Odometer Disclosure Requirements; Disclosure of Odometer Information; Review: The Incidence Rate of Odometer Fraud; Preliminary Report

AGENCY:

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Department of Transportation.

ACTION:

Request for comments on technical report.

SUMMARY:

This notice announces NHTSA's publication of a Technical Report that is a nationwide assessment of odometer fraud. The report's title is Preliminary Report: The Incidence Rate of Odometer Fraud.

DATES:

Comments must be received no later than November 13, 2002.

ADDRESSES:

Report: You may obtain a copy of the report free of charge by sending a self-addressed mailing label to Publications Ordering and Distribution Services (NAD-51), National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 400 Seventh Street, SW, Washington, DC 20590. A summary of the report is available on the Internet for viewing on line at http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/rules/regrev/evaluate/80944.html. The full report is available on the Internet in PDF format at http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/rules/regrev/evaluate/pdf/809441.pdf.

Comments: All comments should refer to the Docket number of this notice (NHTSA- 2002-12173). You may submit your comments in writing to: U.S. Department of Trnsportation Docket Management, Room PL-401, 400 Seventh Street, SW, Washington, DC 20590. You may also submit your comments electronically by logging onto the Docket Management Systm Web site at http://dms.dot.gov. Click on “Help & Information” or “Help/Info” to obtain instructions for filing the document electronically.

You may call Docket Management at 202-366-9324 and visit the Docket from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Charles J. Kahane, Chief, Evaluation Division, NPP-22, Plans and Policy, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Room 5208, 400 Seventh Street, SW, Washington, DC 20590. Telephone: 202-366-2560. FAX: 202-366-2559. E-mail ckahane@nhtsa.dot.gov.

For information about NHTSA's evaluations of the effectiveness of existing regulations and programs: Visit the NHTSA web site at http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov and click “Regulations & Standards” underneath “Car Safety” on the home page; then click “Regulatory Evaluation” on the “Regulations & Standards” page.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The technical report estimates the probability of an odometer rollback during the first 11 years of a passenger vehicle's life to the extent it can be detected in title transfer and other odometer reading data. The analyses uses a nationally representative sample of 10,000 passenger cars, pickup trucks, vans and sport utility vehicles and a national vehicle history database to identify vehicles with odometer discrepancies that suggest rollback—i.e., odometer readings on two separate occasions, and the later reading has the lower mileage. The rate of odometer fraud over the life of the vehicle is 3.47 percent (confidence bounds from 2.68 to 4.26 percent). That is a 3.47 percent chance that a vehicle would have its odometer rolled back at any point during the first 11 years of its life. There are approximately 452,000 cases of odometer fraud per year in the United States. This study also estimates the difference between the inflated prices that consumers actually paid for the rolled-back vehicles and the prices they would have been willing to pay if they had known the true mileage. Those costs average $2,336 per case of odometer fraud. Given 452,000 cases per year in the United States, that amounts to $1,056 million per year (confidence bounds from $737 million to $1,376 million).

How Can I Influence NHTSA's Thinking on This Evaluation?

NHTSA welcomes public review of this preliminary report and invites reviewers to submit comments about the data, the statistical methods used in the analyses, and/or additional information. NHTSA will submit to the Docket a response to the comments and, if appropriate, additional analyses that supplement the report. If the comments warrant a significant revision, then NHTSA will either add an appendix to the report or publish a revised report; otherwise, this preliminary report will serve as the final report.

How Do I Prepare and Submit Comments?

Your comments must be written and in English. To ensure that your comments are correctly filed in the Docket, please include the Docket number of this document (NHTSA-2002-12173) in your comments.

Your primary comments must not be more than 15 pages long (49 CFR 553.21). However, you may attach additional documents to your primary comments. There is no limit on the length of the attachments.

Please send two paper copies of your comments to Docket Management or submit them electronically. The mailing address is U.S. Department of Transportation Docket Management, Room PL-401, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590. If your submit your comments electronically, log onto the Dockets Management System website at http://dms.dot.gov and click on “Help & Information” or “Help/Info” to obtain instructions.

We also request, but do not require you to send a copy to Christina Morgan, Evaluation Division, NPP-22, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Room 5208, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590 (alternatively, FAX to 202-366-2559 or e-mail to tmorgan@nhtsa.dot.gov). She can check if your comments have been received at the Docket and she can expedite their review by NHTSA.

How Can I Be Sure That My Comments Were Received?

If you wish Docket Management to notify you upon its receipt of your comments, enclose a self-addressed, stamped postcard in the envelop containing your comments. Upon receiving your comments, Docket Management will return the postcard by mail.

How Do I Submit Confidential Business Information?

If you wish to submit any information under a claim of confidentiality, send three copies of your complete submission, including the information you claim to be confidential business information, to the Chief Counsel, NCC-01, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Room 5219, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590. Include a cover letter supplying the information specified in our confidential business information regulation (49 CFR part 512).

In addition, send two copies from which you have deleted the claimed confidential business information to Docket Management, Room PL-401, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590, or submit them electronically.

Will the Agency Consider Late Comments?

In our response, we will consider all comments that Docket Management receives before the close of business on the comment closing date indicated above under DATES. To the extent possible, we will also consider comments that Docket Management receives after that date.

Please note that even after the comment closing date, we will continue to file relevant information in the Docket as it becomes available. Further, some people may submit late comments. Accordingly, we recommend that you periodically check the Docket for new material.

How Can I Read the Comments Submitted by Other People?

Your may read the comments by visiting Docket Management in person at Room PL-401, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Your may also see the comments on the Internet by taking the following steps:

1. Go to the Docket Management System (DMS) Web page of the Department of Transportation ( http://dms./dot.gov ).

2. On the page, click on “search.”

3. On the next page ( http://dms.dot.gov/search/ ) type in the four-digit Docket number shown at the beginning of this Notice (6545). Click on “search.”

4. On the next page, which contains Docket summary information for the Docket you selected, click on the desired comments. You may also download the comments.

Authority: 49 U.S.C. 30111, 30168; delegation of authority at 49 CFR 1.50 and 501.8