[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 241 (Thursday, December 17, 2009)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 66936-66937]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-30030]



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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

49 CFR Part 565

[Docket No. NHTSA 2008-0022]


Vehicle Identification Number Requirements

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

ACTION: Denial of petitions for reconsideration.

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SUMMARY: This document denies two petitions for reconsideration of an 
April 30, 2008, final rule that made certain modifications to 49 CFR 
part 565, Vehicle Identification Number Requirements, to enable the 17 
character vehicle identification number (VIN) system that has been in 
place for nearly 30 years to continue to function for at least another 
30 years. One of the petitions for reconsideration involved the 
effective date, which NHTSA believes was resolved by the publication of 
a correction notice on May 16, 2008. The second petition asked for 
changes to the VIN system so that, among other things, a person looking 
at the VIN of a motorcycle will be able to tell whether the vehicle was 
manufactured in the 30 year period beginning with the 1980 model year 
or in the 30 year period beginning with the 2010 model year. The agency 
is denying the petition because the issues it raises were outside of 
the scope of the rulemaking.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For technical and policy questions: 
Kenneth O. Hardie, Office of Crash Avoidance Standards, NHTSA, W43-458, 
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590 (Telephone: 202-366-
6987) (Fax: 202-366-7002).
    For legal questions: Deirdre Fujita, Office of Chief Counsel, 
NHTSA, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590 (Telephone: 
202-366-2992)(Fax: 202-366-3820).

I. Background

    On April 30, 2008, NHTSA published a final rule \1\ that modified 
49 CFR Part 565, ``Vehicle Identification Number Requirements,'' so 
that the current 17 character vehicle identification number (VIN) 
system, which has been in place for almost 30 years, can continue in 
use for at least another 30 years. The final rule revised the 
requirements for where certain information must be communicated in a 
VIN and added to the characters that may be used in some of the 17 
positions of the VIN for passenger cars, multipurpose passenger 
vehicles, and trucks with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of 4536 
kilograms (kg) (10,000 pounds (lb) or less. There were no changes in 
the characters allowed in various VIN positions for vehicles other than 
passenger cars, multipurpose passenger vehicles, and trucks with a GVWR 
of 4536 kg (10,000 lb) or less since the restrictions on the use of 
characters that had applied to vehicles less than 10,000 lb GVWR have 
not applied to other vehicles.\2\
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    \1\ 73 FR 23367, Docket No. 2008-0022; corrected 73 FR 28370, 
May 16, 2008, Docket No. 2008-0022.
    \2\ The original petition for rulemaking was developed by a 
committee of SAE International. That committee, known as the SAE 
Vehicle Identification Number/World Manufacturer Identifier 
Technical Committee, consisted of representatives from General 
Motors, International Truck and Engine Corporation, RL Polk & 
Company, The Hill Group, Freightliner Truck Division, American 
Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, American Suzuki Motor 
Corporation, Harley Davidson Motor Company, Motorcycle Industry 
Council, Ford Motor Company, Transport Canada, National Insurance 
Crime Bureau (NICB), and Daimler Chrysler Corporation. In addition, 
a representative from NHTSA attended all meetings, most of which 
were conducted by conference call. Also, representatives from 
Clifford Thomas IMS in the United Kingdom, the Highway Loss Data 
Institute, and Caterpillar, Inc. also participated in the process.
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    The principal amendments adopted in the April 30, 2008, final rule 
were:
     The current 30 year period during which the VINs of any 
two vehicles subject to Part 565 may not be identical has been extended 
to 60 years.
     A vehicle's ``make'' must now be communicated in, and 
decipherable from, the second section of the VIN (positions 4-8), 
rather than being included in the first three characters of the VIN, 
which represent the manufacturer identifier.
     For passenger cars, multipurpose passenger vehicles, and 
trucks with a GVWR of 4536 kg. (10,000 lb) or less, positions 4, 5, and 
6 may now be--3--either alphabetic or numeric. Positions 4 and 5 were 
previously limited to alphabetic characters. Position 6 was limited to 
numeric characters.
     For passenger cars, multipurpose passenger vehicles, and 
trucks with a GVWR of 4536 kg (10,000 lb) or less, VIN position 7 must 
now be alphabetic. It has previously been limited to numeric 
characters. Numeric or alphabetic characters continue to be permitted 
in position 7 for all other vehicles.
     The ``Year Codes for VIN'' table in Part 565 has been 
revised to include model year character designations for years up to, 
and including 2039 to account for the expanded period of time during 
which the current VIN system will remain in existence under the final 
rule.
     Part 565 now expressly applies to Low Speed Vehicles 
(LSVs).
     Vehicle attributes that now must be communicated in, and 
decipherable from, the VINs of LSVs have been added to Part 565.
     The VINs of LSVs must be in the same location as VINs for 
passenger cars, multipurpose passenger vehicles and trucks with a GVWR 
of 4536 kg (10,000 lb) or less.
     The vehicles to which Part 565.5, ``Motor vehicles 
imported into the United States,'' applies have been expanded from 
``passenger cars'' to ``passenger cars, multipurpose passenger 
vehicles, low speed vehicles and trucks of 4536 kg or less GVWR.''
     Language has been added to Part 565 to indicate that the 
number ``9'' in the third VIN position means that the vehicle is 
produced in sufficiently small quantities that a low-volume 
manufacturer identifier applies and that positions 12-14 are therefore 
part of the manufacturer identifier.
     A table and an explanatory note have been added to Part 
565 that specifically indicates the digit that should appear in the 
ninth position of the VIN.
     New definitions have been added for ``low-volume 
manufacturer,'' ``high- volume manufacturer,'' and ``manufacturer 
identifier.''
     The dividing line between high-volume and low-volume 
manufacturers, which determines whether a three character or six 
character manufacturer identifier is required, has been set at 1,000 
vehicles, with those manufacturers manufacturing 1,000 or more vehicles 
considered to be high-volume manufacturers.
     The contact details in Part 565 for the SAE International, 
NHTSA's contractor that administers the VIN system, have been revised.

