal notice and comment
procedures.
As stated in our July 17, 2001, Request for Comments notice, the
comment period will close on October 15, 2001. We will review all of
the comments regarding technical aspects of our draft test protocol and
suggestions for methods of reporting braking information to consumers,
and consider what additional research or testing may be appropriate in
the near term to address any concerns that are raised. We do not have
plans to reschedule the public meeting at this time, but will consider
the need to do so once we have reviewed the comments that are
submitted. We anticipate that future Federal Register notices and
submissions to the docket will keep the public informed of our progress
on this program, such as finalizing the test protocol and the format
for such consumer information.
Availability of Relevant Documents
The July 17, 2001, Request for Comments notice for the NCAP Braking
program has been placed in the docket. To obtain that notice, you may
either visit the docket in Washington, DC, or query the Department of
Transportation docket website.
The docket is located at Room PL-401, 400 Seventh Street, SW,
Washington, DC. Docket hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through
Friday. The Docket Management System website is http://dms.dot.gov/.
You should search for Docket No. 6583.
Written Comments
We urge all interested parties to provide written comments on this
program, especially those that will help to improve the quality of the
program. Please submit them by the comment closing date of October 15,
2001. Comments must refer to the Docket and Notice numbers cited at the
beginning of this notice and be submitted to: Docket Management, Room
PL-401, 400 Seventh Street, SW, Washington, D.C. 20590. The Docket
Section is open on weekdays from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Alternatively, you
may submit your comments electronically by logging onto the Docket
Management System website at http://dms.dot.gov. Click on ``Help &
Information'' or ``Help/Info'' to view instructions for filing your
comments electronically. Regardless of how you submit your comments,
you should mention the docket number (6583) of this program.
Issued on: September 21, 2001.
Noble N. Bowie,
Acting Associate Administrator for Safety Performance Standards.
[FR Doc. 01-24101 Filed 9-25-01; 8:45 am]
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