SOLICITATION NOTICE
B -- Request for Information-Research Options to Study ATV Drivers under the Age of 16
- Notice Date
- 2/12/2007
- Notice Type
- Solicitation Notice
- NAICS
- 541710
— Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences
- Contracting Office
- Consumer Product Safety Commission, Division of Procurement Services, Division of Procurement Services, 4330 East West Highway, Room 517, Bethesda, MD, 20814-4408, UNITED STATES
- ZIP Code
- 00000
- Solicitation Number
- Reference-Number-RFI-REQ-4400-07-0005
- Response Due
- 4/2/2007
- Archive Date
- 4/17/2007
- Description
- RESEARCH OPTIONS TO STUDY ATV DRIVERS UNDER THE AGE OF 16. DIVISION OF PROCUREMENT SERVICES, U.S. CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION(CPSC), 4330 EAST-WEST HWY, BETHESDA, MD 20814 DESCRIPTION: THIS DOCUMENT IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY. THE GOVERNMENT DESIRES TO ASCERTAIN INTEREST IN AND CAPABILITY OF PERFORMING, RESEARCH TO STUDY PERFORMANCE AND BEHAVIORAL FACTORS OF YOUTH UNDER THE AGE OF 16 DRIVING ALL-TERRAIN VEHICLES (ATVs) AND TO OBTAIN INPUT ON THE TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS FOR ANY POSSIBLE RESEARCH. THE GOVERNMENT DOES NOT INTEND TO AWARD A CONTRACT ON THE BASIS OF THIS RFI OR TO OTHERWISE PAY FOR THE INFORMATION RECEIVED. BASED ON THE RESULTS OF THIS RFI, IF FUNDING IS AVAILABLE AND A STUDY IS DEEMED REASONABLE, THE GOVERNMENT MAY SUBMIT A FOLLOW-ON ANNOUNCEMENT IN FEDBIZOPPS REQUESTING FORMAL PROPOSALS. WHEN RESPONDING TO THIS RFI, PLEASE CLEARLY LABEL ALL PROPRIETARY INFORMATION AND ANY OTHER LIMITATIONS ON DISCLOSURE. DO NOT PREPARE OR SUBMIT PROPOSALS IN RESPONSE TO THIS RFI. THE PURPOSE OF THIS RFI IS TO RECEIVE INPUT FROM TECHNICAL EXPERTS AND OTHER PARTIES ON THE FOLLOWING TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS. TECHNICAL QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS SHOULD BE ADDRESSED TO THE TECHNICAL POINT OF CONTACT LISTED BELOW. SPECIFIC QUESTIONS ARE LISTED AT THE END OF THE DOCUMENT. RESPONSES TO THIS RFI ARE DUE BY 02 APRIL 2007. SEND RESPONSES TO MRS. RUDI JOHNSON, 4330 EAST WEST HIGHWAY, BETHESDA, MARYLAND 20814 OR EMAIL AT RJOHNSON@CPSC.GOV. CONTACTS: Technical questions, comments, or suggestions should be directed to Robert Ochsman, Director, Division of Human Factors, 301-504-7686, rochsman@cpsc.gov. Contracting questions should be directed to: Mrs. Rudi Johnson, rjohnson@cpsc.gov Introduction: The CPSC is concerned about the hazards posed to youth under 16 years of age riding All-Terrain Vehicles (ATVs). Incidents related to ATVs can result in death or serious injuries and/or lasting disabilities to youth. CPSC staff has studied ATVs for many years, most recently in responding to a 2002 petition requesting a ban on the sale of adult four-wheeled ATVs for use by children and in developing a briefing package recommending that the Commission approve a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPR) that would set mechanical, labeling, point of sale, instruction, and training requirements for ATVs. The NPR was subsequently approved by the Commission and published in the August 16, 2006, Federal Register. In 2001, there were an estimated 2.8 million ATV drivers under the age of 16, and another 4.4 million children rode ATVs as passengers. Children under 16 sustained about 31% of the estimated ATV-related injuries in 2001, and the societal costs associated with all medically attended injuries to children under 16 that year are estimated to be $2.5 billion. The societal costs of ATV-related deaths to children in 2001 are estimated to have amounted to about $550 million. Eighty-nine percent of child drivers who were injured were driving an adult ATV at the time. Based on injury and exposure data estimated from surveys conducted in 2001, the risk of injury to drivers under the age of 16 on adult ATVs was roughly twice the risk for child drivers on youth ATVs. The CPSC staff is considering various means to try to reduce youth deaths and injuries related to ATVs. Since the risk to youth on adult ATVs is much higher than on youth ATVs, CPSC encourages all youth to ride appropriate youth ATVs. For more background information on this issue, please see the staff briefing packages and other documents available on CPSC?s Web site (go to http://www.cpsc.gov/cgi-bin/foia.aspx, select All Terrain Vehicles, and click on Find). The relevant documents with human factors information are as follows (in order of date, beginning with the most recent): - CPSC Staff Response Regarding Follow-Up Questions from Commissioner Moore after ATV Safety Review Briefing, dated 07/11/2006, Youth ATVs: Questions 1 through 7 (beginning on p. 3 of 18), and Question 9 (beginning on p.7 of 18), - CPSC Staff Response to Commissioner Nancy Nord after the June 15, 2006 ATV Safety Review Briefing, dated 06/30/2006, Question 3 (beginning on p. 3 of 7) and Question 4 (beginning on p.5 of 7), - All Terrain Vehicle Initiative, Part 2, dated 05/31/2006, especially Tabs H (p.138 of 229 through p.149 of 229) and I (p.150 of 229 through p.157 of 229), - Response to Questions from Commissioner Moore on CP-02-4/HP-02-1; Petition Requesting Ban of All-Terrain Vehicles Sold for Use by Children under Age 16, dated 08/22/2005, Question 8 (beginning on p. 3 of 6), - Analysis of Petition CP-02-3/HP-02-1 - Requesting Ban of ATVs Sold for the Use of Children Under Age 16 - Part 3, dated 02/02/2005, especially Tab H (p. 39 of 55 through p. 55 of 55), and - Analysis of Petition CP-02-3/HP-02-1 - Requesting Ban of ATVs Sold for the Use of Children Under Age 16 - Part 4, dated 02/02/2005, especially Tab I (p. 1 of 43 through p.6 of 43). One of the strategies being proposed by the Commission