Teen Driving Laws Improve Safety, Study Says 
Oregon’s graduated licensing program improves safety, according to a study released Sept. 24 by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHSTA). Graduated driver licensing (GDL) in Oregon places restrictions on drivers under the age of 18. The study said that after GDL implementation, conviction and suspension rates were lower for all age groups, even among the unrestricted 18- and 19-year-old novice drivers. The study also found that parental involvement in supervising teenage driving is key to improved safety. To read more, visit
http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/COMM/nr07100403.shtml.
NIEM Announces Fellowship Program
The National Information Exchange Model (NIEM), is seeking people to sit on its steering committees. NIEM, a partnership of the U.S. Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security, is designed to develop, disseminate and support enterprise-wide information exchange standards and processes that can enable jurisdictions to effectively share critical information in emergency situations, as well as support the day-to-day operations of agencies throughout the nation.
The NIEM Program Management Office (PMO) has announced a fellowship program to select staff members to serve the three primary operational committees that comprise the core governance of NIEM. A fellowship will be offered to selected individuals to provide senior management support for the NIEM Business Architecture Committee (NBAC), the NIEM Technical Architecture Committee (NTAC), and the NIEM Communications and Outreach Committee (NC&OC). Applications for the NIEM fellowship program are due on Oct. 22, 2007.
AAMVA has been involved with NIEM and its predicators, the Global Justice XML Data Model, since its inception. AAMVA believes it would be beneficial to have someone with a state motor vehicle agency background on the business and the technical committees, to represent the interests of the states. More details on the fellowship are available at http://www.niem.gov/newsletter200710.php. You may also call Mark Pritchard at (703) 908-5790 for more information on AAMVA's position.
AAA Reports on Education for Older Drivers
Senior drivers 70 years of age or older who take classroom driving improvement courses and behind the wheel training can improve their driving performance, according to a new study released Oct. 11 by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety and Yale University. Out of 27 million people currently aged 70 or older in the United States, an estimated 20 million have active drivers' licenses. The study was undertaken to research ways to reduce the safety risk of older drivers, according to AAA Foundation President and CEO Peter Kissinger. The research, "Enhancement of Driver Performance Among Older Drivers," used 126 drivers aged 70 years or older who recorded sub-optimal driving performance scores during road tests. Participants were then divided into two groups, one undergoing eight-hours of classroom training, based in part on AAA's Driver Improvement Program, plus two-hours of behind-the-wheel training and the other serving as the control group. Drivers who took the classroom and on-road training showed significant improvement in their driving skills. The report "Enhancement of Driver Performance Among Older Drivers," is available online at
www.aaafoundation.org.
US Transportation Security Administration Begins Port Worker ID Enrollments
The Homeland Security Department announced on Oct. 11 that the Transportation Workers Identification Credential (TWIC) program will begin enrollments of port workers on Oct. 16. The department’s Transportation Security Administration released a schedule of enrollments for 750,000 port workers at various ports, beginning with Wilmington, Delaware, on Oct. 16 and extending to 11 other ports. The enrollment of marine employees is one of the first debuts of a large-scale U.S. government-issued biometric identification card under the Federal Information Processing Standard 201 (FIPS-201). Its success or failure could affect the status of several other FIPS-201 biometric identification programs in the works, including upcoming ID card programs for millions more transportation workers and federal government employees. The revised final rule can be viewed at
http://www.tsa.gov/assets/pdf/1652-AA41_twic_fr.pdf.
OLV Pilot Program Status Report
The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV) recently announced the completion of Phase 1 of the Online Vehicle Insurance Verification (OLV) Pilot Program. The OLV Pilot Program is now moving into Phase 2. The goal of the pilot program is to replace the current state reporting model utilized by over two dozen jurisdictions in the U.S., including Florida. The new approach, supported by the Insurance Industry Committee on Motor Vehicle Administration (IICMVA) will use online insurance verification or inquiry via Web services. The purpose of online insurance verification is to assist in the enforcement of motor vehicle liability insurance requirements. Florida is the first state to implement a system that communicates directly with the insurers to verify coverage. To view the report, visit
http://www.iicmva.com/IICMVAPublications.html.
Important Hotel Information for Fall Workshop
The AAMVA Fall Workshop, Nov. 5-8 in Glendale, Arizona, is rapidly approaching. The program and exhibits will offer the Workshop’s more than 200 participants a great learning experience. If you are planning to attend, please act now. AAMVA staff has learned that the hotel is sold out for the night of Nov. 7. If you have not made a reservation and will be staying through or on Nov. 7, alternate hotels are available. AAMVA does not have contracted room rates with these properties, so be sure to call the hotel directly and check Internet travel sites for the best rate available. For information on alternate hotels, visit the Fall Workshop Hotel and Travel page.
