1 May 2023
Miles between departments on odometer tampering
We are pleased to report DMIRS delivered by successfully hosting the meeting in April which was attended by a significant number of senior industry representatives and a handful of relatively junior staff from the Department of Transport (DoT). The meeting was told that the absence of senior DoT invitees was because they were all in an alternate meeting.
The MTA WA considered the meeting worthy, if for no other reason but the opportunity for industry to share its expert knowledge of the subject with some government officers from the two agencies.
It is somewhat disappointing that the unavailability of DoT Managers limited the meeting’s capacity to make any decisions.
However, of much greater concern is the apparent distance between DMIRS and DoT on the MTA WA's proposal to prioritise a small internal policy shift and implement our simple IT solution.
As previously explained, vehicle transfer forms in Western Australia have long asked the seller to declare the odometer reading at the time of sale. These transfer applications are received, processed and stored by the DoT.
In 2022, the MTA WA proposed the creation of a simple online look-up tool that would display the history of odometer readings from previous transfers. If the current odometer reading is less than (or not as high as expected) a previous record, a prospective buyer would be immediately alerted to potential odometer tampering.
While the DMIRS officers at the meeting agreed this would be useful in reducing the incidence of odometer tampering, the DoT informed the MTA WA that the department will not prioritise making the relatively uncomplicated changes required.
The MTA WA thanks DMIRS for working collaboratively to facilitate the round table and for its support for prioritising positive, progressive ideas that address this serious illegal, and dangerous activity.
We will continue to work constructively with as many like-minded stakeholders as possible on this issue and as always, keep members informed of significant events.
