Interpretation ID: aiam4175
Manager
Product Environmental Management
Cummins Engine Company
Inc.
Box 3005
Columbus
IN 47202-3005;
Dear Mr. Hendricks: This responds to your letter regarding the difficulty, during a ongoing safety defect campaign (NHTSA 85E-016), of locating current owners of heavy-duty diesel engines and replacement engine products which are installed in trucks selected by the original equipment manufacturer. I regret the delay in responding to your letter.; The information contained in your letter and in telephone conversation with agency staff indicates your concern with the delay in your efforts to locate the current owners in Connecticut of Cummins engines and replacement equipment involved in this voluntary recall. This problem arose when a large number of original recall notices mailed to the most recent known purchasers of this equipment were returned to you. You then contacted each State and requested a search of their motor vehicle files using the truck vehicle identification numbers (VIN's) in order to locate the current owners. We understand that special procedures followed by Connecticut to protect individual privacy have led to delays in your obtaining the names and addresses of current owners.; In your letter, you mention Connecticut's practice of requiring formal declaration of VIN's and a justification for conducting a search of their vehicle registration files. While we agree with the statement in your letter that each State has the right to safeguard individual privacy and place restrictions on access to lists of motor vehicle owners, we also regret the delay, which is apparently caused by Connecticut's procedure in notifying the current owners of the equipment involved in this campaign.; You indicate that this delay is increased by Connecticut's practice o requiring the services of a third party agency who, by contractual agreement, obtains the registration information and sells it to the party conducting the safety recall campaign.; These difficulties do not, of course, diminish the responsibility o manufacturers to conduct notification campaigns. We appreciate the difficulty of locating current owners of trucks with original and replacement Cummins equipment, and commend your efforts to locate them. However, this agency cannot interfere in the efforts of a State to protect the privacy of Connecticut motor vehicle owners. Further, this agency cannot interfere in a contractual agreement between a State and a third party.; You indicate that the task of locating current owners is additionall complicated by at least two factors. First, we understand that Cummins receives a list of VIN's from the original vehicle manufacturer with the names and addresses of the first purchasers of trucks on which your equipment is installed. These purchasers may or may not be the actual users of the trucks. Second, the owners/operators of the trucks on which these engines and replacement equipment are installed tend to be very mobile in their operations and registration practices. The result has been a large number of safety-related defect notices returned to your company, because the current owners cannot be located.; In your letter, you also request that this agency write to th Connecticut Bureau of Motor Vehicles and solicit their assistance in negotiating with Cummins a program to enable your company to maintain an on-going system to obtain vehicle registration on a timely basis. We think that such a program could be appropriate during a specific safety recall campaign. While not wishing to interfere with a State's decision to set reasonable procedures to safeguard lists of vehicle owner names and addresses, the agency believes that a request to Connecticut to assist you could be helpful in locating the current owners of Cummins equipment involved in this recall campaign. For these reasons, NHTSA, by separate letter, is requesting the Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles to provide assistance to Cummins, as expeditiously as possible, in supplying the names and addresses of the equipment owners requested by your company.; Sincerely, Erika Z. Jones, Chief Counsel