II. Petitions for Reconsideration and NHTSA's Response

    NHTSA received two petitions for reconsideration in response to the 
VIN final rule and a comment that raised the same basic issue that was 
raised in one of the petitions.

A. Effective Date

    Vehicle Services Consulting, Inc. (VSC) submitted a petition for 
reconsideration that was received on May 15, 2008, the day before NHTSA 
published a correction notice \3\ that, among other things, clarified 
the effective date of the final rule. The

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effective date of the final rule was the focus of VSC's petition.
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    \3\ See 73 FR 28370.
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    In its petition, VSC asserted that the effect of the language 
relating to the effective date of the new regulation, as originally 
published on April 30, 2008, would ``force manufacturers to start their 
MY 2010 no later than with April 30, 2009 production.'' VSC indicated 
that manufacturers need flexibility to decide when to change over from 
MY 2009 production to MY 2010 production. VSC suggested detailed 
changes to the regulatory language originally published.
    The agency believes that the May 16, 2008 correction notice 
adequately addressed the issues raised by VSC. The corrections make 
clear that model year 2010 and 2011 vehicles manufactured on or after 
October 27, 2008 must comply with the new rule. The agency believes the 
October 27, 2008 effective date provided sufficient lead time for 
manufacturers to plan for the manufacture of model year 2010 vehicles. 
It is the agency's intent that all model year 2010 vehicles comply with 
the new VIN rule.
    The May 16, 2008 corrections also make clear that ``all motor 
vehicles identified as model year 2009 or earlier vehicles by their 
manufacturer'' must comply with the current 49 CFR Part 565, which is 
included in the final rule as Subpart C.
    Because the May 16, 2008 correction notice addresses VSC's 
concerns, the agency is denying this petition for reconsideration.

