Arlington, VA— The American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA), a nonprofit association representing state motor vehicle agencies, applauds members of Congress who today called for legislation that will protect car buyers and highway travelers from unsafe cars totaled by Hurricane Katrina and other natural disasters. AAMVA urges lawmakers to coordinate efforts with the existing National Motor Vehicle Title Information System (NMVTIS), which is operating in 29 states.
For years, the association has offered Congress a solution to help protect consumers from car title fraud crimes, including the title-washing of flood-damaged vehicles. AAMVA asks Congress to focus on funding the current system and to urge the Department of Justice to issue the rules requiring insurance companies and junk/salvage yards to report information on damaged vehicles.
As part of the 1992 Anti–Car Theft Act, and to prevent title washing and other types of motor vehicle fraud, state DMVs and AAMVA developed a national online motor vehicle title information system (NMVTIS). A U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) cost-benefit analysis indicated this system has the potential to save consumers from $4 billion to $11.3 billion annually. And in a study, commissioned by the U.S. DOJ, “… the NMVTIS program provides an invaluable benefit to state DMVs and the public community as a whole.”
But due to lack of federal funding, this system contains data from 29 states totaling only 55 percent of the U.S. vehicle population.
“State DMV administrators want consumers to have real-time and reliable access to information on any motor vehicle they plan to buy, “said Linda Lewis-Pickett, AAMVA President & CEO. “They also believe that flooded vehicles in one state are a problem for consumers in every state.”
In the participating states, consumers are benefiting from NMVTIS. As part of standard procedure, DMVs check each vehicle with NMVTIS prior to issuing a title. Through NMVTIS, Arizona has detected 15,864 stolen vehicles. Virginia witnessed a 17.47% decrease in vehicle thefts and averages 8,640 hits on stolen vehicles per year. And, Florida cracked a theft ring for VIN cloning of vehicles worth $8 million.
Once a vehicle has been flood damaged, many critical auto safety features are compromised. If a consumer unwittingly purchases one of these potential road hazards, they are jeopardizing their safety, and the safety of others. AAMVA wants to work with Congress to prevent these vehicles from being purchased and plaguing our highways by fully implementing NMVTIS across the nation.
Founded in 1933, AAMVA actively promotes traffic safety and uniformity among North American jurisdictions. Representing chief motor vehicle administrators and law enforcement officials, the association develops uniform programs in driver licensing, vehicle titling/registration and motor carrier services, among others.
For more information visit www.aamva.org.