Grants and cooperative agreements; availability, etc.: School buses, illegal passing reduction; programs demonstration and evaluation,

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Federal Register: May 8, 1998 (Volume 63, Number 89)NoticesPage 25544-25561From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

DOCID:fr08my98-109

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Discretionary Grant To Support the Demonstration and Evaluation of Programs To Reduce the Incidence of Illegal Passing of School Buses

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Announcement of discretionary grant agreement program to support the demonstration and evaluation of programs to reduce the incidence of illegal passing of school buses.

SUMMARY: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announces a discretionary grant agreement program to support the demonstration and evaluation of programs to reduce the incidence of illegal passing of school buses.

The goal of NHTSA's school bus safety program is to reduce school- bus-related fatalities and injuries. While the number of fatalities and injuries related to school bus crashes has been consistently low for over a decade, the number of motorists illegally passing school buses is increasing, jeopardizing the safety record of school transportation. This cooperative agreement program will support development and implementation of community-based demonstration projects that have the potential to substantially reduce the incidence of illegal passing.

NHTSA anticipates funding up to four demonstration projects for a minimum demonstration period encompassing one complete school year and a total period of performance of no more than 15 months.

This notice solicits applications from public and private, non- profit and for-profit organizations, state and local governments and their agencies. Interested applicants must submit an application package as further described in the Application Procedures section of this notice. The applications will be evaluated to determine the proposals that will receive funding under this announcement.

DATES: Applications must be received at the office designated below on or before 3 pm June 10, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Applications must be submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Office of Contracts and Procurement (NAD-30), ATTN: Rose Watson, 400 7th Street, SW., Room 5301, Washington, DC 20590. All applications submitted must include a reference to NHTSA Grant Agreement Program No. NTS-01-8-05130.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: General administrative questions may be directed to Rose Watson, Office of Contracts and Procurement at (202) 366-9557. Programmatic questions relating to this grant agreement program should be directed to Diane Wigle, Safety Countermeasures Division, NHTSA, 400 7th Street, SW., (NTS-15), Washington, DC 20590, by e-mail at dwigle@nhtsa.dot.gov, or by phone at (202) 366-4301. Interested applicants are advised that no separate application package exists beyond the contents of this announcement.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

An estimated 23 million students ride school buses twice daily every school day to go to and from school. Their safe travel is a top concern of Federal, State and local governments, school districts, school administrators, parents, and citizens. To ensure their safety, NHTSA established and currently enforces Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards governing the manufacture of buses to be used to transport school children. In addition, NHTSA's Guideline #17 establishes minimum recommendations for a pupil transportation safety program, including the identification, operation, and maintenance of buses used for carrying students; training of passengers, pedestrians, and bicycle riders; and administration.

Even with school-bus-specific Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and Guideline #17, some school bus safety problems persist. One such problem is the problem of motor vehicles illegally passing school buses stopped to load/unload students (also referred to as stop- arm violations). Though it is illegal in every state to pass a school bus stopped to load or unload students, every state faces the problem of citizens disobeying the law.

In October 1997 the National School Transportation Association conducted a survey of state school transportation directors. As part of that survey the directors were asked to identify the three biggest issues in their state for school transportation. The problem of illegal passing of school buses was reported as one of their top safety concerns.

The School Transportation Management Section (STMS) of the Florida Department of Education recently documented the size of that state's illegal passing problem. It was determined through a study conducted by the University of South Florida for STMS that on one day in May, 1995, 10,590 vehicles illegally passed stopped school buses in 58 of Florida's 67 school districts (approximtaly 11,150 school buses). During this same school year, two of Florida's public school children were killed by motorists illegally passing stopped school buses. However, the statewide citation totals for the illegal passing of stopped school buses accounted for only 13,178 of the over 17 million citations issued for all traffic violations in the state from 1988 to 1992.

A one-day study conducted September 24, 1996 revealed that 3,394 Virginia motorists illegally passed a stopped school bus on that day. Of that total, 187 involved passing the bus on the side that students enter and exit. A total of 119 out of 131 school divisions in the state participated in the study. Though Virginia and Florida transport a similar number of students on a comparable number of school buses, Virginia school buses only travel half the miles Florida school buses travel in a year.

The Evaluation Unit within the Division of Traffic Safety of the Illinois Department of Transportation conducted a probability-based sample survey of 250 school buses to arrive at an estimate of the total number of stop-arm violations of school buses in Illinois. Drivers of the 250 buses were asked to record stop-arm violations

[Page 25545]during a 41 school day time period. A total of 135 of the drivers completed and returned the survey. A total of 3,450 violations were reported by the school buses involved in the study. Based on the findings, the estimated number of stop-arm violations each school year in Illinois is over 1,900,000, a major traffic safety problem in Illinois.

