Texas about to do away with auto inspections

[John105]

I did a google search. Best I can find is the NHTSA says 94 - 96% of all accidents are caused by some type of human error. The other 4 to 6% are cause by everything else - which includes the weather in that category. So Again, if someone has an actual statistic then I am interested.

Statistical virtual zero and being able to find some example are different. Houses have been hit by meteors, but the odds of your house being hit are virtually zero. Should I demand a meteor shield?

You can actually be seen by doctors who never went to medical school and don’t have a MD. Personally, I’d rather be seen by a doctor who graduated medical school and did a internship and residency. I haven’t been able to find any number of non mds whose homes were hit by meteors last year but I’m sure they’re out there

 

[tbm5690]

We have always had state safety inspections in VA. $20/yr. I have no issue.

Does VA still make you put the stickers on the bottom smack in the center of the windshield? Such a stupid placement IMO...my wife is from VA and her car she brought into the marriage had these and it drove me nuts.

 

[TiGeo]

Does VA still make you put the stickers on the bottom smack in the center of the windshield? Such a stupid placement IMO...my wife is from VA and her car she brought into the marriage had these and it drove me nuts.

On lower left now.

 

[JustinH]

Well I've been down in TX for about 15 years. The "Safety" inspection takes about five minutes and consists of the inspector checking lights, tire tread, then driving your car around the parking lot for about 10 seconds to check brakes, and honking the horn one time.

The places in Austin and San Antonio are mostly drive thru inspection places. Austin requires obd2 code scanning for emissions, San Antonio does not.

The one I go to in San Antonio is actually a fitness club, with an inspection bay in part of the building. That inspection involves the lady greeting me, taking a look at my insurance card, and charging me $7.50 after I flip the headsights and high beams on and off, then honk the horn. Less than five minute process.

Do I think we should get rid of a useless inspection process? Yes in most cases.

 

[TiGeo]

My son is a recent graduate from HS and our county's technical center for auto tech - he works at a GMC dealership. He has a state inspector's license. If you follow the VA guidelines, it's quite involved and should be more than brake lights signals tire brakes etc. They fail vehicles all the time at the dealership for suspension components that are often overlooked by smaller shops.

I'm torn on this subject. On one hand, this is a poor tax - $20 + the repairs so some person can get to work. On the other, in a public space (the roadways), my personal and family's safety is in-part resting on others adherence to keeping their vehicle in safe operating condition. I'll pay the $20 and hope we keep it even though there are downsides. We don't have emissions testing where I am but in the northern part of the state outside of D.C. ("NOVA") they do emissions (I lived there for about 5 years and did this). My car would not pass without some work on my end as I run an aftermarket downpipes with race cat and aftermarket ECU software...all fixable to pass but glad I don't have to. I have an indy shop do all my inspections and would never have a dealer do it as they will find things b/c as has been mentioned, they can and will as it's a great money-maker for them and that's why you'll never see VA drop these inspections. I remember a tiny shop in the country near the mine I worked at that would inspect the mine trucks...holy cow...none of those should have been on the road but passed every year and hence the hypocrisy of it in reality...I'm not sure it really keeps the real junk off the road that it is intended to. I know on my travels through our great country I've seen many things that shouldn't be on the road and most of those have been in states that....wait for it....don't have state inspections.

 

[willbur]

I'm gonna be the odd guy out and say I like annual inspections. I ain't got nothing to hide...

Pennsylvania? Classic case of conflict of interest. So glad I do not live there now. Insane what those "inspectors" pull there IMO. They even used to require twice a year inspections. The best are states that do inspections at state owned facilities. The inspector has no financial incentives or potential conflict of interest. Gets the unsafe cars off the road but leaves your wallet alone

 

[TiGeo]

If you owned a car in pennsylvania, you definetly would not feel that way. Classic case of conflict of interest. So glad I do not live there now. Insane what those "inspectors" pull there IMO. They even used to require twice a year inspections. The best are states that do inspections at state owned facilities. The inspector has no financial incentives or potential conflict of interest.

My mom/her family is from PA....just this weekend we were talking and she mentioned the 2x a year inspections...that's nuts especially on anything that is only a few years old.

 

[TiGeo]

Can someone point me to any sort of study or statistic that indicates what percentage of accidents are caused by improperly maintained vehicles - because my guess is its pretty much zero.

Even if it's low, if someone takes out your family on the way home from church b/c of a mechanical issue/bald tires/etc. you would be fine with it b/c "it's close to zero"? I don't disagree that's it's low but I still believe some basic inspection of your vehicle annually to ensure basic brakes/tires/lights etc. on a public roadway is not a bad thing/common sense for everyone on the road. The level that which we do it here in VA may not be necessary. Look at Europe...holy cow...so strict but I bet their incident rate is also really low overall vs. us b/c of many of the rules they have, requirements to drive, testing, etc.

