New law aimed at stopping vehicle thieves
By From staff reports
Published in News on December 1, 2013 1:50 AM
A new law designed to reduce the number of vehicles that are stolen and then sold for parts or crushed goes into effect today.
Salvage yards and recyclers will now be required to verify vehicle information with the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles prior to scrapping vehicles or selling parts.
The North Carolina Scrap Vehicle Reporting System will allow metals recyclers and salvage yards to verify whether a vehicle brought to them without a title and more than 10 model years old has been reported stolen prior to purchase.
The state will provide system access to salvage yards and metals recyclers so they can cross-reference information with DMV files.
All of the state's salvage yards and recyclers are being notified that they must register with N.C. Identity Management and the Department of Transportation/DMV to access the new system and begin verifying the status of vehicles brought to them on or after Dec. 1.
The system will not be available for verifications on Sundays from 6 a.m. to noon because of routine weekly maintenance.
If a vehicle is reported stolen, the system will notify the salvage yard or recycling business to verify the vehicle identification number and stop the purchase of the vehicle.
The system will immediately notify the Division's License and Theft Bureau about the stolen vehicle and the business must also notify their local law enforcement agency. Information obtained by these businesses is available only to law enforcement agencies.
If the vehicle is not reported stolen, the system will allow the sale to continue, requiring a copy or scanned image of the seller's driver license and identifying information about the vehicles to be maintained by the business.
A printable verification will be provided at the end of the transaction and the seller must print and maintain the record for two years from the date of the purchase.
The system will continue to check the vehicle's status for five days after the initial request. The metals recycler or salvage yard will not be held liable if the motor vehicle later turns out to be stolen.