In our September 16 meeting, Tommy Hickey from the Massachusetts Right to Repair spoke about why we should vote yes on question 1.
In 2012 the "Right to Repair" ballot question passed with an 86% yes vote - the highest passing ballot question ever in Massachusetts. It mandated that car manufacturers give local repair shops the same information as dealerships. It did not foresee that technology would advance in this industry, so the current ballot question includes access to telematics, which is the wireless communication for remote diagnostics. Without letting smaller repair shops access this, car dealerships will have a monopoly on car repair. This also gives the owners direct access to the telematics information and they can take it to any repair shop they want.
Mr. Hickey shared that this is not the same legislation passed in California in 2014. This bill addressed real time GPS location and went beyond cars. The opponents to this question are trying to confuse the issue to create a dealership monopoly. Car owners can also dictate how long the independent repair person has their information.
For more information, please visit the "Massachusetts Right to Repair" web site.
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