RV FEATURE
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“ C C U O R N R S E U N M T E P R R S OTECTIONS ARE INADEQUATE. ”
“Consumer safety is paramount and current
protections are inadequate,” Mr Lamont
said. “The existing system of getting towable
recreational vehicles onto the road is, by the
government’s own admission, flawed, with there
being no current enforceable obligation for trailer
manufacturers, including caravans and camper
trailers, to be inspected by the vehicle safety
standards regulator, and when non-compliance
is detected, the current Motor Vehicle Standards
Act (MVSA) lacks the appropriate enforcement
measures.”
These issues and more were addressed by the
RVSA, he said.
Mr Lamont said the CIAA had lobbied hard
for the introduction of the RVSA, and that the
many industry businesses interested in safe
product would be ready to comply with the RVSA
requirement by this deadline, “despite others in
the automotive and transport industries claiming
their members would not be ready in time”.
“To say we are disappointed and frustrated is
an understatement,” said Mr Lamont. “Any
further delay in this legislation will continue to
provide a mechanism whereby unsafe and non-
compliant product could be registered without
fear of retribution, while Australian consumers
and genuine businesses are committed to doing
the right thing and deserve better protection than
that offered by the current legislation.”
In 2013, the CIAA launched a compliance
inspection program, RVMAP. Currently, 67
businesses participate in the program, subjecting
themselves to compliance inspections on a
regular basis. More than 1000 compliance audits
were conducted last year on industry product,
with a further 1000 follow-up visits conducted
“in the interests of better consumer outcomes”.
“Not surprisingly, where RV product was inspected
throughout the year from businesses outside of
RVMAP, many times more issues were identified
on this product on average than those inside the
program, a number of which were unsafe and
downright dangerous,” Mr Lamont said.
“While not perfect, RVMAP is a great step in the
right direction for better consumer safety, with
strong evidence supporting this.
“Knowing what I know, there is no way I would
expose my family to a product which does not
carry the RVMAP badge, or purchase a product
from a manufacturer/importer which does not
willingly subject themselves to independent
inspection.”
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