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| Technical Information Services (TIS) |
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| 1. CONTACT INFORMATION |
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| 2. THE TIS READING ROOMS |
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| 3. HIGHWAY SAFETY LITERATURE |
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| 4. FEES AND COPYING SERVICES |
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| 5. WHO WE ARE |
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| 6. OUR CUSTOMERS |
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| 7. RESEARCH REPORTS |
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| 8. DEFECT INVESTIGATION FILES |
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| 9. SAFETY RELATED RECALL CAMPAIGNS |
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| 10. CONSUMER LETTERS |
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| 11. TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETINS |
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| 12. COMPLIANCE TEST REPORTS |
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| 13. NONCOMPLIANCE INVESTIGATIONS (NCI) |
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| 14. NEW CAR ASSESSMENT PROGRAM (NCAP) |
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| 15. DOCKET FILES |
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| 1. CONTACT INFORMATION |
| Mailing Address:
US DOT/NHTSA
Technical Information Services
NPO-400
1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, DC. 20590
Fax: 202-493-2833
Email: TIS@nhtsa.dot.gov
Reading Room
Room #E12-100
1201 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, DC. 20590
(202)-366-2588
*Enter the East building from the 4th & M Street side.
Phone:
Contact us via the Auto Safety Hotline at 888-327-4236 / TTY: 800-424-9153
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| 2. THE TIS READING ROOMS |
| The collections described are located in the TIS Reading Room (East Building in room E12-100) at 1200 New Jersey Ave, SE. This room is open to the public during the hours of 9:30 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. (Eastern time). Users may visit the Reading Room to perform their own research. TIS staff members are on duty to assist users. Customers unable to visit TIS in person but requiring extensive searches of the collections are requested to put the details of their requirements in writing, authorizing a fee search for which they agree to make payment. Customers should also provide a daytime telephone number where they may be contacted. This request can be made (see Contact Information) by mail or by e-mail to TIS@nhtsa.dot.gov .
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| 3. HIGHWAY SAFETY LITERATURE |
| The Highway Safety Literature collection (HSL) is comprised of NHTSA's official reports of NHTSA (research, staff and annual reports to Congress) and related published materials. The collection was established in 1967 by the National Highway Safety Bureau (NHSB), the predecessor to the present agency. HSL documents were announced to the interested public in HIGHWAY SAFETY LITERATURE, the abstract journal. The journals are available from the Transportation Research Information Service (TRIS). TRIS is maintained by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics/National Transportation Library.
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| 4. FEES AND COPYING SERVICES |
| By authority listed in Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 7, there are fees assessed by TIS for this service. We charge a standard labor charge of $48 per hour for requests involving computer searches, locating and copying documents. In addition, we charge duplication fees, which are $0.10 per page for paper-based or imaged documents. If your bill will be over $100, we contact you for authorization before we proceed. Many simple questions can be answered free of charge by calling our toll-free Auto Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236. Among their many services is the capability to provide information on recalls, the status of defect investigations, and referrals to many other Offices and Organizations. You may elect to perform research yourself by visiting our Reading Room Room E12-100 (in the East Building), 1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E. , Washington, DC. 20590.
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| 5. WHO WE ARE |
| Technical Information Services is the focal point for public inquires and research pertaining to NHTSA's vehicle safety, driver licensing, compliance, defect enforcement, traffic law enforcement and rulemaking activities. TIS offers do it yourself computer access to the agency's staff and walk-in customers in our Reading Room. Most of the databases are also accessible through NHTSA's Home Page. |
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| 6. OUR CUSTOMERS |
| Our customers include: domestic and foreign motor vehicle manufacturers; motor vehicle dealers; the highway and mass transportation industries; transportation research libraries and organizations; safety, environmental and other public interest groups; accident investigators; engineering firms; law firms; state, local and foreign governments; the media; and the general public. |
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| 7. RESEARCH REPORTS |
| Research within NHTSA is conducted to increase the safety of motor vehicle travel through improvements in both vehicle design/performance and driver behavior. Research projects are conducted in research and testing facilities throughout the country. The results are published as contractors' technical reports by NHTSA. Most of these reports are then made available for sale to the public through the National Technical Information Service (NTIS), 5285 Port Royal Road, Springfield, VA 22161. Many of these reports are available for viewing in the TIS Reading Room, but those wishing to purchase copies should make arrangements through NTIS.
