Guidelines for Impaired Driving Records Information Systems, 51665-51672 [E6-14463]

Agencies

• National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
• DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 168 (Wednesday, August 30, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51665-51672]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-14463]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[NHTSA-2006-24872]


Guidelines for Impaired Driving Records Information Systems

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

ACTION: Final guidelines.

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SUMMARY: This notice sets forth guidelines on the types and formats of 
data that States should collect relating to drivers who are arrested or 
convicted for violation of laws prohibiting the impaired operation of 
motor vehicles, as directed by Section 2007(c) of the Safe, 
Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy 
for Users (SAFETEA-LU).

DATES: These final guidelines are effective on August 30, 2006.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For programmatic issues: Ms. De Carlo 
Ciccel, Highway Safety Specialist, Impaired Driving Division, NTI-111, 
or Ms. Heidi Coleman, Chief, Impaired Driving Division, NTI-111, 
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 400 Seventh Street, 
SW., Washington, DC 20590. Telephone: (202) 366-1694. For legal issues: 
Ms. Nygina T. Mills, Office of Chief Counsel, NCC-113, National Highway 
Traffic Safety Administration, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 
20590. Telephone (202) 366-1834.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Annually, more than a million drivers are arrested for alcohol-
impaired driving. While States bear the primary responsibility for 
enacting and enforcing impaired driving laws and for adjudicating and 
sanctioning offenses, they sometimes lack the most effective tools to 
manage their programs. A comprehensive data system containing records 
of impaired driving arrests and convictions would enable a State to 
make more effective traffic safety decisions. The ideal system should 
contain timely, accurate, complete, consistent, integrated, accessible 
and

[[Page 51666]]

secure information. The less timely citation data are, the less their 
utility. Citation data that are not accurate or complete (e.g., 
misspelled name, incorrect charge) can result in dismissed cases or 
reduced charges and can complicate linkage to other traffic records 
system components such as driver license files. Citation data that are 
not consistent can lead to charges that vary by jurisdiction or by law 
enforcement agency. Data that are not accessible or that cannot be 
integrated or linked almost always require more time, effort and 
resources to process and complete, and can delay or interfere with the 
adjudication process. Data that are not secure can lead to system-wide 
failures and data corruption.
    NHTSA's experience indicates that a successful Impaired Driving 
Records Information System requires significant efforts by a State to 
generate, transmit, store, update, link, manage, analyze, and report 
information on impaired driving offenders and citations. Such a system 
should include impaired driving-related information that is collected 
and managed by the system's stakeholders. Key system stakeholders 
include law enforcement agencies, the Department of Motor Vehicles 
(DMV), and the judicial system. A comprehensive electronic Impaired 
Driving Records Information System is a powerful tool to assist States 
in developing an effective system of deterrence for impaired driving.
    In the agency's latest reauthorization, Congress recognized the 
need for States to employ more robust impaired driving data systems. 
Section 2007(c) of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient 
Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), directs 
NHTSA to ``issue guidelines to the States specifying the types and 
formats of data that States should collect relating to drivers who are 
arrested or convicted for violation of laws prohibiting the impaired 
operation of motor vehicles.'' In response to that direction, the 
agency published a notice of proposed guidelines and invited public 
comment. The proposed guidelines were set forth in the form of a model 
system for impaired driving records, based on the results of NHTSA 
experience in this area. This experience suggests that important 
statistical and data elements should include data covering arrests, 
case prosecutions, court dispositions and sanctions, and that it is 
critical to provide for the linkage of such data and traffic records 
systems to appropriate jurisdictions and offices within the State.

