The agreement is not one we took lightly. It’s been under development. It's one we all anticipate being held accountable to and one we all anticipate living up to as well.
I think the challenges of the authenticity of the agreement are just misguided to be frank. I certainly think that groups that truly believe there should be a right to repair for independent facilities should be championing it rather than casting aspersions at it.
What is SCRS’ position on the REPAIR and SMART acts?
There are some concerns on our end, specifically around the proponents. The SMART Act is one [SCRS] has had conversations about in the past. We do not support it. We do believe in intellectual property rights. [The SMART Act] is not in consumers’ best interests for entities looking to create the cheapest possible option for safe and proper repairs, so we have not supported that.
What is the response to the criticism the pact doesn’t address safety and security of the telematic data?
We specifically said telematics systems would not be used to circumvent the commitments made in the agreement, that automakers will provide access to diagnostic data to the extent it’s needed to complete a repair. The safety and security of that data is an obligation the automakers have in their compliance with safety standards.
Our interest as a representative of the collision repair group is to make sure our members have access to the information they need to perform those repairs properly. I would encourage talking to the alliance specifically about their concerns of safeguarding that information. It's a pretty critical point of their conversations at the state level, making sure that info isn’t just open to anyone.
Relative to the SMART Act, there’s nothing in it that addresses safety concerns and that’s one of our biggest objections---vehicles are often one of a family’s biggest purchases, but the people who occupy it are irreplaceable. It’s important safety be prioritized in these conversations because consumers expect proper repairs, which are not a given. But to consumers, a collision repair should assure their vehicle is restored to the same condition as before that accident, and the safety systems will operate the same.
I think there’s just a lack of focus on how we restore the consumer, and much of the initiative is how we protect the companies that would otherwise benefit from consumers being pushed to cheaper, imitation parts.
Abby Andrews