[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 135 (Tuesday, July 15, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37949-37950]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-18471]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Office of the Secretary


Privacy Act of 1974; Notice To Amend a System of Records

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice to amend a system of records.

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SUMMARY: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration proposes to 
amend a system of records notice in its inventory of records subject to 
the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a), as amended.

EFFECTIVE DATE: August 25, 1997.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Crystal M. Bush, Privacy Act 
Coordinator, U.S. Department of Transportation, Washington, DC 20590. 
Telephone: (202) 366-9713.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This amendment establishes a new routine use 
of the names, addresses, and other personal data in the system in order 
for NHTSA to make complaints about recall performance available to 
applicable automobile and automobile part manufacturers in order to 
allow them to rectify owner complaints and problems.

    Dated: July 2, 1997.
Crystal M. Bush,
Privacy Act Coordinator.
DOT/NHTSA 415

SYSTEM NAME:
    Office of Defects Investigation/Defects Information Management 
System (ODI/DIMS).

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:
    Sensitive.

SYSTEM LOCATION:
    U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), National Highway Traffic 
Safety Administration (NHTSA), Office of Defects Investigation (ODI), 
400 7th Street, SW., Room 5326, Washington, DC 20590.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:
    Vehicle owners.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
    Vehicle identification, vehicle problem, vehicle owner.

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:
    49 U.S.C. 30116.

PURPOSE(s):
    The agency is authorized to ensure that manufacturers recall and 
repair or replace defective or noncompliant motor vehicles or items of 
motor vehicle equipment and to ensure that they do so in an effective 
manner. In order to determine whether recalls are necessary and whether 
the recalls are conducted in accordance with agency requirements, 
safety-related information from motor vehicle and motor vehicle 
equipment owners are collected and analyzed to identify problems and 
trends.

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES 
OF USERS AND THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:
    To permit the Office of Defects Investigation to review complaints 
about defects in motor vehicles and items of motor vehicle equipment in 
order to identify trends that could result in defect investigations; to 
make complaints about recall performance available to applicable 
manufacturers in order to allow them to rectify owner complaints and 
problems; and to identify those uncorrected recall performance problems 
which require investigation into the adequacy of the notification or 
remedy in accordance with agency regulations.
    See Prefatory Statement of General Routine Uses.

DISCLOSURE TO CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCIES:
    None.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORING, RETRIEVING, ACCESSING, RETAINING 
AND DISPOSING OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
STORAGE:
    Disc pack and paper file.

RETRIEVABILITY:
    Identification number for each vehicle owner.

[[Page 37950]]

SAFEGUARDS:
    Coded entry numbers.

RETENTION AND DISPOSAL:
    Eight years.

SYSTEM MANAGER(S) AND ADDRESS:
    Chief, Special Projects Staff, U.S. Department of Transportation 
(DOT), National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Office 
of Defects Investigation, 400 7th Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590.

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE:
    Write or visit the: U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), 
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Director, 
Technical Reference Division, 400 7th Street, SW., Washington, DC 
20590.

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:
    Same as ``Notification Procedure'' above.

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES:
    Same as ``Notification Procedure'' above.

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:
    General public, State highway offices, insurance companies, vehicle 
manufacturers.

EXEMPTIONS CLAIMED FOR THE SYSTEM:
    None.
[FR Doc. 97-18471 Filed 7-14-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-62-P