Highway bill paves the way for electronic titling, odometer disclosure

Highway bill paves the way for electronic titling, odometer disclosure

Congress finally got around to approving a two-year highway bill last week that should pump a significant amount of money into the economy while also having a direct and positive impact on dealership operations in coming years.

That is because the legislation includes a NADA supported provision that directs the Secretary of Transportation to issue a rule allowing paper odometer disclosure statements to be provided electronically. NADA says this modernization will facilitate electronic titling and electronic lien release, producing savings for states, consumers, and dealers alike.

NADA also worked successfully to keep several unworkable or needlessly burdensome provisions out of the highway bill. Mandates Congress debated, but did not include, were: (1) the disclosure of the VINs for vehicles advertised on the radio; (2) providing odometer statements for vehicles up to 24 years old; (3) a new federal tax on vehicles; (4) onerous rules for dealerships that rent vehicles or provide loaners; and (5) additional requirements on dealers selling used vehicles not imposed on private sales. In total, these provisions would have increased costs to consumers and regulatory burdens on dealers with no commensurate safety or economic benefit.

The bill increases penalties for odometer fraud and establishes a new NHTSA database the public can access free of charge to ascertain if a specific vehicle is under an open recall. NADA will work with NHTSA on this new database to ensure it makes economic sense for consumers and dealers.

The measure also doubles fines on automakers that fail to recall vehicles in a timely fashion to $35 million up from the current $17 million, while leaving out prospective safety requirements, such as rules governing vehicle stopping distance, pedal placement, electronic systems performance, push-button ignition systems and vehicle event data recorders sought by the Senate.

NADA, GM and the other major automakers had questioned the need for more safety regulations in the face of significant reductions in road deaths, which have fallen to the fewest since 1949.

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