Inside This Issue...

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 via e-mail or (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 extended to Jan. 31. There is still room for additional participants, so late registrations are welcome.  
   
• April 16-20: FDR Instructor Certification (5-day); Prerequisite: FDR Level II; $750 per person; Cut-off: March 30
   
• Vehicle Document Examiner Certification (VDEC) 
   
• 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 House has passed a bill (HR 599) that would order the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to issue a directive to increase interagency coordination on the department's liability protection program. The program allows the department to offer liability coverage to companies producing anti-terrorism technologies. The bill addresses concerns that the review process is too slow and that too few products have been certified.

AAMVA is now accepting applications for its AAMVA/Nick Denice Memorial Fellowship Awards at the John F. Kennedy School of Government's Senior Executives in State and Local Government Program at Harvard University. This award is open to AAMVA members who are chief motor vehicle and law enforcement officials from the United States and Canada, AAMVA or IRP, Inc. Board of Directors members, and AAMVA International Standing Committee Chairs and Vice Chairs. The application deadline has been extended to Friday, Feb. 9, 2007. For more information, see AAMVA's Web site.

AAMVA is pleased to announce that as of Jan. 18, 2007, Illinois has successfully completed structured testing of the Digital Image Access and Exchange Program. Illinois joins Arizona (June 5, 2006) and the District of Columbia (June 16, 2006) in satisfying all associated program requirements. Unlike Arizona and the District of Columbia, who have been successfully engaged in the image exchange for several months now, Illinois does not plan to roll out the new functionality to production until this spring. According to Tim Mahler, Internal Systems Administrator in Illinois, pending legislative updates are required before they will be allowed to do so. Other upcoming implementations include Iowa, Kentucky, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Virginia and West Virginia. If your jurisdiction has legislative restrictions preventing or limiting your participation in the image exchange, please note that model law is available via the AAMVA Web site.
 

Teenage drivers are often faced with behind-the-wheel distractions, according to a study by the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and State Farm Insurance Co., the nation's largest auto insurer. The 2006 study asked more than 5,600 high school students what happens when their peers drive that makes them unsafe. 90 percent of teens said they rarely or never drive after drinking or using drugs. But teens reported other in-car distractions that researchers say contribute to a teen fatality rate four times higher than drivers aged 25-69, based on miles driven. Nearly 90 percent of teens reported seeing peers drive while talking on cell phones and more than half spotted drivers using hand-held games, listening devices or sending text messages. About 75 percent said they see teens driving while tired or struggling with powerful emotions, such as worries about grades. More than nine of 10 teens also reported seeing teen drivers speeding and half said they sometimes drive at least 10 mph over posted speed limits themselves. Researchers will use the study to push for legislation such as stricter requirements for graduated drivers licenses. The study's conclusions also will be shared with schools and parents, who can use them to warn teens about the potential hazards of driving.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is holding a public hearing and is seeking comment on a report titled, “The New Car Assessment Program Suggested Approaches for Future Program Enhancements.” The report, published by NHTSA, outlines both near and long-term approaches that the agency is considering to further enhance its New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) crashworthiness and crash avoidance activities to encourage additional safety improvements, and to provide consumers with relevant information that will aid them in their new vehicle purchasing decisions. NHTSA’s objective with these approaches is to improve not only overall vehicle safety but the quality of the information that it provides to consumers, especially with the emergence of advanced technologies. This notice requests comments on the possible approaches contained in the report and any additional actions that could be taken to improve motor vehicle safety information for consumers. Additionally, this notice announces the agency’s intent to hold a public hearing on its suggested approaches for enhancing the program. The public hearing will be held on March 7, 2007, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the United States Department of Transportation (Nassif Building), 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590; room numbers 2230-2232. Those wishing to participate should contact Mr. Anthony Whitson no later than Feb. 21, 2007. Comments must be received no later than April 10, 2007. You may submit comments (identified by DOT DMS Docket Number NHTSA-2006-26555) via http://dms.dot.gov or http://www.regulations.gov.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), through the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the United States Coast Guard (Coast Guard), has issued a final rule to further secure the nation’s ports and modes of transportation. This rule implements the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002 and the Security and Accountability for Every Port Act of 2006. Those statutes establish requirements regarding the promulgation of regulations that require credentialed merchant mariners and workers with unescorted access to secure areas of vessels and facilities to undergo a security threat assessment and receive a biometric credential, known as a Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC). After DHS publishes a notice announcing the compliance date for each Captain of the Port (COTP) zone, persons without TWICs will not be granted unescorted access to secure areas at affected maritime facilities. Those seeking unescorted access to secure areas aboard affected vessels, and all Coast Guard credentialed merchant mariners must possess a TWIC by Sept. 25, 2008. Although this rule goes into effect on March 26, 2007, the requirements to hold a TWIC, and to restrict access to secure areas of a facility or OCS facility, will be effective only after the regulated party is notified by DHS. These notifications will be published in the Federal Register and will require compliance on a COTP by COTP basis. Comments with respect to the Card Replacement Fee must be submitted by Feb. 26, 2007 at http://dms.dot.gov or http://www.regulations.gov.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) are soliciting comments on separate, but similar petitions for rulemaking from the American Trucking Associations (ATA) and Road Safe America and a group of nine motor carriers, to require devices that would limit the speed of certain trucks and to prohibit owners and operators from adjusting the speed limiting devices. The agencies are soliciting public comments to supplement a review of the material presented by the petitioners, along with an evaluation of data or other relevant information the agencies may already have, in conducting a technical review of the petitions. After considering the technical review, and taking into account appropriate factors, the NHTSA Administrator will make a decision whether to grant or deny either or both of these petitions. You should submit your comments early enough to ensure that Docket Management receives them not later than March 27, 2007. You may submit your comments in writing to: Docket Management, Room PL-401, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590. Alternatively, you may submit your comments electronically by logging onto the Docket Management System Web site at http://dms.dot.gov.