NHTSA's Experience: Impaired Driving Data Systems

    In 1997, NHTSA published ``Driving While Intoxicated Tracking 
Systems'' (DOT HS 808 520). This report laid the foundation for 
building a comprehensive tracking system for driving while intoxicated 
(DWI) offenses. An effective DWI Tracking System was defined as one 
that: (1) Effectively manages DWI information from arrest through 
sanction completion and/or license reinstatement; (2) adequately gauges 
DWI trends and the effectiveness of a wide range of education, 
information, legislation, and other countermeasures and targeted 
reduction programs; (3) provides key decision makers (law enforcement, 
DMV, prosecutors, judges, etc.) with adequate and timely information to 
allow equitable imposition of charges and penalties; and (4) reduces 
the administrative burden on system stakeholders and improves 
efficiency while increasing the punitive nature of State laws and 
processes. Specific DWI Tracking System types in use effectively by 
States include case management systems, statistical systems and hybrid 
systems.
    The 1997 report recognized the importance of various key 
stakeholders to the success of the system. The judicial system was 
assumed to encompass the various parties involved in the prosecution 
and adjudication of impaired driving cases, including judges, 
prosecutors, public defenders, and, in some States, probation 
officials. Other identified key stakeholders included treatment 
agencies, departments of correction, departments of criminal justice, 
legislatures, advocacy groups, and the State Highway Safety Offices.
    Since each State is unique in its governmental structure and 
strategies, the report concluded that a single DWI tracking system 
design that would meet the needs of all States could not be developed. 
However, the report provided a framework for an effective core system, 
described the key system characteristics, discussed the criticality of 
DWI tracking, and laid the foundation for developing an effective DWI 
Tracking System.
    Since 1997, most States have worked to develop specific components 
of a DWI Tracking System, often with very little exchange or 
interaction between system components. Consequently, most States still 
lack a comprehensive system to identify, adjudicate, prosecute, and 
track incidences involving alcohol-impaired and/or other drug-impaired 
drivers.
    In 2001, in collaboration with State and Federal agencies, NHTSA 
expanded the framework of a DWI Tracking System to a more comprehensive 
impaired driving records information system. This expanded system, 
known as the Model Impaired Driving Records Information System, enabled 
a State to perform the following functions:
     Appropriately charge and sentence offenders, based on 
their driving history;
     Manage impaired driving cases from arrest through the 
completion of court and administrative sanctions;
     Identify populations and trends, evaluate countermeasures 
and identify problematic components of the overall impaired driving 
control system;
     Provide stakeholders with adequate and timely information 
to fulfill their responsibilities; and
     Reduce administrative costs for system stakeholders and 
increase system efficiencies.
    In 2002, NHTSA solicited participation in a Model Impaired Driving 
Records Information System that provided immediate electronic access to 
driver history and vehicle information, electronic collection of data, 
electronic transmission of data between key stakeholders, and on-line 
access to complete, accurate, and timely information on impaired 
driving cases. 67 FR 40381 (June 12, 2002). With this system, States 
could begin to use the model requirements and data elements as a 
collective resource and thereby curb the installation of costly and 
duplicative record systems. The system ideally provides full access to 
all key stakeholders and addresses each stakeholder's needs. The system 
also tracks each impaired driving offense and offender administratively 
and through the judicial system, from arrest through dismissal or 
sentence completion, and provides aggregate data (e.g., number of 
arrests, convictions, blood alcohol concentration (BAC) distribution, 
and offender demographics) to better manage a State's impaired driving 
program.
    States participating in this demonstration project include Alabama, 
Connecticut (added in 2004), Iowa, Nebraska, and Wisconsin. These 
States have implemented the use of real-time data to plan and better 
manage their impaired driving programs. NHTSA plans to make the results 
of these States' experiences available in 2007 to assist other States 
to improve impaired driving records information systems. The reports 
received to date from these sites indicate that using real-time data 
systems can not only be successfully

[[Page 51667]]

accomplished, but that various obstacles to implementation can be 
overcome.
    Based on the agency's experience and the efforts described above, 
NHTSA has developed a framework for an effective data system containing 
records of impaired driving arrests and convictions. In response to the 
requirement in SAFETEA-LU to issue guidelines to assist the States in 
the types and formats of data to collect concerning impaired driving 
arrests and convictions, the agency published proposed guidelines on 
June 28, 2006 (71 FR 36877), in the form of a Model Impaired Driving 
Records Information System, and solicited comments from interested 
persons.

