Final Theft Data; Motor Vehicle Theft Prevention Standard

AGENCY:

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

ACTION:

Publication of final theft data.

SUMMARY:

This document publishes the final data on thefts of model year (MY) 2000 passenger motor vehicles that occurred in calendar year (CY) 2000. The final 2000 theft data indicate that the vehicle theft rate for CY/MY 2000 vehicles (2.89 thefts per thousand vehicles) did not change from the theft rate for CY/MY 1999 (2.89 thefts per thousand vehicles) when compared to the theft rate experienced in CY/MY 1999. Publication of these data fulfills NHTSA's statutory obligation to periodically obtain accurate and timely theft data and publish the information for review and comment.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Ms. Deborah Mazyck, Office of Planning and Consumer Programs, NHTSA, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590. Ms. Mazyck's telephone number is (202) 366-0846. Her fax number is (202) 493-2290.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

NHTSA administers a program for reducing motor vehicle theft. The central feature of this program is the Federal Motor Vehicle Theft Prevention Standard, 49 CFR part 541. The standard specifies performance requirements for inscribing and affixing vehicle identification numbers (VINs) onto certain major original equipment and replacement parts of high-theft lines of passenger motor vehicles.

The agency is required by 49 U.S.C. 33104(b)(4) to periodically obtain, from the most reliable source, accurate and timely theft data and publish the data for review and comment. To fulfill this statutory mandate, NHTSA has published theft data annually beginning with MYs 1983/84. Continuing to fulfill the “33104(b)(4) mandate, this document reports the final theft data for CY 2000, the most recent calendar year for which data are available.

In calculating the 2000 theft rates, NHTSA followed the same procedures it used in calculating the MY 1999 theft rates. (For 1999 theft data calculations, see 66 FR 39554, July 31, 2001.) As in all previous reports, NHTSA's data were based on information provided to NHTSA by the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The NCIC is a government system that receives vehicle theft information from nearly 23,000 criminal justice agencies and other law enforcement authorities throughout the United States. The NCIC data also include reported thefts of self-insured and uninsured vehicles, not all of which are reported to other data sources.

The 2000 theft rate for each vehicle line was calculated by dividing the number of reported thefts of MY 2000 vehicles of that line stolen during calendar year 2000 by the total number of vehicles in that line manufactured for MY 2000, as reported to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The final 2000 theft data show no change in the vehicle theft rate when compared to the theft rate experienced in CY/MY 1999. The final theft rate for MY 2000 passenger vehicles stolen in calendar year 2000 of 2.89 thefts per thousand vehicles produced, did not change from the rate of 2.89 thefts per thousand vehicles experienced by MY 1999 vehicles in CY 1999. For MY 2000 vehicles, out of a total of 206 vehicle lines, 51 lines had a theft rate higher than 3.5826 per thousand vehicles, the established median theft rate for MYs 1990/1991. (See 59 FR 12400, March 16, 1994.) Of the 51 vehicle lines with a theft rate higher than 3.5826, 43 are passenger car lines, eight are multipurpose passenger vehicle lines, and none are light-duty truck lines.

On Tuesday, March 12, 2002, NHTSA published the preliminary theft rates for CY 2000 passenger motor vehicles in the Federal Register (67 FR 11161). The agency tentatively ranked each of the MY 2000 vehicle lines in descending order of theft rate. The public was requested to comment on the accuracy of the data and to provide final production figures for individual vehicle lines. The agency did not receive any written comments from the public. As a result, the final theft rates and rankings of vehicle lines did not change from those published in the March 2002 notice.

Further reanalysis of the theft rate data revealed that the number of vehicle lines reported with a theft rate higher than 3.5826 was incorrect. Preliminary theft data for CY 2000 inadvertently reported that there were 45 passenger car lines with theft rates higher than 3.5826. However, NHTSA is correcting the final theft data to report 43 passenger car lines with a theft rate higher than 3.5826 and eight multipurpose passenger car lines with a theft rate higher than 3.5826.

The following list represents NHTSA's final calculation of theft rates for all 2000 passenger motor vehicle lines. This list is intended to inform the public of calendar year 2000 motor vehicle thefts of model year 2000 vehicles and does not have any effect on the obligations of regulated parties under 49 U.S.C. Chapter 331, Theft Prevention.