According to the latest 2005 Large Truck Crash Overview published by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), commercial truck drivers continue to be at fault at a much lesser rate than passenger vehicles in truck-car accidents. In fatal crashes involving large trucks, driver-related factors were cited for only 39 percent of the large truck drivers, compared to 66 percent of passenger vehicle drivers involved in fatal crashes. In all motor vehicle crashes, large trucks in general represented only 8 percent of vehicles involved in fatal crashes; 3 percent in injury crashes; and 5 percent of vehicles in property-damage only crashes. Passenger cars struck trucks 54 percent of the time, compared to 40 percent the other way around. Some of the most common factors cited for drivers of large trucks and drivers of passenger vehicles were the same: Driving too fast, failure to keep in proper lane, inattention, and failure to yield the right of way. Only 1 percent of truck drivers involved in fatal crashes in 2005 were legally intoxicated (blood alcohol content of 0.08 grams per deciliter or higher), as compared with 22 percent of passenger car drivers and 21 percent of light truck drivers. In addition, 77 percent of commercial drivers were reported by police as wearing their safety belts, compared with 61 percent of passenger vehicle drivers involved in fatal crashes.  

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is having a public meeting to bring together a roundtable of child restraint and vehicle manufacturers, retailers, technicians, researchers and consumer groups to discuss ways to improve child safety through improving the design and increasing the use of child restraint systems. Through a combination of presentations by invited speakers and group discussions among roundtable attendees, the group will focus on the following topics at this meeting: improving Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH) system designs, improving child side impact safety, and educating the public. The public meeting will be held on Feb. 8, 2007, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the L’Enfant Plaza Hotel, 480 L’Enfant Plaza, SW., Washington, DC. Written comments may be submitted to the agency via http://dms.dot.gov or http://www.regulations.gov and must be received no later than April 9, 2007.

For more information, contact Debbie Ascone, Office of Vehicle Safety, NHTSA,  at (202) 366-4383 or Debbie.Ascone@dot.gov, or Deirdre Fujita, Chief Counsel’s Office, NHTSA, at (202) 366-2992 or Dee.Fujita@dot.gov.  http://dms.dot.gov.

Starting Jan. 23, 2007, citizens of the United States, Canada, Mexico and Bermuda are required to present a passport to enter the United States when arriving by air from any part of the Western Hemisphere. The air requirement is part of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) enacted in the fiscal 2004 intelligence overhaul measure (PL 108-458). The only acceptable alternative documents to a passport for air travel are the Nexus Air card and the Merchant Mariner Document, issued by the U.S. Coast Guard to U.S. Merchant Mariners. A proposed rule addressing land and sea travel will be published at a later date with specific requirements for travelers entering the United States through land and sea border crossings. DHS says it intends to impose the land and sea requirements as early as Jan. 1, 2008. The government is in the process of developing a passport-equivalent card, or “PASS card” (People Access Security Service), for travelers entering the country by land.

The Alliance for Immigration Reform 2007 is a new working group of independent organizations that includes business representatives, labor leaders, immigrant advocates, free-market conservatives, and voices of faith. Among others, the coalition includes the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Catholic bishops, Hispanics and labor unions.The group agrees that existing immigration law isn’t working and that Congress must act in this session to produce and pass workable reform. Despite their varied interests, alliance participants are in accord on the essential elements of the reform that’s needed. 

The Customer Service Excellence awards process has been streamlined to avoid confusion and encourage more participation. The former Star Search and Excellence in Customer Service award categories have been merged to form the new Customer Service Excellence Award. The Customer Service Excellence Award recognizes individuals, teams and agencies who display exemplary service and either support, promote or provide a true quality service driven culture or experience. Winners are selected at the regional level with those receiving the highest scores gaining eligibility for the coveted International Customer Service Excellence Award in each of the categories. For more information, visit the Customer Service Excellence Award information on the AAMVA Web site or contact Dianne Graham at (703) 908-8267. Entries must be received by Feb. 2, 2007.