By filling out a simple form, information from drivers' registration records -- such as names, addresses, telephone numbers, odometer readings and previous owners -- is available to whoever wants it.

State Rep. Ruth Rudy has begun drafting a bill making car registration information confidential, allowing the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation to share only the owner's name and address with police departments and insurance companies.

According to Rudy, D-Centre, anyone can fill out a PennDOT request form for information, pay $5 per document and learn everything in the department's file on a vehicle's registration.

Some individuals requesting information could misuse a person's address or phone number, as happened in other states when accused stalkers learned the name and address of victims by obtaining their vehicle registration information, Rudy said.

"It's also a matter of privacy," Rudy said, adding that Pennsylvania has similar restrictions on driver's license information.

But a representative from PennDOT said the department deals more frequently with information requests regarding driving records of individuals or for potential employers.

Businesses -- such as tractor trailer companies -- need to check driving records before they hire new drivers, the representative said. The employer would fill out the driver's record information form -- including the section with the requester's name and address and the reason the driver's record is needed.

The form would then need to be notarized and mailed to Harrisburg for approval, the PennDOT representative said.

Rudy said the bill and her "three strikes and you're in" proposal are top legislative priorities this year. The "three strikes" plan would require three-time offenders of federal crimes -- such as rape, kidnapping or murder -- to be imprisoned for life.