Comments

    The agency received comments from the Governors Highway Safety 
Association (GHSA), the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles (Virginia 
DMV), and the Center for Regulatory Effectiveness (CRE).
    GHSA ``strongly concur[red]'' with NHTSA on the need for improved 
state DWI data and supported comprehensive DWI tracking systems in the 
states. While embracing the NHTSA model as an ``ideal system,'' GHSA 
asserted that States face significant institutional barriers and it 
would take ``millions of dollars and many years'' to achieve full 
implementation. As a result, GHSA stressed that the model system 
proposed by NHTSA represents a ``goal'' and should not be a mandate or 
a condition for future Federal highway safety grants.
    In accordance with SAFETEA-LU, the model system sets forth 
guidelines on the types and formats of data States should collect 
concerning impaired driving arrests and convictions. The model system 
is not a mandate.
    Virginia DMV urged NHTSA to include clear security and data privacy 
parameters in the guidelines to protect the privacy of individuals. 
Virginia DMV also asserted that the issuance of guidelines was 
premature given that NHTSA is not scheduled to release the results of 
its impaired driving records demonstration project until 2007. In this 
regard, Virginia DMV noted that the results of its own pilot program on 
impaired driving records, scheduled to begin in October of 2006, would 
be instructive in further refining the guidelines. Virginia DMV thought 
that its concerns could best be addressed using information stemming 
from the results of NHTSA's demonstration program and its own pilot 
program. Finally, Virginia DMV requested that grant funds be made 
available to the states to implement the guidelines and that States be 
provided ample lead time for implementation should the guidelines be 
changed to regulations.
    NHTSA agrees with Virginia DMV that privacy and security of State 
information are important considerations. However, these considerations 
are beyond the scope of the guidelines, which are limited to the types 
and formats of impaired driving data states should collect. States 
should have their own processes in place to address privacy and 
security concerns for all data they may collect. NHTSA also agrees that 
the results of the demonstration project could serve to inform the 
guidelines. In fact, the guidelines reflect the practices used by the 
States in the demonstration project. However, the agency is unable to 
delay issuance of the guidelines until release of the demonstration 
project results as SAFETEA-LU directs that they be issued not later 
than 12 months after its enactment. Should the results of the 
demonstration project warrant it, the agency will update the 
guidelines. The making available of grant funds to implement the 
guidelines and the issuance of regulations are matters that are beyond 
the scope of this action. Any funding that might become available would 
be the subject of a separate announcement and the issuance of 
regulations would be guided by statute.
    The CRE was ``perplexed that NHTSA failed to include in the Federal 
Register notice * * * a discussion of the guidelines' compliance with 
Departmental information quality standards and responsibilities.'' CRE 
recommended that NHTSA conduct a pre-dissemination review of the 
proposed guidelines to ensure that they comply with Department of 
Transportation and Office of Management and Budget information quality 
guidelines and include a discussion of the conclusions reached in the 
Federal Register along with the final guidelines. CRE also recommended 
that all future NHTSA proposed and final actions include a discussion 
of the agency's adherence to the DOT and OMB information quality 
guidelines.
    The agency notes that CRE does not challenge the quality of the 
information contained in the guidelines, but instead suggests changes 
to our information review processes under the Data Quality Act. NHTSA 
adheres strictly to DOT and OMB guidelines for ensuring the ``quality, 
objectivity, utility and integrity'' of data disseminated by the 
agency. Before a proposed guideline, rule or other agency action is 
released by NHTSA, it is subjected to a rigorous pre-dissemination 
review involving various offices within NHTSA that possess extensive 
subject matter expertise. In the instant case, as we explained when we 
published the proposed guidelines and have restated in this document, 
these guidelines have grown out of almost a decade of experience and 
research and a demonstration project involving multiple States. We also 
solicited comment from the interested public. It should be observed 
that the agency is not releasing data to the public in these 
guidelines. Rather, in accordance with SAFETEA-LU, NHTSA is 
recommending the types and formats of impaired driving data that States 
should collect.
    Neither the Data Quality Act nor the DOT or OMB guidelines require 
us to publish a discussion of our internal pre-dissemination review. 
Rather, these guidelines simply direct that such a review take place, 
and that it be conducted in a manner that ensures that the information 
intended for dissemination has the requisite level of quality, 
objectivity, utility, and integrity required under the Act. We are 
confident that the process described above satisfies these 
requirements, and that we need not publish any additional discussion on 
the subject.
    Based on the comments received, we have made no changes to the 
proposed guidelines. Therefore, in accordance, with Section 2007(c) of 
SAFETEA-LU we are adopting, as final guidelines, the Model Impaired 
Driving Records System set forth below.

