Inside This Issue...

AAMVA and IRP, Inc. offices will be closed on Monday, Jan. 1, 2007 in observance of New Year's Day. Offices will reopen on Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2007 at 8:30 am (ET). The Week in Review will not be published the week of January 1. AAMVA wishes all a safe and happy holiday season. 
 

The recent elections provide an opportunity for motor vehicle administrators to educate their newly elected governors, legislators and other officials on the functions and importance of motor vehicle agencies. In response to the evolving political atmosphere, AAMVA is pleased to present a template that can be used by administrators to craft an educational toolkit for their representatives. AAMVA invites administrators to add or remove information as deemed appropriate, and hopes it serves as a valuable resource in educating legislators on the issues that most directly impact your agency. Although this presentation provides some of the basic information public officials will find essential in the first months of their terms, it also provides information on some of the long-term priorities facing the motor vehicle community. Many of the federal initiatives will be the same in each jurisdiction. AAMVA invites you to add the projects and initiatives that are specific to your jurisdiction. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the presentation, contact AAMVA’s Manager of State Government Affairs, Cian Cashin, at ccashin@aamva.org. We hope you find this template useful in establishing and maintaining the essential ties between motor vehicle administration and elected officials.

AAMVA is pleased to announce that the 2007 Law Institute will be held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at the Hilton Pittsburgh from Aug. 4-8, 2007. The Legal Services Discipline would like to solicit your suggestions for potential presentations in developing the agenda for the 2007 AAMVA Motor Vehicle & Traffic Law Institute. Please submit any session topics and/or speakers you would like to see.  Please return your forms to AAMVA no later than Jan. 16, 2007. The hotel rooms will be $91 per night and the registration will cost $550 for members and $650 for non-members. Next year we will not be serving breakfast but will provide lunch on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. We look forward to seeing you at next year’s Law Institute in Pittsburg, August 4-8, 2007!

This AAMVA-sponsored awards program recognizes public relations, public affairs and consumer education excellence among the motor vehicle, law enforcement and traffic safety agencies across North America. The competition is open only to all AAMVA jurisdictional members in good standing. As a member benefit, there is no entry fee for this competition. Entries for the 2007 awards must have been produced between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2006. No entry may be submitted for judging in more than one subcategory. No more than one entry per subcategory, per agency. Begin preparing your entries and work plans for the Feb. 19, 2007 deadline today by visiting AAMVA's Web site. For more information, contact AAMVA's Jason D. King at jking@aamva.org or (703) 908-8287.

The Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (CBP), in conjunction with the Department of Transportation, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, is currently conducting a National Customs Automation Program (NCAP) test concerning the transmission of automated truck manifest data. The National Customs Automation Program (NCAP) test concerning the transmission of automated truck manifest data for truck carrier accounts was announced in a General Notice published in the Federal Register (69 FR 55167) on Sept. 13, 2004. A series of Federal Register notices have announced the implementation of the test, beginning with a notice published on May 31, 2005 (70 FR 30964). As described in that document, the deployment sites for the test have been phased in as clusters. Through this notice, CBP announces that the next cluster of ports to be brought up for purposes of deployment of the test, to be fully deployed by Dec. 31, 2006, will be all ports in the state of Vermont. This deployment is for purposes of the test of the transmission of automated truck manifest data only; the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) Truck Manifest System is not yet the mandated transmission system for these ports. The ACE Truck Manifest System will become the mandatory transmission system in these ports only after publication in the Federal Register of 90 days notice, as explained by CBP in the Federal Register notice published on Oct. 27, 2006 (71 FR 62922). Comments concerning this notice and all aspects of the announced test may be submitted at any time during the test period. For more information, contact James Swanson at james.d.swanson@dhs.gov.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has proposed changes to the New Entrant Safety Assurance Process that would raise the standard of compliance for passing the new entrant safety audit. The agency has identified 11 regulations that it believes are essential elements of basic safety management controls necessary to operate in interstate commerce and proposes that failure to comply with any one of the 11 regulations would result in automatic failure of the audit. Under this proposal, carriers would also be subject to the current safety audit evaluation criteria in Appendix A of part 385. Additionally, if a roadside inspection discloses certain violations, the new entrant would be subject to expedited actions to correct these deficiencies. The agency proposes to eliminate Form MCS-150A—Safety Certification for Application for USDOT Number. The agency also intends to check compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and certain household goods-related requirements in the new entrant safety audit, if they apply to the new entrant’s operation. However, failure to comply with these requirements would not impact the outcome of the safety audit. These changes would not impose additional operational requirements on any new entrant carrier. Finally, FMCSA would make clarifying changes to some of the existing new entrant regulations and establish a separate new entrant application procedure and safety oversight program for non-North America-domiciled motor carriers. FMCSA requests comments by Feb. 20, 2007.

