Hurricane creates flood-damaged vehicles
In the wake of historic damage produced by the Hurricane Sandy, The Automotive Recyclers Association (ARA) is urging Congress to review implementation and enforcement of the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System (NMVTIS) to ensure all flood damaged vehicles are appropriately tracked.
Record rainfall and flooding from the Carolinas up into Canada has resulted in vehicles all over the East Coast being submerged in water. The depth of flooding and length of time cars are left under water has the potential to increase the number of vehicles damaged beyond repair. More than ever, it is essential that NMVTIS be fully implemented and the underlying statute enforced to help prevent the sale of these flood-damaged vehicles to the unknowing consumer.
NMVTIS, a national electronic system that provides consumers with valuable information about a vehicle’s condition and history, must be fully enforced so that it can play its crucial role in helping to ensure that these flood-damaged vehicles are not sold to unsuspecting consumers in the used-car market. “According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, law enforcement and insurance crime experts reported truckloads of flooded vehicles being taken out of Louisiana to other states where they were dried out, cleaned and sold to unsuspecting consumers in other states,” said Michael E. Wilson, CEO of ARA. “NMVTIS must be fully implemented and utilized to prevent this activity from happening again,” added Wilson. ARA believes that such fraudulent and unsafe practices can only be stopped if all states participate fully in NMVTIS and all “individuals” and “entities” that are required to report to the system are held accountable. “Regrettably, DOJ has limited resources to do this.