Model Impaired Driving Records Information System

Introduction

    The Model Impaired Driving Records Information System supports 
several important functions. It should:
     Track each impaired driving offender from arrest through 
dismissal or sentence completion;
     Provide aggregate impaired driving data;
     Conform to national standards and system performance 
standards;
     Provide accurate, complete, timely, and reliable data; and
     Contain quality control and security features that prevent 
core and essential data elements and/or driving records from becoming 
corrupted or compromised.
    States vary widely in their organizational structure. States vary, 
for example, in the structure of their court systems and their 
executive functions related to public safety, driver licensing, public 
health, substance abuse, and criminal justice. Also, there are 
substantial differences in State laws concerning impaired driving, 
access to

[[Page 51668]]

public records, acceptance of electronic signatures on charging 
documents, and many other areas. Therefore, some States may need to 
make adjustments to the model for conformance with their particular 
structures and systems.

Specific Features

    The Model Impaired Driving Records Information System should have 
the following specific features:
     Statewide coverage (DMV, all courts adjudicating impaired 
driving cases, all law enforcement agencies);
     Electronic access by law enforcement officers and courts 
to current information on license history and status; vehicle 
registration status, applicable criminal history, and outstanding 
warrants;
     An electronic citation system that is used by officers at 
the roadside and/or at the police station and that supports the use of 
bar codes, magnetic striping, or other technologies to automatically 
capture driver license and registration information on the citation and 
other standard legal forms, such as an implied consent form;
     A citation tracking system that accepts electronic 
citation data (and other standard legal forms) from law enforcement 
agencies, provides real-time tracking and accountability from the 
distribution of citation forms to issuance by police officers, through 
the final court adjudication, and the imposition and completion of 
court and administrative sanctions, provides access by offender and by 
citation number or other unique identifier, and allows on-line access 
by stakeholders;
     Electronic transmission of data from law enforcement 
agencies and the courts to the driver license system to permit 
immediate and automatic imposition of administrative sanctions, if 
applicable, and recording of convictions on the driver license;
     Electronic reporting to courts and DMVs by probation, 
treatment, or correctional agencies, as applicable, with regard to 
compliance or non-compliance with court or administrative sanctions;
     Linkage of information from the incident/case-based 
tracking system and the offender-based DMV license, treatment, and 
probation systems to develop a complete record for each offender, 
including driver history;
     Timely access by all stakeholders, including the State 
Highway Safety Office, to periodic statistical reports needed to 
support agency operations and to manage the impaired driving control 
system, identify trends, and support problem identification, policy 
development, and evaluation of countermeasures;
     Flexibility to include additional data and technological 
innovations; and
     Conformity with national standards developed by, for 
example, the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators 
(AAMVA) and the National Crime Information Center (NCIC).