Due to the high number of incidents of illegal passing of school buses, the tremendous potential safety consequences of the violations and the results of the recent studies conducted on the subject, NHTSA proposes to support the development and implementation of four community-based programs to address the problem of illegal passing of stopped school buses. The results of these four community programs and those of a variety of other community programs aimed at reducing the number of incidents of illegal passing sites will be included in a manual NHTSA plans to produce in FY 2000.

Purpose

This grant will support the development and implementation of up to four community-based public information and law enforcement programs designed to decrease the incidents of vehicles illegally passing school buses stopped to load/unload passengers.

Project eligibility

Applications may be submitted by public and private, non-profit and for-profit organizations, and state and local governments and their agencies or a consortium of these groups. Thus, schools, research institutions, law enforcement agencies, community traffic safety and injury prevention programs, hospitals, other public and private (non-or not-for profit) organizations, and state and local governments are eligible to apply. Interested applicants are advised that no fee or profit will be allowed under this grant agreement program. Preference will be given to the proposals that contain pledges of financial commitments to the project from other sources.

Application Procedure

Each applicant must submit one original signature and two copies of the grant application package to: Office of Contracts and Procurement, NAD-30, DOT/National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, ATTN: Rose Watson, 400 7th Street, SW, Washington, DC 20590. One additional copy will facilitate the review process, but is not required. Applications must include a completed Application for Federal Assistance (standard form 424--revised 4-88).

Only complete packages received at this address on or before 3 pm, June 10, 1998, will be considered. No facsimile transmissions will be accepted. Due to the large number of actions being processed, be certain that the project number is indicated on the envelope and the application. Please direct program related questions to Diane E. Wigle, (202) 366-4301 and those related to grant application and administration nature to Rose Watson, (202) 366-9557.

Application Contents

Applicants must prepare a proposal that details the demonstration project they propose to conduct and the specific activities and costs for which demonstration grant funds are being requested.

Applicants need to consult and gain commitment to the proposed project from the school system(s) and law enforcement agencies of the community in which the project is to be implemented. At a minimum, letters of commitment and support from the involved school system(s) and law enforcement agencies must be included in the proposal package. The minimum demonstration period should encompass one complete school year and the total period of performance no more than 15 months.

The application (one original) and two copies shall consist of the following: A signed copy of OMB standard Form 424 (revised 4/88, including 424A and 424B) ``Application for Federal Assistance'' with the required information provided and the Certification Regarding Debarment, Suspension and Other Responsibility Matters--Primary Covered Transactions, Certification Regarding Debarment Suspension, Ineligibility and Voluntary Exclusion--Lower Tier Covered Transactions and Certification regarding Drug-Free Workplace Requirements: identification of any portions of the application for which the applicant seeks confidentiality (in accordance with 49 CFR part 512); the Program Narrative Statement; and address the following:

A. In accordance with SF 424A, Budget Information, Sections A, B and C, a detailed budget estimate of all activities to be conducted with grant funding must be provided. Funding sources, other than the funds being provided through this grant, are encouraged. Since activities may be performed with a variety of financial resources, applicants need to fully identify all project costs and their funding sources in the proposed budget. The proposed budget must identify all funding sources in sufficient detail to demonstrate that the overall objectives of the demonstration will be met.

B. Program Narrative Statement: Proposal must fully describe the scope of the demonstration project, detailing the activities and costs for which funding is being requested.

1. Specific activities to implement a program to reduce the incidence of illegal passing of school buses for one complete school year and the total period of performance of no more than 15 months. This should include goals, objectives, and strategies. The proposed countermeasures must be devised from an analysis of the community problem of illegal passing of school buses, and the problem must be fully described in the proposal, including a demographic description of the community, e.g. size of school district, students transported by school buses, etc.

2. The application should also include plans for the following:

--Specific education programs for the target group; --Broad-based mass media Public Information and Education program support; --Enhanced enforcement program, including waves of enforcement throughout the school year; --Time schedules and milestones for each activity; --Interaction between the grantee, local school system(s), and law enforcement organizations; --The responsible agency or organization to conduct each activity; --Source, type, and level of support.

3. A description of what will be done specifically with the demonstration grant funds, along with the time schedules, milestones, and any product deliverables.

4. An identified reporting schedule for quarterly and final reports to be submitted as a performance requirement of the awarded cooperative agreement. (See TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF AWARD)

5. An evaluation plan which describes how the grantee will evaluate the demonstration project. As a minimum the Evaluation Plan must contain:

--A description of the evaluation to be employed to assess the program and project activities and their effectiveness. Specify variables necessary to assess performance and/or impact for each objective.