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| 8. DEFECT INVESTIGATION FILES |
| Within NHTSA, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) conducts investigations of alleged safety related defect trends in motor vehicles, motor vehicle equipment and tires. All public ODI investigation files are available for public viewing in the TIS Reading Room. Many files are available at the ODI Defects Investigation webpage . If they are not located on the webpage, TIS can obtain them for you by contacting us at TIS@nhtsa.dot.gov .
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| 9. SAFETY RELATED RECALL CAMPAIGNS |
| Safety recall campaigns result from identified component failures which present a risk to highway safety, and from non-compliance with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. Although a majority of safety recalls are performed by manufacturers without any influence from NHTSA, many result from NHTSA defect investigations and compliance testing. Manufacturers of motor vehicles, motor vehicle equipment and tires are required by law to notify the agency when they are about to initiate a recall campaign. You can access Recalls by visiting our Reading Room or by contacting us at TIS@nhtsa.dot.gov. Many recalls are available at the ODI Recall Webpage.
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| 10. CONSUMER LETTERS |
| Consumer letters are available both for viewing and copying in the TIS Reading Room. These letters represent vehicle owner reports of their experiences with a particular problem or problems with a motor vehicle, its equipment, or tires. The most recent letters are currently available on-line at the ODI Consumer Complaints Webpage . Letters not accessible on the webpage can be obtained by TIS by contacting us at TIS@nhtsa.dot.gov or by visiting our Reading Room.
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| 11. TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETINS |
| TIS maintains an extensive collection of safety related Technical Service Bulletins (TSBs). They can be accessed by visiting our Reading Room or by conducting a search on the ODI TSB Webpage. TSBs are copyrighted which means that you cannot obtain an electronic copy; instead we will mail you a hard copy. To request a copy of a TSB, contact us at TIS@nhtsa.dot.gov or use the ODI TSB Webpage to place your order.
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| 12. COMPLIANCE TEST REPORTS |
| Since 1968, the Agency has conducted the testing, inspection and investigation necessary to assure compliance with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards by foreign and domestic vehicle and equipment manufacturers. The Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance (OVSC) selects the vehicles which will be tested and supervises this activity. Compliance Test Report information from 1990 to the present is available online through the Compliance Test Database, on the NHTSA Web Page. This database contains both equipment and vehicle results, and can be searched by either FMVSS or Make/Brand, Model and Year. Older Tests can be obtained by contacting us at TIS@nhtsa.dot.gov or by visiting our Reading Room.
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| 13. NONCOMPLIANCE INVESTIGATIONS (NCI) |
| Called Certification Information Requests (CIR) until November 1988, noncompliance investigations may be initiated by OVSC as a result of compliance testing or other findings (inspections, industry disclosures, news articles, consumer letters). The investigation files include compliance tests which have resulted in a failure, certification data, and correspondence between NHTSA and the manufacturer. The NCI (CIR) files are available in the TIS Reading Room and can be obtained by contacting us at TIS@nhtsa.dot.gov
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| 14. NEW CAR ASSESSMENT PROGRAM (NCAP) |
| In 1979, NHTSA began the NCAP as an experiment to see how well new vehicles performed during a frontal crash. The program has continued since that time with NHTSA selecting 30 or so new vehicles every year to be crash tested at 35 mph. This is stricter testing than the 30 mph testing required of the federal motor vehicle safety standards. Usually, popular vehicles are selected, including vans and pickup trucks, in order to provide crash information to the greatest number of consumers. Crash tests are designed for vehicles within the same size and weight class. Information on the relative levels of occupant protection and vehicle safety performance is obtained through the use of instrumented and safety belted dummies. To access older NCAP tests, please contact us at TIS@nhtsa.dot.gov . Newer NCAP test information can be located at the NCAP page. There are films available from the National Crash Analysis Center for each NCAP test.
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| 15. DOCKET FILES |
| TIS is responsible for the maintenance and the accessibility of the public record of rulemaking activities for motor vehicle and highway safety standards. Docket files contain information and data relating to rulemaking actions, including notices of proposed rulemaking, comments received in response to notices, petitions for rulemaking or reconsideration, denials of petitions, final rules, and the technical materials used by the standards writers. When a Federal Register notice announces a proposed federal motor vehicle safety standard (FMVSS) or an amendment to an existing standard, a docket file is prepared and the public is invited to submit comments and opinions. These comments vary from technical to general views and opinions. After consideration of all comments, a decision is made whether or not to issue a final regulation or rule. If so, it is published in the Federal Register.
Dockets issued from 1999 to the present are available here. Dockets issued from prior to 1999 are available in the TIS Reading Room or you may obtain a copy by contacting us at TIS@nhtsa.dot.gov .
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