Core Data Definitions

    The core set of data available in the Model Impaired Driving 
Records Information System includes data generated as a result of an 
impaired driving arrest and the movement of the case through the system 
as well as data obtained from existing databases or created by linking 
existing data elements. Specific data elements should conform to 
national standards developed by AAMVA and others. Subject to State and 
Federal laws and policies regarding access to data and privacy 
restrictions, the core data available to (but not necessarily accessed 
by) the courts, DMV, and law enforcement agencies are listed below.
    The following data should be obtained from existing databases:
     Driver identifying information, including name, address, 
driver license number and State, date of birth, physical 
characteristics (race, gender, height, eye color, weight);
     Driver license class and endorsements, status (e.g., 
suspended, hardship license, cancelled), restrictions;
     Vehicle license plate number and State of registration, 
status (e.g., registered, impounded, stolen), Vehicle Identification 
Number (VIN), DOT motor carrier identification number for commercial 
vehicles;
     Relevant criminal history;
     Outstanding warrants and other administrative actions;
     In accordance with the State's policies for posting and 
retaining information on the driver record, offender's history of prior 
non-impaired driving traffic convictions and associated penalties, 
impaired driving convictions and/or pre-conviction administrative 
actions and associated penalties, crashes, current accumulated license 
penalty points, administrative license actions; and
     Outstanding citations or arrests.
    The following data should be generated at the time of the impaired 
driving arrest and at subsequent points throughout the adjudication and 
sanctioning stages:
     Arrest/citation information:
     [cir] Citation number(s).
     [cir] Date.
     [cir] Time of day.
     [cir] Roadway location and jurisdiction.
     [cir] Arresting office, Law Enforcement Agency (LEA) identifier.
     [cir] Violation(s) charged.
     [cir] Crash involvement, severity, number of passengers.
     [cir] Alcohol test result: refusal, Blood Alcohol Concentration 
(BAC), missing.
     [cir] Drug test result: refusal, drugs detected, missing.
     [cir] Results of Standardized Field Sobriety Tests and other field 
tests, as applicable.
     Pre-conviction administrative license and vehicle 
penalties imposed
     [cir] Type of sanction.
     [cir] Date imposed.
     [cir] Length of sanction.
     Prosecution/adjudication data
     [cir] Court case identifier.
     [cir] Date of arraignment.
     [cir] Identifiers for court, judge, jurisdiction.
     [cir] Date of disposition.
     [cir] Completion or non-completion of pre-conviction or pre-
sentence deferral program (e.g., court defers sentencing or conviction 
pending offender's completion of alcohol treatment program and/or other 
conditions).
     [cir] Final court disposition (e.g., dismissed, acquitted, plea to 
reduced charge (specified), convicted of original charge after trial, 
diversion program, adjournment in contemplation of dismissal, pending).
     [cir] Court penalties imposed, including length of jail sentence, 
house arrest, electronic home monitoring, plate impoundment, ignition 
interlock device; dollar amount of fines and fees; length and terms of 
probation; substance abuse assessment/treatment sentence; hours of 
community service; amount of restitution to victims; vehicle 
forfeiture; length of license revocation or suspension; other.
     [cir] Probation report and/or pre-sentence assessment information, 
if available by law.
     Subsequent violations, including driving while suspended/
revoked, during license suspension period and resulting penalties.
     Completion of treatment/assessment (start and finish 
dates).
     Completion/non-completion of court and/or administrative 
sanctions, including amounts of fines and fees collected; terms of jail 
time, license suspension or revocation, vehicle or plate impoundment/
forfeiture, community service, ignition interlock; other.
     Penalties for failure to complete court and/or 
administrative sanctions or violations of probation, including license 
suspensions/revocations.

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     Whether license was reinstated and if so, date of 
reinstatement.

Data Entry, Storage, and Transmission

    Although treatment agencies and other stakeholders provide 
important data to the system, the timely collection and transmission of 
data by the courts, Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs), and Departments of 
Motor Vehicles (DMVs) are of primary importance. Each of these agencies 
should generate and transmit data electronically. In States where data 
on alcohol and drug tests are collected and managed by a fourth agency, 
it is imperative that these data also are generated and transmitted 
electronically. Other types of data obtained from other agencies, such 
as treatment agencies, also should be transmitted electronically.
    The software for generating court records and citations should have 
extensive edits and menu pull-downs to minimize data entry errors. When 
used correctly, the software should ensure that data entry is virtually 
error-free. The electronic citation software should provide for the 
automatic population of the citation form and any other related arrest 
forms with information from the driver license and vehicle 
registration. This may be accomplished through several mechanisms, 
including the use of bar codes or magnetic striping or by accessing the 
driver license file online from a mobile computer in the patrol vehicle 
or station. The court and DMV systems should have built-in audits that 
periodically check a sample of records for the timeliness of the 
receipt of the data and the accuracy and completeness of the records. 
Ideally, each component of the system should provide real-time, on-line 
access to stakeholders and real-time, immediate transmission of data. 
Electronic capture, retrieval, and data transmission provides for 
timeliness and consistency in data. Also, electronic system edits 
ensure more accurate and reliable data.
    Law enforcement officers and courts should have immediate (or near-
equivalent) access to current driver license and registration records 
and criminal history records. The immediate access to driver license 
and registration information may be accomplished in various ways, 
including the use of palm pilots or on-line access to the driver 
license file through a mobile computer in the vehicle or at the 
station. If allowed by State law and policy, officers and courts should 
be able to correct or update a limited number of specified fields in 
the driver record. For example, a driver's address may be incorrect on 
the driver license record because the driver changed residence but 
failed to notify DMV.