B. Time Period Identifiers for Other Types of Vehicles

    The April 30, 2008 final rule included a change in the 17 character 
VIN system for passenger cars, multipurpose passenger vehicles, and 
trucks with GVWRs of 10,000 lb (4,536 kg) or less, that effectively 
indicates whether the vehicle is from the first 30 year or second 30 
year period of the VIN system's life. In its petition for 
reconsideration, the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI), an affiliate 
of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), asked that 
changes be made to the VIN final rule so that the 30 year period in 
which motorcycles and pickup trucks greater than 10,000 lb GVWR were 
manufactured can be identified.
    While not submitted as a petition for reconsideration, NHTSA also 
received a comment from Penton Media expressing a concern similar to 
HLDI's but relating to all vehicles other than passenger cars, 
multipurpose passenger vehicles, and trucks with a GVWR of 4536 kg 
(10,000 lb) or less, including trucks with a GVWR greater than 4536 kg 
(10,000 lb), buses, motorcycles, trailers, and low speed-vehicles.
    For motorcycles, HLDI suggested two options for allowing one to 
determine the 30 year period in which a motorcycle was manufactured. 
The first would require motorcycles to use prescribed alphabetic 
characters in position 9 of the VIN as check digits, as opposed to the 
numeric characters now required for all vehicles including motorcycles. 
The second option would allow motorcycles to use an alphabetic 
character not now permitted to be used in VINs, specifically I, O, or 
Q, in VIN positions 4-8 to indicate that the motorcycle is a model year 
in the range 2010-39.
    With regard to pickups, HLDI cited four different makes/series that 
include versions with GVWRs both above and below 10,000 lb. HLDI asked 
that manufacturers of ``any make/series with GVWRs both above and below 
the 10,000 pound threshold follow the new rules for all vehicles of 
that make/series--that is, to use alphabetic characters in VIN position 
7 to indicate model years 2010-2039 and ensure the uniqueness of VINs 
for this group of vehicles.'' HLDI said its analysis of the VINs of the 
four makes/series of pickups it cited indicated that alphabetic 
characters have not been used in position 7 of the VINs of these 
vehicles.
    While HLDI and Penton Media have identified a difference in the way 
vehicles under 10,000 lb GVWR and motorcycles and vehicles over 10,000 
lb GVWR are treated in the final rule, the agency does not believe that 
it has a sufficient basis to change Part 565 per the petitioner's 
request. The issues raised were not raised in the rulemaking and are 
therefore outside the scope of the rulemaking and cannot be addressed 
in response to a petition for reconsideration. As such, we are denying 
HLDI's petition for reconsideration.
    Our decision-making on the issues raised by HLDI would benefit from 
public comments on the issues. The agency believes that the changes 
suggested by HLDI could have a substantial impact on data systems that 
utilize VINs. Furthermore, it seems likely that some users of data 
systems may not derive any benefit from the changes they would be 
forced to make. The changes to the VIN system HLDI proposes would 
likely benefit HLDI's research activities, but we are uncertain as to 
what adverse effects making these changes might have on others with 
data systems that rely on the VIN. Any changes of the sort suggested by 
HLDI would benefit from notice and comment rulemaking to assure, among 
other things, that these changes would not have an adverse impact on 
manufacturers of the vehicles involved as well as on the many data 
systems that utilize the VIN, such as those maintained by State motor 
vehicle departments, insurance companies, and others. NHTSA believes 
that any proposed change to longstanding operating principles of the 
VIN system, such as allowing the use of the characters I, O, and Q, 
must be carefully and thoroughly reviewed to make sure that a solution 
in one context does not create problems in another. Again, public 
comments on the change would be beneficial.
    With respect to HLDI's concern that certain makes and models of 
pickup trucks have vehicle versions that are above 10,000 lb GVWR and 
below 10,000 lb and might therefore use two different approaches to 
assigning VINs to these vehicles, NHTSA believes that for the vehicles 
mentioned by HLDI, the problem, at least for now, does not exist. NHTSA 
contacted the manufacturers of the pickups cited by HLDI. Each 
indicated that in the case of the pickup makes and models cited by 
HLDI, the manufacturer applies the VIN character scheme required of 
vehicles less than 10,000 lb GVWR to all versions of the vehicles.
    Therefore, for the aforementioned reasons, we decline to make the 
changes suggested by HLDI. We note that we are continuing efforts to 
review the VIN system, so the suggested changes could be pursued if 
further revisions to the VIN system are proposed at a later time.

    Authority: 49 U.S.C. 322, 30111, 30115, 30117, and 30166; 
delegation of authority at 49 CFR 1.50.

    Issued: December 11, 2009.
Stephen R. Kratzke,
Associate Administrator for Rulemaking.
[FR Doc. E9-30030 Filed 12-16-09; 8:45 am]
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