Guidance for the FY 2007 donor registry grant program is now online at www.Grants.gov. This program provides funding to states to support the development and launch of a new donor registry in states were none exists, or the enhancement and improvement of an existing registry. States are required to develop and implement the project with a consortium including all OPOs serving the state and one eye and tissue bank in the state. While most states currently have registries that provide information to organ procurement organizations 24/7, a handful do not. This program can assist those without to develop and implement a registry. Other states can apply to upgrade their registries. The deadline for applications is March 30, 2006. For more details, download the full announcement. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Division of Transplantation (DoT) will schedule two Pre-Application Technical Assistance calls (Jan. 30 and Feb. 6, 2007). Times and call-in numbers will be announced on www.organdonor.gov after the holidays. Questions? Contact Venus Walker at (301) 443-7578 or vwalker@hrsa.gov, or Mary Ganikos at (301) 443-8665 or mganikos@hrsa.gov.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has proposed regulations for entities offering intermodal chassis to motor carriers for transportation of intermodal containers in interstate commerce. As mandated by section 4118 of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), this rulemaking would require intermodal equipment providers (IEPs) to register and file with FMCSA an Intermodal Equipment Provider Identification Report (Form MCS-150C); display the USDOT Number, or other unique identifier, on each intermodal container chassis offered for transportation in interstate commerce; establish a systematic inspection, repair, and maintenance program to ensure the safe operating condition of each intermodal container chassis; maintain documentation of the program; and provide a means to effectively respond to driver and motor carrier reports about intermodal container chassis mechanical defects and deficiencies. The proposed regulations would for the first time make IEPs subject to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs). The agency is also proposing additional inspection requirements for motor carriers and drivers operating intermodal equipment. The intent of this rulemaking is to ensure that intermodal equipment used to transport intermodal containers is safe and systematically maintained. Comments must be received by March 21, 2007.

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary E. Peters has released new state-by-state data for 2005 showing that alcohol-impaired driving remains one of the nation’s deadliest crimes. Last year, 23 states and Puerto Rico showed a decrease in the fatality rate for crashes where the driver had an illegal alcohol level of at least .08, while the rate in 21 states and the District of Columbia increased and in 6 other states it remained flat. Secretary Peters also announced that the Department launched the first-ever December holiday season advertising blitz to support impaired driving enforcement, committing $7 million for paid advertising as part of its “Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest” campaign. The ads are directed at men ages 21-34 and are airing nationally on television and radio Dec. 20-31, 2006. NHTSA’s new statistical report on alcohol-related fatalities is drawn from the agency’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS).

A new poll by the Traffic Injury Research Foundation (TIRF) reveals that renewed efforts are needed to get drunk drivers off Canadian roads. According to the poll, Canadians made 10.2 million drunk driving trips in Canada during the last year when they felt they were over the legal alcohol limit. However, 92.4 percent of these drunk driving trips were accounted for by only 4.4 percent of the drivers (in other words, repeat offenders). The survey also shows that 71 percent of Canadians think at least half or more of those convicted of drunk driving will do it again. And, at least 80 percent of Canadians are very concerned or extremely concerned about drinking and driving. This figure is higher than the number of Canadians concerned about other social issues, such as the economy, the health care system, terrorist attacks, and airline safety. Canadians also perceive drinking and driving as the number one road safety issue facing them today, more serious than such issues as red light running, street racing, excessive speeding, drowsy drivers, distracted drivers, and drivers using cell phones. Results of TIRF’s latest opinion poll appear in The Road Safety Monitor 2006: Drinking and Driving. A total of 1,201 Canadians completed The Road Safety Monitor’s telephone poll. Financial support for The Road Safety Monitor comes from Transport Canada, the Brewers of Canada, and Toyota Canada.

Effective Jan. 1, 2007, the Single State Registration System (SSRS) has been repealed by Congress. For hire motor carriers will not be issued an SSRS receipt for 2007. There should be no enforcement of any SSRS requirements after Dec. 31, 2006. At some point in 2007, it is expected that the SSRS program will be replaced by the new Unified Carrier Registration (UCR) agreement. The UCR program will apply to for-hire (exempt and regulated) and private motor carriers that operate in interstate commerce. It will also apply to leasing companies, freight forwarders and brokers. The UCR has not yet been implemented, the the UCR Board will keep law enforcement informed via the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, and National Conference of State Transportation Specialists.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently issued a technical report titled "An Evaluation of the 1998-1999 Redesign of Frontal Air Bags," with a notice in the Federal Register inviting public comment. Air bags were redesigned in 1998-1999 to make deployments less harmful to child passengers and other out-of-position occupants, an interim measure before advanced air bags were phased in during 2003-2006. The report finds that, compared to first-generation air bags, redesigned air bags reduced fatalities to infants and children by 83 percent and to out-of-position drivers by 70 percent in low-to-moderate speed crashes. Yet they entirely preserved the overall life-saving benefits of first-generation air bags for belted drivers and for passengers age 13 and up. The report is available on DOT's Web site.