AAMVA’s mission is to serve our members, supporting them as they strive to keep their communities and the traveling public safe on the roads. By fostering collaboration among a broad array of stakeholders, AAMVA promotes uniform standards, enhances data sharing and advances policies that ensure safer, more secure communities. All of this work is based on connections.

At its core, road safety is not about singular campaigns or isolated enforcement efforts. It is the sum of relationships, partnerships and shared responsibilities. To reach our destination on the “Road Toward Zero,” we must not only collaborate but also share our knowledge, data and resources. The focus areas in this issue of MOVE reinforce this proven approach: the evolving partnership between transportation organizations and tribal nations to improve traffic safety on tribal lands, and the enduring relevance of the Non-Resident Violator Compact (NRVC), which has long exemplified interstate cooperation.

Native American communities, spread across 574 federally recognized tribes and numerous sovereign lands in the United States and 630 First Nations communities in Canada, face disproportionate rates of traffic fatalities. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, motor vehicle crashes are a leading cause of unintentional injury and death among Native Americans in the U.S. Despite the historical barriers of jurisdictional complexities, limited infrastructure investment and gaps in data sharing, tribal leaders continue to work with safety partners to identify the most pressing concerns. This work is built on trust, respect for sovereignty and genuine partnership. Each partner, whether tribal authority or technical assistance provider, actively shapes safety strategies that work for their communities. Such progress reinforces our shared vision to save lives across the entirety of our transportation network for all users, no matter where they live.

The NRVC, first adopted in 1977, also demonstrates collaboration and cooperation. It is a testament to what states can achieve when they collaborate to share data. Before the NRVC, local authorities often detained drivers who committed traffic violations outside their home states until a ticket could be adjudicated. In other cases, drivers evaded penalties simply by crossing jurisdictional lines. For example, a speeding ticket ignored in a neighboring state could go unpunished, undermining both enforcement and safety.

The NRVC established a standardized system wherein member states agreed to suspend the licenses of drivers who failed to resolve citations received in other states.Today, most states are members of this compact, and its impact is clear: Drivers know that the responsibilities they carry behind the wheel extend beyond state lines. The NRVC also exemplifies how data sharing, through notification of violations and reciprocal enforcement, protects all road users by holding drivers accountable regardless of geography.

Today, however, new challenges relating to technological and policy shifts mean undertaking changes to the NRVC. As the Compact Secretariat, AAMVA is supporting the NRVC Executive Board through this modernization process. While nuances of the NRVC must shift to accommodate current thinking related to paying fines on traffic citations and technological capacities, the foundation of the NRVC, cooperative data sharing and a collaborative commitment to road safety will remain.

This MOVE issue, with two seemingly unrelated feature stories about engagement with tribal communities and the enduring legacy of the NRVC, actually underscores the same truth: Road safety is communal safety. Reflecting on AAMVA’s role, one of our best strengths is supporting those connections among our members and other key stakeholders. New policy changes and technological advancements present opportunities for progress. Collaboration is not merely a strategy—it is a necessity. Like the roads that connect the United States, Canada and all the tribal lands, our mutual safety work ties us together. Only together can we ensure that every mile traveled is a mile traveled safely.