The Department of Transport has announced plans to outlaw clocking by making mileage checks part of the National Car Test (NCT). At the moment it is illegal to sell a clocked car but the new legislation will make it an offence to have your car's mileage decreased.
Transport Minister Leo Varadkar touched on the new rules as part of the road safety strategy published last week. Details of the new legislation will be announced in coming months but the intention is to have a system rolled out in around two years. Part of the scheme would allow motorists to check a vehicle's mileage history.
Checking the odometer reading is already part of the NCT but the readings are not usually cross-checked. There is data for 1.8 million vehicles on file and the mileage for 59,528 cars was checked to establish the extent of clocking. The analysis revealed that 5,824 cars had their mileage reduced between tests - or 9.8 per cent. Cartell.ie's previous research indicated that approximately 11 per cent could be clocked.
John P Byrne, Legal Manager, Cartell.ie says: "We're delighted with this breakthrough. It appears the current Government is listening to us. The last administration showed no interest whatsoever and told us the matter was under the control of the National Consumer Agency. We have always argued this problem is much too big for any agency to deal with. Only legislation aimed four-square at the problem will have any impact. We concur with the findings of the Department of Transport when it estimates that 10% of the fleet in Ireland is 'clocked'. This is a good day for those of us who want to stamp this problem out."