Vehicle fraud should be a thing of the past.  Sadly, it isn't.  Consumers are still duped daily into buying a lemon.  And everyday, vehicles are stolen, their vehicle identification number (VIN) later copied or "cloned" from a legitimate vehicle and then sold to an unsuspecting buyer for, often times, at a price well below fair market value.

These examples of vehicle fraud are high profit and very low risk for thieves.  But they costs consumers billions in direct financial hardships through loss of their vehicle and through the increased cost of insurance premiums paid out by the insurance companies and, ultimately, passed along to you, the consumer.

Here is just one fact on which to choke;

the National highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) conservatively estimates that the aggregate annual wholesale loss in the U.S., as a result of odometer rollback schemes (another common type of vehicle fraud), at approximately $3 to $4 billion.  According to NHTSA, there are more than 450,000 cases of odometer fraud per year in the U.S.  Increased costs to consumers who buy passenger vehicles with rolled back odometers amount to an estimated $2,336 per vehicle purchased, or more than $1 billion per year, the NHTSA study concludes.

Luckily for consumers, there is a solution:  the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System (NMVTIS).  Studies show that if implemented in all states across the U.S., NMVTIS could save consumers, and industry, between $4 billion to $11.3 billion annually by reducing the incidents of vehicle theft, title/brand washing and odometer fraud.

But that is "IF" NMVTIS were operational in all states.  Hucksters then could do whatever they desire with the vehicle's paper title.  NMVTIS would act as the Superman protecting the auto's title history by creating and protecting the title electronically for the life of the vehicle.  Simply put, this means "title/brand washing." becomes a thing of the past.

The state Departments of Motor Vehicles (DMVs), and AAMVA, remain committed to helping all states participate in NMVTIS.  And in the wake of vehicle fraud cases rising to the surface as a result of hurricane-damaged vehicles being sold to unknowing consumers, federal agencies are expressing a renewed sense of interest in finishing a system that Congress and the U.S. DOT  started in 1992 via the Anti-car Theft Act. 

The media is also taking notice.

On Monday, National Public Radio's Jeff Brady got it right when he characterized the scope of the vehicle fraud epidemic and the NMVTIS solution.  Jeff also got it right when he highlighted a major impediment to helping state DMVs and AAMVA finish the solution:  federal funding.

Fifteen years after the Act's passage, and after a highly successful and documented pilot, only 13 states are online participating in NMVTIS.  This is primarily due to lack of funding.

For this system to work for consumers as Congress envisioned it, and the state DMVs designed it, all states must be online contributing, updating, sharing and accessing vehicle title history.

NMVTIS is long overdue.  With all the buzz now, let's hope Congress is listening and ready to fund.

Until next time, stay safe behind the wheel.

Jason D. King
VP, Public Relations
AAMVA
jking@aamva.org

http://rpc.technorati.com/rpc/ping