 

[TiGeo]

I remember my first car failing inspection here in VA ('67 Cougar my dad gave me in the late '80s) b/c it had a rusted hole in the p. side floorboard. I riveted a license plate over the hole and it passed. AHAHAHAHAHA

 

[TiGeo]

I'm amazed at the low inspection fees that some posted. In those few states that still have annual safety inspections. I would guess that the cheap ones are at state run inspection stations? Standard annual safety + emissions inspection cost in Pa. Is about $85. A lot of garages cut that down to $70-75. Up until about the mid 1980's we had safety inspections every 6 months. Anything aftermarket on exhaust, even a pipe diameter variance, flunked. Most used Pa. trade ins were bought by carloads of southern dealers. A Pa. inspection sticker, even expired, was worth a substantial mark up.

I was only in Fla. from '73 to '75, but at that time they had no safety inspections. It was a common sight to see cars without doors. Another deep south state sold license plates through the mail for $5 or $10.

$20 in VA, only at private shops. When I was in NJ, it was only through state inspection stations but I don't recall the cost. Shops aren't making money on a $20 inspection here...they make money failing you and fixing the issues.

 

[willbur]

Before Covid my Texas state inspections were very good. The inspection station I went to closed during Covid because there wasn't enough business to keep it open. The station I go to now is a joke. Very little is done during the state inspection, just enough to get it passed. I hate to see the inspection program stop - something is better than nothing.

I remember Texas (Houston) inspections- mechanic drove your car around the shop/station lot. That was it. Always "failed" you for poorly adjusted headlights. You paid $10 for a needless aiming and went on your way. It was a joke.

 

[SC Maintenance]

You can actually be seen by doctors who never went to medical school and don’t have a MD. Personally, I’d rather be seen by a doctor who graduated medical school and did an internship and residency. I haven’t been able to find any number of non mds whose homes were hit by meteors last year but I’m sure they’re out there

Your link was about a bus company, who had drivers without licenses or health check ups which all CDL drivers require everywhere.

ie your link wasn’t even on topic.

Again, if you can show me some actual data, I might change my opinion?

 

[willbur]

Wish they did safety inspections here instead of emission testing. I see so many death traps rolling down the road around here. People driving on bald tires or with busted out lights, broken suspensions, etc. About once a week probably I seen a vehicle that has clearly been in an accident with half the front end smashed rolling down the road.

Very true. Those Ohio cars are in the worst shape of any I have seen. Really bad.

 

[KrisZ]

The "safety" inspection in TX is a joke. Good thing they are getting rid of it.

 

[John105]

Pennsylvania? Classic case of conflict of interest. So glad I do not live there now. Insane what those "inspectors" pull there IMO. They even used to require twice a year inspections. The best are states that do inspections at state owned facilities. The inspector has no financial incentives or potential conflict of interest. Gets the unsafe cars off the road but leaves your wallet alone

I’ve lived here 23 years, what are they pulling? Imho they don’t like to do inspections. I take my BMW to the dealer (because they used to provide a free loaner from 2007-2020) and charge $37. I think they lose money, tying up a tech, a bay, and loaning out a car. From 2007-2022 the car never failed.

 

[John105]

The "safety" inspection in TX is a joke. Good thing they are getting rid of it.

If it’s a joke it should be made into a sitcom. We all need a good laugh these days

 

[John105]

Your link was about a bus company, who had drivers without licenses or health check ups which all CDL drivers require everywhere.

ie your link wasn’t even on topic.

Again, if you can show me some actual data, I might change my opinion?

You are in sr mgt, right?

 

[jhs914]

Back when Florida had safety inspections I had a year old VW Scirroco that had to be tested. One of the tests was they had you drive up on the inspection pad and slam on the brakes to measure how all 4 wheels were braking. I did it and the inspector told me I failed because I had no rear brakes. This was a state run inspection, not a shop. Now the Scirroco was before ABS and it was a FWD with little weight in the rear so VW kept the rear brake bias low so as to not lock up the rears on hard braking. A few years later I had an Accord hatchback that had too much rear brake bias and I spun out on a wet road when I had to brake to avoid a bicycle. VW knew what they were doing.

So I told the guy let me try again. This time as I slammed on the brakes I simultaneously pulled the parking brake lever. "OK, you passed." If my wife had taken it in for inspection it would have failed because she wouldn't have known any better.

That Scirroco was one of my favorite cars ever even though it only had about 100 HP.

 

[4WD]

The "safety" inspection in TX is a joke. Good thing they are getting rid of it.

Then quit going to joke places - report them … my shop does a comprehensive job - they do tires and brakes so you aren’t leaving with those wrong … $7.50 … I give the tech $20 when done bcs it takes time - he’s the senior tech - and I normally need nothing …
I did have to change window tint a few months back on the Lexus …
(son did it out of town - they know better here) …

Edit: I often try to time a tire rotation and have them view brakes …

 

[ChrisMU]

Count me as one who is against the inspections, particularly in the rust belt. It’s especially bad in states when a cosmetic rust hole in a fender will cause a vehicle to fail inspection. It’s just a way to force the poor into buying newer cars they can’t afford. Now that I live in Texas, rust isn’t so much an issue, but I literally need to take a day off work to get an inspection since I’m in a smaller city where the mechanic/inspection shops have banker’s hours. I’m not convinced the laws are making us safer. I’ve passed an inspection (at a reputable shop) where I saw the white cords in my tire the following week during an oil change. I’ve also failed two inspections for parking brakes on vehicles with automatic transmissions. I also know of a case where an old Jeep failed due to no wipers, but not having a windshield wasn’t an issue.