Policy Regarding Visitors to NHTSA

To protect security and confidentiality within the Agency, the following policy applies to all visits to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. This policy implements Department of Transportation Order No. 1661.2A, covering .Admittance to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Headquarters Buildings.

DOT policy requires that .access to headquarter buildings by visitors will be on a controlled basis, with the inviting office being required to escort the visitor throughout the building for the duration of the visit. (Memorandum from DOT Chief of Staff dated 9/11/2001).

This policy is not intended to discourage interaction between NHTSA personnel and the public relating to agency business. It is intended to ensure that such discussions are properly arranged and documented, both to protect the confidentiality of material within the Agency and to enhance security measures within a Federal Government building.

The following definitions from DOT Order 1661.2A apply to this policy:

• DOT Employees: Those persons employed by DOT, including active duty United States Coast Guard military personnel.

• DOT Contractor Employees: Those persons hired by a contractor as an employee or subcontractor to perform tasks under a DOT contract. This term includes any consultant to DOT who is not actually a Federal employee.

• Visitors: Vendors, business representatives, state and local government employees, military retirees, military dependents, and members of the general public. For purposes of admission to headquarters buildings, military retirees and dependents are treated as visitors.

Policy Regarding Visitors to NHTSA:

• All visitors must obtain a Visitor Badge from the DOT security desk before entering the building. DOT Contractor employees must be operating under a current DOT contract.

• All visits and meetings, except those to NHTSA.s Public Reading Room, must be pre-arranged with the DOT Employee(s) with whom a meeting is sought.

• A DOT Employee must escort visitors through the hallways at all times, including visits to and from the Public Reading Room. Visitors to NHTSA.s Public Reading Room should call Technical Information Services (at 366-2588) when entering the building to arrange to be escorted to the Public Reading Room.

• Visitors to NHTSA.s public reading room are expected to leave the building when finished. Those wishing to meet with DOT Employees before or after visiting the public reading room must pre-arrange such visits and must be accompanied to and from them in accordance with this policy.

• DOT Employees who arrange to admit visitors are responsible for escorting the visitors to the lobby of the building at the conclusion of the visit. If, after that visit, the visitor has further business within the agency, the employee who accepts the visitor for that purpose is responsible for escorting the visitor to the lobby.

• If a visitor has meetings in more than one area of the building, a DOT Employee will remain with the visitor until other DOT Employees are available or the visitor has reached the site of the subsequent meeting.

• Meetings should generally be held in conference rooms or offices with separate sitting spaces. Visitors must not be left unattended within the agency unless waiting in an appropriate meeting space. Meetings should not be conducted in, and visitors should not have access to, individual office space or other areas in which confidential information may be kept.

• A DOT Employee will escort all departing visitors to the lobby of the building, where visitors are to return the Visitor Badges issued by DOT Security.

• Except for documents submitted at a pre-arranged meeting, all documents hand-delivered to NHTSA must be delivered to the Office of the Executive Secretariat (Room 5221). Visitors should call the Office of the Executive Secretariat from the DOT Security Desk lobby (366 2870) to arrange for document delivery. The Office of the Executive Secretariat will distribute such documents to the appropriate program offices.