Car Dealers’ Partnerships with BMV Successful
On Oct. 11 Ron Stiver, Commissioner of the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV), announced the successful completion of the Indiana pilot program in which the BMV partnered with 20 auto dealerships from across the state to provide registrations and title services on-site at the dealerships. During a visit to the Craig Buick Pontiac GMC &Toyota dealership in Madison, he noted that in addition to the 20 pilot dealerships, an additional 64 have signed up to participate in the program. Craig was one of the original dealerships in the pilot program. To date over 5,100 transactions have been completed at the 20 pilot dealerships.
Click It or Ticket Seat Belt Enforcement Oct. 15-21
Law enforcement agencies in Colorado's 11 most populated counties are out in force Oct. 15 through Oct. 21 to educate the public about seat belt use and to enforce Colorado's seat belt laws. The enforcement is part of Click It or Ticket, a high visibility seat belt enforcement campaign, and coincides with National Teen Driver Safety Week. The goal is to increase seat belt use and awareness among young Coloradans ages 16 to 20. Eleven high schools have been selected to participate in a pledge drive to get students to promise to buckle up every time. Participating schools have agreed to run daily pledge drive activities designed to influence and change teen-driving behaviors. The goal is to obtain 400+ student signatures during the week-long drive. Teens in each of the 11 high schools will also distribute seat-belt fact sheets, document their daily progress and report their pledge results to the Colorado Department of Transportation. The results will be posted on the
www.coteendriver.com Web site.
DSAA International Driving School Convention
From Nov. 8-10 the Driving School Association of the Americas (DSAA) will hold its annual conference in Nashville, Tennessee. All traffic safety professionals are invited to attend. Topics covered will include “Risky Teen Drivers”, “Driving with Bioptics”, techniques for “Lane Changing” and “QuickBooks in the Driving School.” To register or learn more visit the
DSAA conference Web site.
Teen Driver Safety
During the week of Oct. 15-20, 2007 the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia hosts National Teen Driver Safety Week. This is an ideal time for schools, communities, small groups and families to bring attention to the issue of teen driving safety and begin to act to prevent teen crashes and injuries. To learn more, visit the Web site at
http://www.chop.edu/consumer/jsp/division/generic.jsp?id=86589.
Rusty Wallace CMV Safety Belt Campaign
The Federal Motor Carriers Safety Administration (FMCSA) is continuing to work towards getting truck drivers to buckle up! NASCAR legend Rusty Wallace helped FMCSA by creating public service announcements (PSAs) to encourage seat belt use for truckers. Watch the PSA on the FMCSA site at
www.fmcsa.dot.gov/safetybelt.
Publication of Preliminary Theft Data
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) administers a program for reducing motor vehicle theft. The central feature of this program is the Federal Motor Vehicle Theft Prevention Standard, 49 CFR Part 541. The standard specifies performance requirements for inscribing or affixing vehicle identification numbers (VINs) onto certain major original equipment and replacement parts of high-theft lines of passenger motor vehicles. Preliminary data from the program shows an increase in the rate of motor vehicle theft from 2005 to 2004. The preliminary theft rate for passenger vehicles stolen in calendar year 2005 increased to 1.85 thefts per thousand vehicles produced, an increase of 1.1 percent from the rate of 1.83 thefts per thousand vehicles experienced in 2004.
Evaluation of State Motorcycle Safety Programs
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently announced plans to conduct a survey of State Motorcycle Safety Administrators and/or State Highway Safety Offices in all 50 States and the District of Columbia to gather data on state-level motorcycle safety programs. This survey will consist of a questionnaire in mail (paper and pencil) format, which will allow a telephone follow-up for further details as necessary. The study will use the State Motorcycle Safety Administrator and State Highway Safety Office survey to gather comprehensive data on what each of the 50 States and the District of Columbia are doing to promote and ensure safe riding behavior. The Information Collection Request (ICR) has been forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment.
NDR Systems Slowdowns Report
The National Driver Registry (NDR) experienced system slowdowns yesterday (10/9) with the Problem Driver Pointer System (PDPS). AAMVA staff is actively working with NDR's technical staff to understand which remediation process is being put in place by NDR's vendor. It is important to know that yesterday's PDPS system slowdowns as well as the ones that occurred on Oct. 3-4 and in September and August are not related to any AAMVA systems. The PDPS system is owned and managed by NDR and the slowdowns have been identified as a resource issue on NDR's system.
Please direct any inquiry on this issue to the Operations Department at (888) AAMVA80 (option 3) or operationsproductionhelpdesk@aamva.org.
AAMVA/Nick Denice Memorial Fellowship Awards
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 is Thursday, Feb. 7, 2008. For more information, see
http://www.aamva.org/About/Awards/HarvardFellowship.htm Share Information with Other Jurisdictions
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