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OMB Control No:	ICR Reference No: 202608-2127-002
Status: Received in OIRA	Previous ICR Reference No:
Agency/Subagency: DOT/NHTSA	Agency Tracking No: revised, per OST comments
Title: Distraction: Personal Electronic Devices
Type of Information Collection: New collection (Request for a new OMB Control Number)	Common Form ICR: No
Type of Review Request: Regular	Date Submitted to OIRA: 09/03/2026

	Requested	Previously Approved
Expiration Date	36 Months From Approved
Responses	540	0
Time Burden (Hours)	178	0
Cost Burden (Dollars)	0	0

Abstract: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is proposing a new information collection consisting of a single, one-time experimental research study that involves voluntary participation from members of the public. Participants must have experience using either Android Auto or Apple CarPlay with in-vehicle infotainment systems. The collection consists of experimental data reporting and survey responses. Data collected will include eye tracking measurements, vehicle performance metrics, task completion times, error rates, participant demographics, and responses to questionnaires about interface usage and acceptance. The purpose of this research is to evaluate how safely drivers can interact with smartphone integration systems that allow access to smartphone applications through the vehicle's built-in display screen. The research consists of two parts. Part I consists of an evaluation method called an "occlusion study" at Westat facilities in the Washington D.C. area. In this part, 24 participants per system (across up to 3 vehicles, for a total of up to 56 participants) will perform 6-9 standardized tasks while wearing special electronic goggles. These goggles automatically switch between clear and blocked views every 1.5 seconds, simulating how drivers normally shift their gaze between looking at the road and looking at the vehicle's displays. Before testing, participants will receive thorough training on each task. They will then perform each task five times while wearing the goggles per the testing procedures outlined in the NHTSA visual-manual distraction guidelines. Researchers will measure how long participants need to see the display to complete each task (called "Total Shutter Open Time" or TSOT), document any mistakes made during the tasks, record how participants recover from these mistakes, and gather feedback about whether the tasks are reasonable to perform while driving. Participants will be provided a $120 honorarium upon completion of Part I. Part II consists of a closed-course track (CCT) evaluation conducted at Utah Motorsports Campus near Salt Lake City with 72 participants. Due to the cost of missing a study session, participants will be overbooked for each study session, meaning that two participants will be invited to the same study session but only one participant will complete the study. Both will be compensated the same rate ($120). The reason for using the overbooking strategy is because the cost of recruiting more participants is much less expensive than the cost of missing one session on the closed course track. This part will examine a subset of the tasks from Part I in actual driving conditions on a 0.84-mile stretch on a closed course tack (CCT). Participants will drive specially equipped vehicles while performing the interface tasks. Researchers will collect several types of data: where drivers look while driving (using eye tracking equipment), how well they control the vehicle (measuring lane position, speed, and steering movements), how quickly they respond to simple tasks while driving (using a standardized "Detection Response Task" where drivers press a button in response to a signal), how quickly they react to important events, how long it takes to complete tasks, and how many mistakes they make. Each participant will complete multiple drives to test different aspects of the interfaces. For both parts, participants will complete questionnaires about their background, driving experience, and familiarity with these interfaces. The collected data will be analyzed to evaluate whether these interfaces meet NHTSA's guidelines for minimizing driver distraction and to assess their effects on driving safety. The findings will help inform future safety guidelines and policy decisions regarding in-vehicle portable device interfaces.

Authorizing Statute(s): None

Citations for New Statutory Requirements: None

Associated Rulemaking Information
RIN:	Stage of Rulemaking:	Federal Register Citation:	Date:
	Not associated with rulemaking

Federal Register Notices & Comments
60-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	91 FR 11120	03/06/2026
30-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	91 FR 54434	08/21/2026
Did the Agency receive public comments on this ICR? Yes

ICR Summary of Burden

	Total Request	Change Due to Agency Discretion
Annual Number of Responses	540	540
Annual Time Burden (Hours)	178	178
Annual Cost Burden (Dollars)	0	0

Burden increases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: Yes

Burden Increase Due to: Miscellaneous Actions

Burden decreases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: No

Burden Reduction Due to:

Short Statement: New collection requesting 178 annual burden hours.

Annual Cost to Federal Government: $176,941

Does this IC contain surveys, censuses, or employ statistical methods? Yes Part B of Supporting Statement

Does this ICR request any personally identifiable information (see OMB Circular No. A-130 for an explanation of this term)? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination. Yes

Does this ICR include a form that requires a Privacy Act Statement (see 5 U.S.C. §552a(e)(3))? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination. Yes

Is this ICR related to the Affordable Care Act [Pub. L. 111-148 & 111-152]? No

Is this ICR related to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, [Pub. L. 111-203]? No

Is this ICR related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)? No

Is this ICR related to the Pandemic Response? No

Agency Contact: Jeffrey Dressel 202 493-0492 jeffrey.dressel@dot.gov

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