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• Ohio - Motorcycle Safety Inspections  (Ends 4/24/06)
• Arkansas - Employee training  (Ends 5/5/06)
• Ontario - Controlled Stock Items  (Ends 5/8/06)
• Maryland - License Plate Issuance  (Ends 5/9/06)

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is initiating a reassessment of the Highway Performance Monitoring System (HPMS), which is a national highway transportation system database maintained and used by the FHWA. The agency requests public comment on issues to be reviewed as part of the reassessment. The FHWA working papers developed during the conduct of this reassessment will be placed in the docket for review and comment. This docket will remain open until the reassessment is complete. The anticipated completion date is Sept. 30, 2007. However, in order for comments to be considered in the early stages of the reassessment, comments should be submitted on or before June 9, 2006. Mail or hand deliver comments to the U.S. Department of Transportation, Dockets Management Facility, Room PL-401, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590-0001, or submit electronically at http://dms.dot.gov/submit, or fax comments to (202) 493-2251. All comments should include the docket number FHWA-2006-23638.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) intends to submit to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) its request to renew a currently approved information collection for Class I Motor Carriers of Passengers, Form MP-1, Annual and Quarterly Reports. This information collection is necessary to ensure that motor carriers comply with financial and operating statistics requirements at 49 CFR part 1420. Comments must be submitted on or before June 9, 2006. All comments should reference Docket No. FMCSA-2006-24624. You may mail or hand deliver comments to the U.S. Department of Transportation, Dockets Management Facility, Room PL-401, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590; fax comments to (202) 493-2251; or submit electronically at http://dms.dot.gov.

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee approved a nonbinding resolution (H Con Res 372) that would express the sense of Congress that states should require candidates for driver’s licenses to demonstrate an ability to exercise additional caution when driving near visually impaired individuals. It was reported favorably to the full House by voice vote on April 5, 2006.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) invites public comment on its plan to request the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) approval to collect information on new forms entitled “Carrier Contact Information Sheets.” The information will be collected from United States and Canada-based motor carriers through the use forms, and used by FMCSA Safety Auditors and Safety Investigators to prepare in advance for Compliance Reviews (CRs) and New Entrant Program Safety Audits (NEPSAs); Pre-authority Safety Audits (PASAs) and CRs of certain Mexico-domiciled motor carriers; and NEPSAs and CRs of Non-North American motor carriers. Comments must be submitted on or before June 12, 2006. All comments should reference Docket No. FMCSA-2006-23781. You may mail or hand deliver comments to the U.S. Department of Transportation, Dockets Management Facility, Room PL-401, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590; fax comments to (202) 493-2251; or submit electronically at http://dms.dot.gov.

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is requesting proposals for system development and design of enhanced human service transportation models. The Department of Transportation seeks up to 10 local communities to carry out detailed development and design of coordinated human service transportation systems that utilize Intelligent Transportation Systems capabilities. The expected results from Phase 1 include up to 10 “deployment-ready,” replicable and scalable system detailed designs for enhanced human service transportation delivery models in communities representing a variety of operational environments and scenarios. Proposals will be accepted immediately. All proposals must be submitted electronically to Grants.Gov by June 13, 2006, or postmarked by June 13, 2006, for consideration. Proposals can also be submitted in hard copy. Should the applicant elect this option, five hard copies and one unbound reproducible hard copy of the proposal, along with an electronic copy of the proposal contained on a CD-ROM should be submitted to Ms. Aletha Goodine, Office of Mobility Innovation, Room 9402, TRI-10, Federal Transit Administration, USDOT, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590. All proposals should reference “Enhanced Human Service Transportation System Development and Design.”

AARP has launched its Driver Safety Online Course in Alabama, Colorado, Maryland and Missouri. The course provides the same information included in the classroom course and is part of a field testing by AARP's Driver Safety Program. The program is expected to go nationwide after the three-month field test concludes. The eight-hour online course helps educate participants about how best to compensate for age-related changes that affect one’s driving ability; reduce traffic violations, crashes and chances for injury; and update knowledge about relevant laws. It will cost $15.95 for AARP members and $19.95 for nonmembers. For more information, contact Outreach & Service Coordinator Brian Greenberg at (202) 434-6018 or bgreenberg@aarp.org or Outreach & Service Program Analyst Tony Gigliello at (202) 434-2105 or agigliello@aarp.org.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) recently appointed Ellen Howe as Assistant Administrator for the Office of Strategic Communications and Public Affairs. Howe will work directly with high-level officials within TSA and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to develop communications strategies carried out nationwide. Previously, she ran her own strategic consulting firm in central Washington since 1995. She developed targeted communications strategies to position and brand clients. In the early 1990s, Howe served as deputy press secretary for the Republican National Committee, and managed media relations activities during the clean-up of Rocky Flats, a U.S. Department of Energy Superfund site that was part of the nuclear weapons complex.