Evaluation Criteria and Review Process

Initially all application packages will be reviewed to ensure that they contain

[Page 25546]all of the items specified in the Application Contents section of this announcement. Each complete application will then be evaluated by a Technical Evaluation Committee within NHTSA. The committee will evaluate the proposals based on the following criteria presented in order of importance:

1. Goals, Objectives, and Workplan (35 Percent)

The applicant's goals are clearly articulated and the objectives are time-phased, specific, measurable, and achievable. The proposal will achieve the desired outcome of reducing the incidence of motorists illegally passing school buses stopped to load/unload passengers. The proposal addresses what the applicant plans to develop and implement, how this will accomplished, activities that are appropriate to reach the target audience, and includes the major tasks and milestones necessary to complete the project.

2. Analysis of Community Problem (25)

The proposed program countermeasures are devised from an analysis of the community problem of motorists illegally passing school buses stopped to load/unload students. This problem identification data must be presented in the submitted proposal. The applicant provides sufficient evidence of community cooperation and commitment to be able to successfully carry out the proposed project. Letters of commitment from the local school system(s) and law enforcement agencies are included in the application. Community demographics are detailed in the application.

3. Evaluation Plan (20 Percent)

The proposal clearly describes the proposed evaluation design and the methods for measuring the outcomes of the project. The applicant provides sufficient evident of community cooperation and commitment to allow the plan to be implemented.

4. Staffing and Budget (20 Percent)

The proposed staff are clearly described, appropriately assigned, and have adequate skills and experience to conduct the project. The applicant has the capacity and facilities to design, implement, and evaluate the proposed project. The proposal describes the project activities in sufficient detail to support the estimated budget; the budget is sufficient detailed to allow NHTSA to determine that the estimated coats are reasonable and necessary to perform the proposed efforts. Financial or in-kind commitment of resources by the applicant or other supporting organizations has been clearly identified.

Availability of Funds and Period of Support

Approximately $170,000 has been allocated for this demonstration program. Subject to the availability of funds, award amounts may be approximately $40,000, depending on the type of demonstration proposed and the estimated resources required to accomplish the demonstration objectives. At the discretion of the government, funds may be obligated fully at the time of award of this grant or incrementally over the period of the grant. Nothing in this solicitation should be constructed as committing NHTSA to make any award.

Special Award Selection Factors

While not a requirement of this announcement, applicants are strongly urged to seek funds from other Federal, state, local, and private sources to augment those available under this announcement. For those applicants that are evaluated as meritorious for consideration for award, preference may be given to those that have proposed cost- sharing strategies and/or have other proposed funding sources in addition to those in this announcement.

Terms and Conditions of Award

1. Prior to award, each grantee must comply with the certification requirements of 49 CFR part 20, Department of Transportation New Restrictions on Lobbying, and 49 CFR part 29, Department of Transportation Government-wide Debarment and Suspension (Non- procurement) and Government-wide Requirements for Drug Free Workplace (Grants).

2. Reporting requirements and deliverables:

A. Quarterly Performance Reports--Three copies of a letter-type report shall be submitted to the NHTSA office designated in the grant award document within 30 days or the end of the quarter being reported. This report shall briefly present information on the progress made in implementing, operating, and evaluating and demonstration, and shall contain information specified in 49 CFR 18.40, Monitoring and Reporting of Program Performance.

B. Final Report--Three copies of a final report shall be submitted to the NHTSA office designated in the grant award document within 60 days of project completion. The report must be submitted in a printed version and in a WorldPerfect 6.1 file on a standard 1.44 floppy diskette. The final report shall include the following information at a minimum:

  (a) A two-to-three page executive summary of the activities undertaken and the results achieved:

  (b) A detailed description of all activities conducted (during the period being reported) which impacted the demonstration:

  (c) An analysis and interpretation of those activities and an assessment of the results achieved:

  (d) A copy of all materials (print, audio, video, electronic, camera-ready material, etc.) created under the grant agreement. In addition all print materials must be provided in finished form and on computer diskette with complete printing instructions including all fonts used in the product: and

  (e) Recommendations for follow-on efforts.

3. During the effective performance period of cooperative agreements awarded as a result of this announcement, the agreement as applicable to the grantee, shall be subject to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's General Provisions for Assistance Agreements, dated July 1995.

Issued on: April 29, 1998. James Nichols, Acting Associate Administrator for Traffic Safety programs.

Appendix A--Application for Federal Assistance, Standard Form 424 (rev 4-88)

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FR Doc. 98-11796Filed5-7-98; 8:45 amBILLING CODE 4910-59-C

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