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Sacramento, CA - July 30, 2024
California motorists are now further protected from unsafe vehicles with the implementation of AB 471 (Low, Chapter 372, Statutes of 2021), a measure that expands the inspection of vehicle safety components and systems. The new law took effect July 8, 2024.
In 2021, CAWA and ASCCA sponsored legislation which combines the state’s current brake and lamp inspection program required for salvage vehicles to be registered by the state Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), renames it the California Vehicle Safety Inspection Program (CVSIP) and includes additional safety inspection criteria and systems as developed by the California Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR). The bill also allows safety certificates to be electronically sent to the DMV by BAR, saving money for the state, and creating convenience for consumers, inspection stations and repair shops.
Additionally, the CVSIP consolidates current brake and lamp inspections with other vehicle safety systems assessments into one comprehensive inspection and creates new station and technician licenses. The program protects consumers by certifying vehicle safety systems, allowing revived salvage vehicles to be registered with DMV and safely returned to the road.
“We applaud Assemblymember Evan Low, BAR and Governor Newsom for recognizing there is a safety concern with respect to salvage vehicles and taking action to protect consumers. Many of the revived total loss salvage vehicles could have additional safety concerns beyond lamps and brakes, including cracked windshields, illuminated or damaged air bags, faulty seat belts, etc. Yet they still pass inspection and are sold to unsuspecting consumers who think they are purchasing a safe vehicle,” said Rodney Pierini, President & CEO of CAWA – representing the automotive parts industry and convener of the industry vehicle safety inspection task force. “The implementation of this law will ensure consumers who purchase a salvage vehicle are purchasing a safe vehicle.”
AB 471 also allows BAR to collect additional information from the automotive repair dealer application, including educational and training certifications that are nationally recognized and generally accepted by the automotive repair industry (e.g., Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) & Inter-Industry Conference on Auto Collision Repair (I-CAR) certifications).
"Automotive Repair Professionals spend a considerable amount of time and money training automotive service technicians to properly and safely repair vehicles. Under this new law, these training certifications would be included on the BAR public website to assist consumers to easily identify auto repair shops that have proper training and certification credentials. I think it's a win-win for both consumers and automotive repair shops," said Dave Kusa, Chair of the Automotive Service Councils of California (ASCCA) Governmental Affairs Committee, representing Automotive Service Professionals.
CAWA formed an advisory task force in 2019 to explore options to create a California Vehicle Safety Inspection Program. Led by CAWA, the task force included the Automotive Service Councils of California (ASCCA), Auto Care Association, Coalition for Automotive Repair Equality (CARE), Automotive Service Association (ASA), Automotive Aftermarket Suppliers Association (AASA), Motor Equipment Manufacturers’ Association (MEMA) and the Association for Sustainable Manufacturing (MERA) and other CAWA member automotive companies.
CAWA and ASCCA have been working closely with BAR to implement AB 471 into law. For more information on the Vehicle Safety Systems Inspection Program visit https://bar.ca.gov/safety.
For more information about CAWA visit www.cawa.org. For more information about ASCCA visit www.ascca.com.
Contact:
Jennifer Zins
CAWA Director Govt. Affairs
jenniferzins@gmail.com
916.871.0603
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