Change to law will finally make clocking cars an offence – Lawlor

Fine Gael TD for Kildare North, Anthony Lawlor, has today (Monday) said that he is very pleased that his proposal to make it an offence to clock a car is being adopted by the Minister for Transport, Leo Varadkar TD, through an amendment to the Road Traffic (No. 2) Bill 2013. The amendment to the Bill, which is due to be tabled this week in the Dáil, will make it an offence to interfere with the odometer of a vehicle.

“In December 2012, I introduced a Private Members Bill which would make the clocking of a car an offence. I have been pursuing this issue with the Department of Transport ever since and I am delighted that the principle of my Bill has now been adopted by Minister Varadkar through an amendment to the Road Traffic (No. 2) Bill.

“The need to deal with the practice of clocking cars was initially brought to my attention by Cartell.ie, a Kildare based company which provides vehicle history to consumers and dealers to ensure that they make an informed decision when purchasing a vehicle. The company made me aware of the dangers of clocked cars, as they give a false sense of security to motorists in terms of the quality of their vehicle and hoodwink consumers into buying altered goods.

“The amendment being introduced at Report Stage by the Minister will make it an offence for someone to interfere with the odometer, or procure someone to do so, and if found guilty will face a fine of up to €5,000 or up to three months in jail. This is a practical change to the law which will make our roads safer and ensure quality goods are being sold in all motor dealerships.”

ENDS