Specific Major Stakeholder Data Requirements

    While various stakeholders are important to the success of the 
Model system, NHTSA's experience has shown that key system stakeholders 
include LEAs, DMVs and the courts.
    Law Enforcement Agencies. The electronic issuance of citations and 
other standardized forms (e.g., alcohol or drug test form) should occur 
at the point of arrest, either at the roadside or at the station, 
depending on local and State laws and policies. Immediately, or no 
later than 48 hours after the issuance of the citation, the citation 
record should be transmitted electronically to the courts and the DMV 
(if the State imposes pre-conviction administrative license or vehicle 
sanctions) and integrated into the court and DMV computer systems. The 
electronic transmission of data can occur in several ways, for example, 
by wireless transfer via low-energy waves of cellular/digital networks, 
by downloading the data to a disk and transmitting via the Internet 
from a desktop computer connected to a landline, or online from a 
mobile computer in the vehicle. The data may go directly to the courts 
or be routed through data centers located throughout a State.
    The results of drug tests and alcohol tests, when based on a blood 
sample, will not be available at the time of the arrest and must be 
provided at a later date. An interface with unique identifiers allows 
for seamless electronic transfer of test results to the appropriate 
offender, which ultimately improves system efficiencies and 
significantly reduces errors.
    Courts. Many, if not most, courts use case management software to 
track cases and support administrative functions (e.g., scheduling 
court appearances and assigning cases). Traffic Court Case Management 
Systems Functional Requirement Standards are obtainable from the 
National Center for State Courts Technology Services at https://
www.ncsconline.org/D_Tech/ standards/. Electronic citation information 
transmitted by Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) may interface directly 
with a court database or be sent via an interim data warehouse or 
gateway to which data are sent and then retrieved by courts and other 
authorized parties (e.g., prosecutors, defense attorneys). After any 
necessary translation of the record layout, the electronic citation 
becomes part of the court's electronic case record and the court's case 
management system LEAs, the DMV, prosecutors, and other key 
stakeholders should have online access to query the court system about 
the status of a particular case or a set of cases (e.g., citations 
issued by an LEA in the past month). In States where only one violation 
is placed on a citation form, the system should allow for accessing all 
citations issued to an offender in a particular incident.
    The information needed by the DMV (e.g., notice of conviction or 
completion of arraignment, prompting administrative license or vehicle 
sanctions) should be transmitted electronically by the courts 
immediately, or no later than 48 hours after the action (e.g., 
conviction or arraignment). This transmission may occur through a 
variety of mechanisms, for example, via the Internet with the DMV 
accessing a mailbox on a court Web site and downloading relevant files 
or via the Internet directly from the court to the DMV. Programming by 
the courts or the DMVs may be needed to translate court records into a 
form that can be integrated with DMV records.
    DMV. Driver license and vehicle records that are easily understood 
should be available electronically to the courts, LEAs, and other 
authorized stakeholders. The driver license and vehicle registration 
systems should be adapted as necessary to receive information 
electronically from the courts and LEAs, if applicable. Data received 
from the courts or LEAs should be integrated into the DMV data bases 
immediately, or no later than 24 hours after receipt of data. The 
licensing and vehicle registration computer systems should be 
programmed so that administrative and court-ordered sanctions are 
triggered automatically when the information is received from the 
courts or LEAs.
    Information needed by treatment agencies, probation offices, and 
other agencies involved in sanctioning offenders should be provided 
electronically by the DMV to the extent practicable. In turn, these 
agencies should report electronically to the DMV about the completion 
of sanction. The DMV also should develop protocols with the courts to 
ensure that information related to the failure to complete sanctions 
and corrections to court records identified by the DMV are transmitted 
back to the courts.

