Notice2026-20051
Agency Information Collection Activities; Notice and Request for Comment; Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery
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Published
September 30, 2026
Issuing agencies
Transportation DepartmentNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Abstract
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) invites public comments about our intention to request approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to renew with change a currently approved information collection. Before a Federal agency can collect certain information from the public, it must receive approval from OMB. Under procedures established by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, before seeking OMB approval, Federal agencies must solicit public comment on proposed collections of information, including extensions and reinstatements of previously approved collections. This document describes a collection of information for which NHTSA intends to seek OMB approval on generic clearance for qualitative feedback on agency service delivery. This renewal request includes a modification to the information collection. Specifically, NHTSA is adding annual tracking studies for its high-visibility enforcement (HVE) campaigns (four per year) to report campaign metrics for evidence plans and additional customer satisfaction surveys. NHTSA added campaign performance metrics to the agency's annual Evidence Plan for the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to measure the success of its HVE campaigns through its media buys. Because these HVE tracking studies were not included in the previously approved fast-track reinstatement package, their inclusion results in an increase in both total annual respondents and burden hours.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 188 (Wednesday, September 30, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 188 (Wednesday, September 30, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61925-61927]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-20051]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
[Docket No. NHTSA-2026-1849]
Agency Information Collection Activities; Notice and Request for
Comment; Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback
on Agency Service Delivery
AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA),
Department of Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice and request for comments on a request for renewal with
change of a previously-approved information collection.
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SUMMARY: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
invites public comments about our intention to request approval from
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to renew with change a
currently approved information collection. Before a Federal agency can
collect certain information from the public, it must receive approval
from OMB. Under procedures established by the Paperwork Reduction Act
of 1995, before seeking OMB approval, Federal agencies must solicit
public comment on proposed collections of information, including
extensions and reinstatements of previously approved collections. This
document describes a collection of information for which NHTSA intends
to seek OMB approval on generic clearance for qualitative feedback on
agency service delivery. This renewal request includes a modification
to the information collection. Specifically, NHTSA is adding annual
tracking studies for its high-visibility enforcement (HVE) campaigns
(four per year) to report campaign metrics for evidence plans and
additional customer satisfaction surveys. NHTSA added campaign
performance metrics to the agency's annual Evidence Plan for the Office
of Management and Budget (OMB) to measure the success of its HVE
campaigns through its media buys. Because these HVE tracking studies
were not included in the previously approved fast-track reinstatement
package, their inclusion results in an increase in both total annual
respondents and burden hours.
DATES: Written comments should be submitted by November 30, 2026.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. DOT-NHTSA-
2026-1849 through one of the following methods:
<bullet> Electronic Submissions: Go to the Federal eRulemaking
Portal at <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">http://www.regulations.gov</a>. Follow the online instructions
for submitting comments.
<bullet> Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
<bullet> Mail or Hand Delivery: Docket Management Facility, U.S.
Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building,
Room 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) 366-9322 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 <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">http://www.regulations.gov</a>, including any
personal information provided. Please see the Privacy Act heading
below.
Privacy Act: Anyone is able to 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
[[Page 61926]]
Statement in the Federal Register published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR
19477-78) or you may visit <a href="https://www.transportation.gov/privacy">https://www.transportation.gov/privacy</a>.
Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or
comments received, go to <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">http://www.regulations.gov</a> or the street
address listed above. Follow the online instructions for accessing the
dockets via internet.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information or access
to background documents, contact Kil-Jae Hong, NCO-0200, 202-577-1190,
Office of Communications and Consumer Information, W44-301, U.S.
Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC
20590. Please identify the relevant collection of information by
referring to its OMB Control Number.
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: Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback
on Agency Service Delivery.
OMB Control Number: 2127-0682.
Form Number(s): To be determined by specific collections.
Type of Request: Renew with changes of a currently approved
information collection.
Type of Review Requested: Regular.
Requested Expiration Date of Approval: Three years from date of
approval.
Summary of the Collection of Information: Executive Order 12862
directs Federal agencies to provide the highest quality service
possible to the public. This proposed information collection provides a
means to garner qualitative customer and stakeholder feedback in an
efficient, timely manner, in accordance with the Administration's
commitment to improving service delivery.
This feedback collected through this information collection will
provide insights into customer or stakeholder perceptions, experiences
and expectations; provide early warning of issues with service; or
focus attention on areas where communication, training, or changes in
operations might improve delivery of products or services. The feedback
will allow for ongoing, collaborative and actionable communication
between the Agency and its customers and stakeholders. This information
collection will also allow feedback to contribute directly to the
improvement of program management.
