Inside This Issue...

The AAMVA Vehicle Standing Committee recently reviewed a FINAL DRAFT of a best practice document related to titling and licensing of motorcycles. This draft was created by the Unconventional Vehicles Working Group and is intended to assist jurisdictions with issues related to pocket bikes, scooters, and other types of "motorcycles" that are not manufactured to meet current U.S. equipment standards. Although this document is specific to U.S. jurisdictions, CCMTA has a group working on a similar document for Canadian jurisdictions to consider. The next step toward the final approval of this draft best practice is a 30-day review and comment period by the AAMVA membership. You are encouraged to review the draft and provide comments to Keith Kiser at kkiser@aamva.org by Feb. 16. Comments and suggestions will be reviewed by the working group and a final document will be prepared for presentation to and approval by the AAMVA Board of Directors.

 

On Jan. 6, 2007, the AAMVA Board of Directors made a decision not to renew Linda Lewis-Pickett's contract as president & CEO of the Association. Lewis-Pickett's contract goes through the end of January. Upon her departure, Deputy CEO Mike Calvin has agreed to serve as the interim CEO until a search and selection of a new president & CEO can be completed. The AAMVA Board is very appreciative of the service and leadership Lewis-Pickett provided AAMVA the past seven years. The consensus was that the Board needed to move the association in a different direction. More information is available in a memo that was sent out to AAMVA's membership from Debra Hillmer, Chair, AAMVA Board of Directors. 

AAMVA and IRP, Inc. offices will be closed on Monday, Jan. 15, 2007 in observance of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. Offices will reopen at 8:30 a.m. EST on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2007.

Now is your chance to submit topics for AAMVA's 2007 Law Institute to be held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Aug. 4-8, 2007. The Legal Services Discipline wants your suggestions for potential presentations. Submit your ideas for session topics and/or speakers. Please return your forms to AAMVA by Jan. 30, 2007. Hotel rooms are $91 per night and the registration is $550 for members and $650 for nonmembers. Breakfast will not be included, however, lunch is provided on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. We look forward to seeing you at next year’s Law Institute.

Don't miss the chance to enhance your agency's fraud detection and customer service skills. Over the next few months, AAMVA University will host a variety of courses at AAMVA Headquarters in Arlington, Virginia (minimum of 10 registrations required per course). Register online at www.aamva-u.org OR arrange for training to be held at your jurisdiction's training facility. For more information, contact Linda Honig at lhonig@aamva.org, (703) 908-5896 or (866) 908-8270.

• Fraudulent Document Recognition (FDR)
• Feb. 12-15: FDR Level II (4-day/ comprises Levels I & II); $650 per person; Cut-off: Jan. 26
• April 16-20: FDR Instructor Certification (5-day) Prerequisite: FDR Level II; $750 per person; Cut-off: March 30
  
• Vehicle Document Examiner Certification (VDEC) 
• Jan. 29-30: VDEC (2-day); $500 per person, Cut-off: Jan. 15
• March 26-29: VDEC Instructor Certification (4-day) Prerequisite: VDEC 2-day; $650 per person; Cut-off: March 9
  
• Working With Customers (WWC)
• March 5-8 (4 days); $650 per person, Cut-off: Feb. 16

The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently approved a new breath tube alcohol screening device (ASD) that will qualify for use in DOT Agency regulated testing once it appears on NHTSA’s conforming products list (CPL). This interim final rule (IFR) will provide procedures for use of the new device and remove procedures for a previously approved breath tube ASD, which is no longer being manufactured. This rule is effective Jan. 11, 2007. Comments to the interim final rule should be submitted by Feb. 12, 2007. Submit comments to the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov or the DOT electronic site at http://dms.dot.gov.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has published an opportunity to apply for Fiscal Year 2007 Safety Data Improvement Program Grant Opportunity funding on the grants.gov Web site (www.grants.gov). Section 4128 of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) supports a discretionary grant program that provides funding for states to improve the quality of crash and inspection truck and bus data reported by the states to the FMCSA as defined in Section 31102 of Title 49, U.S. Code. Eligible awardees can include a state agency located in one of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Applications for grant funding must be submitted electronically to the FMCSA through the grants.gov Web site.

The Implementation Guide for the National Agenda for Motorcycle Safety has been uploaded to NHTSA’s Web site and is available for the public to download or view online. Print and CD copies of the publication are not available at this time. However, NHTSA anticipates that the print and CD copies will be ready to ship within four weeks (early February).

Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety has released the "2007 Roadmap to State Highway Safety Laws," which gives each state a rating based on its adoption of 15 basic highway safety laws. This report highlights gaps in the adoption of lifesaving, cost-effective highway safety laws across the nation and is a call to action for all states. Traffic crashes continue to cost our society over $230 billion. Passage and enforcement of the 15 laws targeted in our report will help curb these tragedies and, at the same time, save your state precious dollars in economic costs associated with auto crashes. Advocates urge jurisdictions to examine this document and pledge to support enactment of missing laws in your state’s 2007 legislative session.

The next AAMVA CIO Outreach conference call is scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2007 from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. EST. These meetings address IT issues and concerns relevant to the CIOs of the DMVs in both the United States and Canada. A copy of draft agendas and minutes from previous meetings is available on AAMVA's Web site. The conference call telephone number and conference ID are listed at the top of the agenda. Send requests for future agenda topics to Greg Sensiba at gsensiba@aamva.org or (703) 908-2822.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has proposed a rule that could require truck and bus companies with a history of serious hours-of-service violations to install electronic on-board recorders in all of their commercial vehicles for a minimum of two years. The proposed rule also would encourage industry-wide use of electronic on-board recorders (EOBR) by providing incentives for voluntary use. It would also add a new requirement to use Global Positioning System (GPS) technology or other location tracking systems to automatically identify the location of the vehicle. If adopted, FMCSA estimates that within the first two years that the rule is enforced, approximately 930 carriers with 17,500 drivers would be required to use electronic on-board recorders. The incentives for voluntarily installation include using an examination of a random sample of drivers’ records of duty status as part of a company compliance review and partial relief from HOS supporting documents requirements. Additionally, the agency welcomes suggestions from the public for additional incentives. The full Notice of Proposed Rulemaking will be published in the Federal Register on Jan. 18, 2007, and public comments will be accepted until April 18, 2007. To request a copy of the notice, e-mail news@fmcsa.dot.gov.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has announced a total of $2.7 million for eight U.S. cities to demonstrate how Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) can improve access to transit services for older Americans and persons with disabilities. The ITS mobility projects are part of the department’s effort to address rising transit costs and provide better service to Americans with special needs. The following cities will receive funds through the Federal Transit Administration to plan and design the demonstration projects, which may be eligible for additional deployment funding: Aiken, SC; Atlanta, GA; Cherry Hill, NJ; Fitchburg, MA; Kent, OH; Louisville, KY; Paducah, KY; and Orlando, FL. Intelligent Transportation Systems use advanced communications technologies to improve transportation safety and operations. The Department’s ITS program is managed by the Research and Innovative Technology Administration. For more information, visit www.its.dot.gov or contact Paul Feenstra at (202) 366-4792.