Statistical Report Capabilities

    A Model Impaired Driving Records Information System enables 
organizational stakeholders, including the State Highway Safety Office, 
the State legislature, NHTSA, and others, to

[[Page 51670]]

obtain periodic and special statistical reports on impaired driving 
activities within the State. Standardized statistical reports should be 
periodically generated, and the stakeholders and other authorized 
system users should be able to obtain simple sets of statistical data 
on an ad hoc basis through a user-friendly protocol, to the extent that 
State laws permit. In States where some of the relevant records are 
sealed to protect personal privacy, the system should permit such 
records to be included in aggregate summaries.
    States vary widely in their definitions of first and repeat 
impaired driving offenses, both in terms of the look-back period of 
years and in terms of the offenses that qualify as a prior offense. In 
some States, for example, a refusal to submit to the alcohol test would 
count as a prior offense. In generating statistics related to first and 
repeat offenses, data should be generated using the State's definition 
of a repeat offense.
    Current and historical aggregated data should be available, and the 
data should be available on a statewide basis, by jurisdiction, or for 
specific courts or LEAs, as applicable. Aggregate numbers and rates 
(e.g., alcohol test refusals per person arrested), as applicable, 
should be provided for the following first and subsequent offenses, to 
the extent that State laws permit:
     Impaired driving arrest events (including multiple-charge 
events) by charge;
     All types of final court dispositions, for example, 
conviction on original charge, conviction on reduced charge 
(specified), acquittal, dismissal, adjournment in contemplation of 
dismissal, pending failure to appear in court;
     Trials by charge and disposition;
     Location of arrests, e.g., roadway segment, jurisdiction;
     Alcohol test refusals and BAC results for tests 
administered;
     Drug test refusals and results for tests administered;
     Age and gender of persons arrested and convicted;
     All types of court penalties imposed;
     All types of administrative penalties imposed by the DMV, 
for example, pre-conviction driver license suspension, pre-conviction 
license plate impoundment;
     Sentence or adjudication diversions/deferrals, if 
applicable;
     Referrals to treatment by first and repeat offender;
     Completion/non-completion of treatment;
     License reinstatements;
     Sentence completions/non-completions, for example, paid 
and unpaid fines, jail time served/not served, and community service 
completed/not completed;
     Average time from arrest to first court appearance, to 
conviction, and to sentencing statewide by charge;
     Outstanding warrants issued and other administrative 
actions; and
     Subsequent violations, including driving while suspended/
revoked, and resulting penalties during license suspension period.
    The generation of much of these data draws from and links 
information stored in various stakeholders' systems. Depending on a 
State's laws for charging violations, deriving a particular measure 
(e.g., second offenders) may necessitate linking data from a case-based 
records system (e.g., court system) with data from a driver-based 
records system (e.g., DMV system). The priority for each of the three 
key stakeholders (LEAs, courts, DMV) is necessarily developing a data 
system to support its operations and responsibilities. Thus, it is 
unlikely that any of these stakeholders currently has or will develop a 
computer system with the capability to generate these kinds of linked 
data, unless this is a statutory responsibility of the organization.

Data Warehouse

    What will typically be required is a data warehouse, or its 
equivalent, with a database drawing from the various stakeholder data 
systems, with the capability to link these data and generate 
standardized periodic statistical reports, and with user-friendly 
access to stakeholders. A single agency should have the responsibility 
for developing and maintaining this data warehouse, based on the mutual 
agreement of the key stakeholders. It may be one of the key 
stakeholders--most likely the DMV--or it may be another organization, 
such as the highway safety office, a university, a legislative research 
division, or a criminal justice organization. Each stakeholder should 
have a secure means of access to the information, for example, through 
a secure ``mailbox.'' The centralized data repository may be a single 
database, procedures for assimilating data, or a networked distributed 
database with access gateways.
    The data warehouse does not replace the need for each stakeholder 
to maintain its own data records system. Nor does it eliminate the need 
for each stakeholder's system to be accessible on-line for basic 
queries by other stakeholders, since only selected data would be 
extracted from each stakeholder's system. In addition, for the data 
warehouse function to operate most effectively, it should be viewed as 
serving an end in itself (that is, the generation of statistical 
information cutting across agencies and across the different stages of 
the impaired driving process), rather than as an adjunct to a 
stakeholder system designed for a different, albeit related, purpose.