The Agency will only submit a collection for approval under this
generic clearance if it meets the following conditions:
<bullet> The collection is voluntary;
<bullet> The collection is low-burden for respondents (based on
considerations of total burden hours, total number of respondents, or
burden-hours per respondent) and is low-cost for both the respondents
and the Federal Government;
<bullet> The collection is non-controversial and does not raise
issues of concern to other Federal agencies;
<bullet> Any collection is targeted to the solicitation of opinions
from respondents who have experience with the program or may have
experience with the program in the near future;
<bullet> Personally identifiable information is collected only to
the extent necessary and is not retained;
<bullet> Information gathered is intended to be used only
internally for general service improvement and program management
purposes and is not intended for release outside of the agency (if
released, the agency must indicate the qualitative nature of the
information);
<bullet> Information gathered will not be used for the purpose of
substantially informing influential policy decisions; and
<bullet> Information gathered will yield qualitative information;
the collections will not be designed or expected to yield statistically
reliable results or used as though the results are generalizable to the
population of study.
Feedback collected under this generic clearance provides useful
information, but it does not yield data that can be generalized to the
overall population. This type of generic clearance for qualitative
information will not be used for quantitative information collections
that are designed to yield reliably actionable results, such as
monitoring trends over time or documenting program performance. Such
data uses require more rigorous designs that address: the target
population to which generalizations will be made, the sampling frame,
the sample design (including stratification and clustering), the
precision requirements or power calculations that justify the proposed
sample size, the expected response rate, methods for assessing
potential non-response bias, the protocols for data collection, and any
testing procedures that were or will be undertaken prior to fielding
the study. Depending on the degree of influence the results are likely
to have, such collections may still be eligible for submission for
other generic mechanisms that are designed to yield quantitative
results.
As a general matter, information collections under this request
will not result in any new system of records containing privacy
information and will not ask questions of a sensitive nature, such as
sexual behavior and attitudes, religious beliefs, and other matters
that are commonly considered private.
Description of the Need for the Information and Proposed Use of the
Information:
Improving agency programs requires ongoing assessment of service
delivery--systematic review of the operation of a program compared to a
set of explicit or implicit standards--as a means of contributing to
the continuous improvement of those programs. The Agency will collect,
analyze, and interpret information gathered through this generic
clearance to identify strengths and weaknesses of current services and
make improvements in service delivery based on that feedback. The
solicitation of feedback will target areas such as: timeliness,
appropriateness, accuracy of information, courtesy, efficiency of
service delivery, and resolution of issues with service delivery.
Responses will be assessed to plan and inform efforts to improve or
maintain the
[[Page 61927]]
quality of service offered to the public. If this information were not
collected, vital feedback from customers and stakeholders on the
Agency's services would be unavailable and the Agency would not know if
adjustments would be warranted.
Affected Public: Individuals and Households, Businesses and
Organizations, State, Local or Tribal Government.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 42,192.
Frequency: On Occasion, per request.
Number of Responses: 42,192.
Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 5,472.
The 5,472 annual burden hours requested are based on the number of
collections we expect to conduct over the requested period for this
clearance.
A variety of instruments will be used to collect information from
respondents including satisfaction surveys, campaign tracking studies,
focus groups, small group discussions, and usability studies. The
estimated 5,472 annual burden hours are based on the number of
anticipated collections over the requested period for this clearance.
It represents an increase of 1,437 hours from the last collection due
to additional annual tracking studies for its HVE campaigns (four per
year) to report performance metrics to support successful performance
of campaigns. It is expected that the primary respondents for these
collections are State and local workers. To calculate the opportunity
cost associated with this submission, NHTSA estimated the total
opportunity costs associated with these burden hours by looking at the
average wage for State and local workers. The Bureau of Labor
Statistics estimates that the average hourly wage for State and local
workers is $40.82/hour. The estimated annual opportunity cost is
approximately $290,383.12 and the total three-year opportunity cost is
approximately $871,149.36. Table 1 below outlines the expected
collections and the corresponding estimated annual burden hours and
opportunity costs.
Table 1--Estimated Annual Burden Hours and Associated Opportunity Costs
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Time per Opportunity Estimated
Type of collection Number of response Estimated cost per opportunity
respondents (mins) burden hours response cost
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User Experience Surveys......... 21,320 3 1066 $2.65 $56,572.62
Customer Satisfaction Surveys... 2,132 6 213.2 5.31 11,314.52
Focus Groups.................... 312 75 390 66.34 20,697.30
Online Tracking Studies......... 17,550 10 2925 8.85 155,229.75
Small Group Discussions......... 813 60 812.5 53.07 43,119.38
Usability Study................. 65 60 65 53.07 3,449.55
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Total....................... 42,192 .............. 5,472 .............. 290,383.12
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Estimated Total Annual Burden Cost: $0.
Participation in this collection is voluntary, and there are no
costs to respondents beyond the time spent participating in the
surveys.
Public Comments Invited: You are asked to comment on any aspect 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. The agency will
summarize and/or include your comments in the request for OMB's
clearance of this information collection.
Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995; 44 U.S.C. Chapter
35, as amended; and 49 CFR 1:49; and DOT Order 1351.29A.
Juliette Marie Vallese,
Associate Administrator, Office of Communications and Consumer
Information.
[FR Doc. 2026-20051 Filed 9-29-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on September 30, 2026.
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