Voters Overwhelmingly Pass Car Right to Repair Law in Maine

Jason Koebler reports via 404 Media: Voters in Maine overwhelmingly passed a ballot measure Tuesday that enshrines the right to repair cars, a major win for consumers and a blow to auto manufacturers who have spent millions lobbying against similar legislation and fighting against it in the courts. “Question 4,” which enshrines consumers’ data access to car diagnostics for the purposes of repair, passed by a margin of 84.3-15.7 in Tuesday’s election with 94 percent of the votes tallied. The yes/no question was simple: “Do you want to require vehicle manufacturers to standardize on-board diagnostic systems and provide remote access to those systems and mechanical data to owners and independent repair facilities?” “Maine residents have won the right to control their destiny when it comes to car repairs,” Tommy Hickey, director of the Maine Automotive Right to Repair Coalition, told 404 Media. “There’s a new technology in cars, they’ve become computers on wheels, and with this law owners in Maine will be the gatekeepers of that information.”