Inside This Issue...

A book entitled "LCNS2ROM (License to Roam): Vanity License Plates and Their Owners" is being developed. This is a studio book consisting of profiles of vanity license plate owners with intriguing messages on their plates. This book will be heavy on photographs, and the author is looking for your assistance in putting the vanity plate phenomenon into perspective. You can help by answering a few questions. Your responses to this survey will be shared with the author, and eventually the public.

The Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) membership recently elected Christopher J. Murphy as the new Chairman at the Association’s Annual Meeting in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Murphy has served in California’s Office of Traffic Safety for 20 years, culminating in his appointment as director and Governor’s Highway Safety representative by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2005. Murphy served as Vice Chairman of the Association from 2005-2006 and as a faculty member for the GHSA Executive Seminar on Program Management. According to a GHSA press release, as GHSA chairman Murphy plans to focus attention on key highway safety issues including: drunk driving, occupant protection, motorcycle safety, aggressive driving/speeding and protecting young drivers. He will also work to strengthen GHSA by implementing the Association’s new strategic plan.

The American Trucking Associations (ATA) announced this month that it was petitioning the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to crack down on speeding trucks. Specifically, ATA advocates a requirement that truck manufacturers install devices that limit speeds to 68 miles an hour. ATA also supports rules that would prohibit drivers from tampering with such speed-limiting devices. However, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA), another trade group, says that faster driving doesn't necessarily mean poor safety, citing that OOIDA members would lose out under the speed-limiting proposal (since one of the ways they compete with the big trucking firms is by driving faster).

Over 1,000 visits in just 30 days! Not bad, but it could be better. AAMVA's goal is to engage our community and our consumers in meaningful conversations about issues we all care about: driver and vehicle safety. Access AAMVA's new blog, "Behind the Wheel," at http://blog.aamva.org and see what the buzz is about! We welcome your comments.

The Department of Transportation is amending its Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) regulations to adopt, as its regulatory standards, the new Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG) recently issued by the Access Board, including technical amendments the Access Board subsequently made to the new ADAAG. In adopting the new ADAAG as its standards, the Department is making minor modifications to some of the Guidelines and is providing further guidance concerning its newly-adopted standards. This rule is effective Nov. 29, 2006. For more information, contact Robert C. Ashby, Deputy Assistant General Counsel for Regulation and Enforcement, at (202) 366-9306 (voice) or bob.ashby@dot.gov.

There are many open surveys. Topics include penalties for drug-related offenses, monitoring for fraud, school bus seatbelt requirements, and many more. Visit Open surveys and share information with your fellow jurisdictions. If you have any questions about using the new survey tool, contact Janice Dluzynski.

Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program (MCSAP) High Priority funds are generally provided by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to support, enrich, or evaluate state commercial motor vehicle (CMV) safety programs. These funds will be allocated, at the discretion of FMCSA, to state agencies, local governments, and organizations representing government agencies or officials that use and train qualified officers and employees in coordination with state motor vehicle safety agencies. FMCSA will initially consider funding of applications submitted by Nov. 30, 2006. If funding remains available, applications submitted after Nov. 30 will be considered on a case-by-case basis. The estimated total program funding is $15,000,000 and the estimated number of awards is 50. States and local governments are also eligible to apply for and receive New Entrant funds to conduct safety audits on New Entrant motor carriers. The deadline for these grants is also Nov. 30, 2006. The estimated total program funding is $29,000,000.

The Department of Transportation has published a final rule that amends the Department's regulations implementing the government-wide nonprocurement debarment and suspension requirements. Specifically, this rule adopts the optional lower tier coverage prohibiting excluded persons from participating in subcontracts at tiers lower than the first tier below a covered nonprocurement transaction. This final rule is in effect Nov. 24, 2006. For more information, contact Ellen Shields, Office of the Senior Procurement Executive, at (202) 366-4268. You may retrieve previously filed comments online through the Document Management System (DMS) at http://dmses.dot.gov.

The Office of Management and Budget has issued a notice in the Federal Register on the use of Grants.gov requiring the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to use the Grants.gov module to electronically post synopses of funding opportunities under federal financial assistant programs that award discretionary grants and cooperative agreements. This announcement is a request for applications to support the FARS Program during the period of 2007 through 2011. The closing date for applications is Nov. 28, 2006.

Video footage is now available of the UNC Highway Safety Research Center (HSRC) Symposium titled "The Evolution of Highway Safety: How Research Can Save Lives on Our Roads." The event was held in celebration of the Center's 40th anniversary. Symposium speakers reviewed the accomplishments that have led to improved practices, policies and legislation and discussed the future types of research that will be required to reduce the toll on the nation's highways. To watch the video, visit HSRC's Web site.