Inside This Issue...

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the State & Territorial Injury Prevention Directors Association (STIPDA) are organizing a teen driving roundtable discussion to be held in Atlanta on June 21 and 22. A primary goal of the roundtable is to help strengthen partnerships between public health, traffic safety, and other state- or community-level groups in addressing teen driver safety. Due to limited resources, state programs interested in participating must submit a brief application to STIPDA. Teams of four to seven members from state health department injury prevention programs and their partners are eligible to participate. Applications are due on April 3. Learn more and download an application at STIPDA's Web site.

Senate Judiciary Chairman Specter said he plans to ask Majority Leader Frist for an extension of the deadline for work on the immigration package. But Frist said he plans to bring an immigration bill to the floor on March 27 under Rule 14, which permits a senator to bypass a committee and put a bill on the Senate calendar. While the committee has held two weeks of markup sessions on the bill, it is still grappling over issues such as the proposed guest worker program and how to deal with illegal immigrants. If Frist does bring the bill to the floor, it is unclear which version he will use.

On March 6, AAMVA and CCMTA concluded "Challenging Myths and Opening Minds: Aging and the Medically At-Risk Driver." The forum, sponsored by NHTSA, drew 150 to Austin, Texas for three days of information-sharing on topics including legal and medical considerations, the screening, assessment and testing of drivers, strategies on forming partnerships and more. The audience endorsed holding another forum in two years.

Please share information with your fellow jurisdictions by responding to the following surveys. Contact Member and Conference Services if you need a user ID and password. Thank you.

• Nevada - Electronic Payments  (Ends 3/19/06)
• Virginia - Sharing Commercial Driver Data  (Ends 3/24/06)
• Maryland - Non-Commercial Driver Testing  (Ends 3/20/06)
• South Dakota - Offender License Plates  (Ends 3/27/06)

The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is seeking information from law enforcement agencies operating MY 2003 to MY 2005 Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptors. The information is requested in support of a defect investigation ODI is conducting (NHTSA Action Number: EA04034). Additional information is available from ODI's Web site under the Defects Investigations, Search link. ODI is investigating cracking or breaking of the steel wheel rim at the weld which joins the rim and wheel disc; the weld is located in the area where the outboard tire bead contacts the rim. The crack occurs at the backside of the outboard flange and therefore is not visible without removing the wheel from the vehicle. In many cases, the crack may not be visible to the unaided eye and it is often detectable only if the tire is experiencing ongoing or a sudden air pressure loss. This steel wheel, a design type which was introduced at MY 2003, has been the subject of prior investigations (PE03009), a safety recall (03V279000), and manufacturer extended warranty programs. ODI is seeking information related to any event involving a MY 2003 - 2005 CVPI where a rapid deflation of a tire (similar to a tire blow-out), a de-beading of a tire from the rim, a loss/near loss of vehicle control, a crash, or an injury to a person(s) occurred, and may have been caused by cracking or breaking of the steel rim. Please contact the following ODI investigator if you have information to provide; a prompt reply is requested: Scott Yon - Defects Investigator scott.yon@nhtsa.dot.gov, NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigations, Rm. 5326, 400 7th Street SW Washington, DC 20590, (202) 366-0139, fax (202) 366-1767.

A poll of 500 Ontario voters conducted by SES/Research Osprey Media shows that 32 percent of those ages 18 to 29 view tougher border identification restrictions as a disincentive to avoid stateside travel. In addition, one in five Ontario voters say they would be less likely to travel to the United States if passports or special identification cards are required at the border. Currently, Canadians and Americans are required to show a driver's license or birth certificate at border crossings. The new requirements state that by 2008 Canadians must have a passport to enter the United States by land. In addition, Americans must show a passport when re-entering the United States from Canada. Twenty-five percent of U.S. citizens and 30 percent of Canadians currently hold passports.

As part of the Motor Carrier Safety Improvements Act (MCSIA), there is an edit at the Commercial Driver's License Information System (CDLIS) central site for the "Report out of State Conviction and Report out of State Withdrawal Transactions" that allows states to continue sending 13 retired ACD codes with replacements. That code has been changed to allow only the ACD codes in release 2.1 to pass through the Central Site. On Friday, March 17th, these code changes will move to production. 

Deadlines for these awards programs have been extended to March 31, 2006. The Distinguished Service Awards (DSAs) are the highest honor AAMVA bestows upon its membership. Individuals are nominated in one of four categories: Lifetime Achievement Award, Distinguished Jurisdictional Member, Distinguished Board Member and Distinguished Community Member. The CSE award recognizes the AAMVA jurisdictional team, division or agency within each region that has implemented a unique project or program to enhance customer service, such as: Innovative technology, Teambuilding, Quality initiatives and Creative and unique approaches to serving customers. For more information regarding the CSE award, visit AAMVA's Web site. For more information regarding the DSAs, contact André Owens, coordinator, Member and Conference Services at (703) 908-2879 or by e-mail at aowens@aamva.org, or visit the Web site for a nominations form.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) published an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) on March 17 to begin re-evaluating the rule that prohibits drivers with insulin-treated diabetes mellitus from operating trucks and buses in interstate commerce. The agency is seeking comments on whether or not to change the standard and to what extent. Currently, drivers with insulin-treated diabetes mellitus may only operate commercial vehicles in interstate commerce if they obtain an exemption from FMCSA. Prior to granting an exemption, the agency must examine each applicant's medical circumstances and publish their names in the Federal Register for comments. Public comments on this ANPRM may be submitted to the rulemaking docket by visiting the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Docket Management System Web site at http://dms.dot.gov. The docket number for the ANPRM is FMCSA 2005-23151 and the deadline for submitting comments is June 15, 2006.