- It is important to make sure that the car you are buying does not have serious undisclosed damage that could affect road safety. Therefore, the Norwegian Public Roads Administration, on behalf of the Ministry of Transport and Communications, examined the need to keep a car damage register. We will now continue to work on this report in consultation with stakeholders, says Transport Minister Knut Arild Hareide.
The history of damage to cars in connection with purchases and sales has long been sought by many entities
The need for reliable information on the damage history of cars in connection with purchases and sales has long been sought by entities such as the Consumer Council, NAF, Norwegian Automotive Industry Association and National Association of Automotive Importers. Following a dialogue with these entities, the Ministry of Transport and Communications therefore commissioned the Norwegian Public Roads Authority to examine the need to provide information on car damage and the possible legal basis for this in more detail in August 2020. A report on this subject was submitted on June 1 this year.
Such a car damage register it will strengthen traffic safety and improve consumer protection
In the report, the Norwegian Public Roads Administration considers it appropriate and reasonable to establish a publicly accessible car damage register. The aim will be to prevent vehicles with damage relevant to road safety from being used on the used car market and not being used on Norwegian roads. All this if it cannot be documented that the vehicle has been properly repaired.
The Norwegian Public Roads Authority also proposes that the damage register should be based on relevant information from insurance companies and supplemented with information on garage repairs. The report does not take a position on the organization and ownership of the possible register, but points to the need for legislative changes. The Ministry of Transport and Communications will now, on the basis of the recommendations of the Norwegian Public Road Administration, continue to work on this issue in consultation with stakeholders.
Central car damage register will improve consumer protection when buying a used car
– Such a register will improve consumer protection when purchasing a used car, and will not only improve traffic safety, because it will give us greater certainty that there will be no cars with serious damage on our roads, says Hareide.