Guidelines for Implementation

    States should assess their own circumstances as they conform their 
DWI tracking systems to the Model System. These circumstances include 
the complexity of the State's impaired driving law, the amount and 
types of resources needed to purchase hardware and software and to 
obtain programming support, the telecommunications infrastructure in 
the State to support roadside access to DMV driver records and to move 
data electronically among stakeholders, the computer network for the 
transmission of data among stakeholders, the degree of uniformity with 
regard to procedures and policies within organizations and 
jurisdictions, and intra-organizational and inter-organizational issues 
such as territorial concerns, poorly defined roles and 
responsibilities, and lack of agreement on priorities, problems, or 
solutions within the State.
    States may need to address particular obstacles or accommodate 
certain critical factors in conforming to the model system. For 
example, depending on geography and size, the impaired driving 
stakeholders may not have the ability or the resources to upgrade an 
inadequate telecommunications infrastructure. The selected system must 
be capable of functioning within this environment. In addition to 
problematic telecommunications infrastructure, a State's ability to 
implement improvements to existing system components is hampered by 
complicated impaired driving laws (e.g., tiered BAC systems, different 
levels of offenses adjudicated by different courts, complex mixes of 
administrative and court sanctions), a non-unified court system, the 
lack of a uniform traffic citation, paper-based and antiquated 
mainframe systems within the stakeholder agencies, and budget 
constraints.
    In order to attempt full conformity with the Model System, States 
should undertake the following steps:
     Under the auspices of the State's Traffic Records 
Coordinating Committee, form a subcommittee or task force charged with 
overseeing the development and implementation of the system, including 
the courts (judges, prosecutors, and probation, if

[[Page 51671]]

applicable), the DMV, the State police and local LEA representatives, 
treatment, the highway safety office, and other important stakeholders;
     Designate a single lead agency for developing and 
implementing the system;
     Establish a mechanism for working with the State's 
information and technology offices to plan and implement the system, 
including writing software and hardware specifications, selecting 
vendors, etc.;
     Develop a shared understanding of stakeholders' roles and 
responsibilities;
     Develop a detailed impaired driving critical path. This 
critical path describes the step-by-step procedures related to an 
impaired driving offense, beginning with the citation, continuing 
through adjudication (administrative and judicial), and ending when the 
disposition is posted to the driver file (see diagram below).
     Conduct a detailed assessment of current systems to 
collect, manage, and analyze impaired driving data, in comparison with 
the model system. (An appropriate assessment of the current systems in 
comparison with the model system should inventory the current stock of 
hardware and software to identify the needs of courts, LEAs, the DMV, 
and other key stakeholders, relate the current systems to the detailed 
impaired driving critical path, identify deficiencies and steps needed 
to conform to the specific features noted in the ``Specific Features of 
the Model System'' section of these guidelines, examine the 
compatibility of existing record formats, processes, hardware, 
software, etc., and evaluate the State's compliance with national 
standards, for example, standards for electronically readable driver 
licenses);
     Standardize processes, procedures, forms, terminology, and 
data elements among stakeholders and jurisdictions;
     Develop a detailed, step-by-step, long-range plan 
(including funding levels) for implementing and maintaining the 
resulting system, training personnel in affected agencies, system 
upgrades, and obtaining buy-in from the primary stakeholders;
     Develop a formal interagency cooperative agreement to 
implement the plan, detailing the responsibilities of the agencies and 
potential sources of short-term and long-term funding;
     Identify statutory, regulatory, or procedural changes 
needed to implement the system; consider simplification of regulations 
or laws;
     Establish protocols for authorizing system users and 
procedures to protect personal privacy rights and the security of the 
system;
     Identify sources of funding; consider the use of dedicated 
fees or fines;
     Consider working with other States to take advantage of 
economies of scale and to minimize duplicative efforts; and
     Formulate a plan to ``sell'' the importance of the system 
to the public, advocacy groups, and State policymakers and enlist their 
support for implementation of improved impaired driving records 
information system components and related systems.
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P

[[Page 51672]]

Example of an Impaired Driving Critical Path \1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ Based on ``DWI Tracking System'' (NHTSA 1997).
    [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TR30AU06.000
    

    Issued on: August 25, 2006.
Marilena Amoni,
Associate Administrator for Research and Program Development.
[FR Doc. E6-14463 Filed 8-29-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-C