to encourage youth to select appropriate ATVs is to characterize youth ATVs by speed rather than engine size, as is currently done. The table below summarizes the category recommendations for ATVs as proposed in the Commission?s August 16, 2006, NPR. CPSC?s Proposed ATV Models and Intended Ages ATV Model Age (years) Speed Range Headlights Conspicuity lights Tail Lights Junior 6+ 10 mph or less None Allowed Required Pre-teen 9+ 10*-15 mph None Allowed Required Teen 12+ 15*-30 mph None Allowed Required Adult 16+ Not restricted Allowed Allowed Required * with speed limiter Request: The CPSC staff is interested in obtaining ideas, data, concepts, and feasibility information for human performance and behavioral research that supports or refutes the ATV requirements proposed for each category listed above. CPSC staff realizes that, while the ideal of eliminating all hazards associated with ATV driving is not feasible, it may be possible to reduce the number of deaths and the severity of injuries, especially to youth. The category recommendations listed in the above table are based on the existing voluntary standard and on published child development data reviewed by CPSC staff, including research on teen automobile driving. There are, however, factors CPSC staff has been unable to investigate due to the lack of available research regarding youth ATV drivers. CPSC staff is aware of little published data regarding the motorized vehicle driving skills of youth under age 16 even though some youth may have years of experience on dirt bikes and ATVs. CPSC staff therefore would like to consider the feasibility of research specifically focused on youth ATV driving. General Questions: Responders should provide descriptions of the options available for obtaining human performance data regarding youth driving ATVs. CPSC staff is particularly interested in the feasibility of obtaining data related to: 1) Human factors research related to vehicle design factors that may be relevant to youth ATV drivers such as: a. Appropriate speed b. Appropriate maximum ATV weight and/or driver weight to ATV weight ratio c. Control design factors that may be specific to youth driving 2) Nighttime off-road driving performance and behavior of youth as compared to youth driving performance during daylight and adult driving performance, both during daylight and at night. 3) Youth distractibility while driving ATVs. 4) The effects of peer pressure and the extent to which youth ATV drivers may be more or less susceptible to peer pressure than youth automobile drivers. Responders should address the following questions in their submissions: 1) What are the possible methods that could be employed to collect the desired data? 2) Are there examples of existing research that have proven successful in collecting the desired data? 3) Is there existing research regarding the off-road driving skills of youth? 4) What other human performance and behavior factors that may be relevant to youth ATV driving could and/or should be studied? 5) Would there be difficulties related to obtaining youth participants for a study of driving behavior (e.g., finding volunteers, research ethics, etc)? 6) What is a reasonable rough estimate of the time, cost, and other resources needed for such a study? Driving Simulator Specific Questions: CPSC staff is aware that one possible method for obtaining the needed data may be through use of driving simulators. Responders who are familiar with simulator studies should provide documentation on the technical feasibility of using existing driving simulators to obtain human performance data regarding youth driving ATVs. CPSC staff is particularly interested in the feasibility of obtaining data related to the maximum appropriate speeds for various categories of youth drivers and the nighttime driving performance of youth as compared to youth driving performance during daylight and adult driving performance both during the day and at night. Responders who wish to address simulator research should also address the following questions in their submissions: 1) Is the study of ATV driving with driving simulators a pragmatic, valid, and cost- effective methodology? 2) Are there existing high fidelity simulators for ATVs or similar motorized vehicles? 3) Can children be successful participants in a driving simulator study? 4) Can driving simulators accurately test nighttime driving skills? 5) Would a simulator be able to accurately reproduce the lighting effects of headlights? 6) Is it feasible to obtain data with a simulator suggesting maximum appropriate speeds for various categories of youth ATVs? 7) What other human performance and behavioral factors could be studied in a driving simulator that may be relevant to youth ATV driving? 8) Would the prevalence of driving-type video games that may be used by youth confound data obtained? 9) How do simulator studies translate to off-road driving conditions? How do participants alter their behavior when using a simulator versus when driving in an actual off-road environment? How to Respond: Responses should be in the form of reports or letters discussing the likely success of research projects aimed at acquiring the data listed above, and including factual support for the assertions made therein. If the responder provides a compilation of published example studies from other sources, the results should be summarized. Responses to this Request for Information (RFI) are to be submitted directly to the Contracting Office address indicated above, Attn: Rudi Johnson no later than 02 April 2007.
- Record
- SN01230264-W 20070214/070212220050 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
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