Time for mandatory inspections through the US?

[rshaw125]

Originally Posted By: tom slick
Sounds like you need to start with Michigan...
..

Exactly. Leave the 99% of law abiding citizens and their wallets alone. Write some improper equipment tickets.

 

[Falcon_LS]

Over here they just take a look at the body work, make sure you haven't got any stickers, your windshield isn't cracked, your brake lights work and you're not puffing out any smoke out the tailpipe. Then, depending on the guy doing the inspection, your papers are either signed and you can go renew your registration, or you go get whatever it is repaired.

Important stuff like brakes and suspension, seatbelts, headlight alignment, etc. are not checked, rendering the whole thing useless.

 

[Pablo]

Originally Posted By: Falcon_LS
Over here they just take a look at the body work, make sure you haven't got any stickers.....


Huh?? Stickers?

 

[d00df00d]

Originally Posted By: eljefino
Absolutely! States without inspections say well, we'll have our police do roadside checks, and mandate working equipment. I don't want that! Anyone driving a shabby looking car, or someone who's "profiled", would get pulled over and hassled while a bimbo in a 5 year old shiny SUV with bald tires and the ABS light on would get a pass.

With inspection stickers, the cops leave my heaps and myself alone.

I'd rather choose a mechanic of my own choice, sometime in the required month when it's convenient, than get pulled over by the police on their schedule.

Inspections also hold used car dealers to an equipment standard, and you can (usually) go after them in a short time frame after a sale if you get an unsafe lemon. IMO an as-is sale should still be allowed, my state will let a dealer do this as well as a private party, but the dealer will say you have to tow your heap away and can't issue a temp tag on an as-is car. Keeps the dirtiest dealer hi-jinks down.

Well said.

 

[rjundi]

Instant pull over in the towns I live. You get a ticket you send in within 3 day that either you or a garage fixed the issue.

 

[Falcon_LS]

Originally Posted By: Pablo
Originally Posted By: Falcon_LS
Over here they just take a look at the body work, make sure you haven't got any stickers.....


Huh?? Stickers?


Yup. Lot of political or religious stickers around, stirring up problems.

 

[The_Jeff]

Originally Posted By: Falcon_LS
Originally Posted By: Pablo
Originally Posted By: Falcon_LS
Over here they just take a look at the body work, make sure you haven't got any stickers.....


Huh?? Stickers?


Yup. Lot of political or religious stickers around, stirring up problems.


Did they take a page from the BITOG rulebook?

 

[d00df00d]

Originally Posted By: Pablo
If you need the Federal Government to tell you to install a new headlight, then what next?

I don't. You don't. Most of the people in this thread don't. But evidently, enough people in the general public do...

 

[Zaedock]

Wow. Some of you guys are just awesome. You can tell who's never really been through tough times here.

Let's tell the low-income single Mom that she can't have her car back until she buys $600 in tires & pays a hefty fine.

Brilliant.

 

[bourne]

Originally Posted By: Zaedock
Wow. Some of you guys are just awesome. You can tell who's never really been through tough times here.

Let's tell the low-income single Mom that she can't have her car back until she buys $600 in tires & pays a hefty fine.

Brilliant.


But you are ok with that single mom driving her two kids around in a car with loose tie rod ends or ball joints right ?????

Well, we are not. Safety inspections should be a must in every state. I could care less about emission requirements honestly. Unless the cat is about to fall off , lil bit of smoke ........... meh. Shattered brake pads, below spec rotors ........... yea not safe!

 

[Zaedock]

Did I say loose tie rods?

My state has yearly safety inspections. However, in response to a previous post, a cop should not have the right to pull you over for what HE determines is a bald tire in winter and then impose fines and make you buy tires to get your car back.

2/32" is the low limit. That's bald to many if us, but still legal and possibly all that others can afford.

 

[sciphi]

Originally Posted By: Zaedock
Wow. Some of you guys are just awesome. You can tell who's never really been through tough times here.

Let's tell the low-income single Mom that she can't have her car back until she buys $600 in tires & pays a hefty fine.

Brilliant.


The holding the car until required work is done after your 12 month inspection sticker is expired is legal in NY. There's no fine, though. Well, unless the police see the expired sticker and issue a ticket, which is $200+. The sticker needs to be expired, and the car has to need some major work like tires for a car to be held. The shop can't get greedy, either.

That person in your example wasn't being personally responsible for their safety, or my safety. I don't want her hoopty sliding into mine because the bald tires can't stop in a rainstorm, or skids out on 1" of snow. There's this thing called a budget, and saving. If the mechanic told her "your tires will need replacing soon" at the last inspection and she ignores that recommendation, then she's playing games with the lives of her kids and every other road user she is near.

So, when the won't-pass-inspection bald tires cause an accident, it's easy to find out if she's been shirking her responsibility to have a minimum level of functional safety equipment.

Given the changing road conditions in NY, I'm glad we have our safety inspections, even though they are a pain in the rear end at times. At least upstate has it better since we only have OBDII smog testing that looks for codes. The folks in NYC get to pay for a dyno test.

 

[dons459]

I'm in S.E.MI and wish drivers used their turn signals, They have them but don't use them.

 

[mpvue]

I don't know how/when states started eliminating inspections. when I started driving in NY, inspections were a big deal, emissions too.
I think a simple federal guideline would be good, and here's why: back in '95 I got a neat old '83 F-100 from my father in law in Louisiana. valid inspection, all legal (they call the inspection sticker a 'brake tag', cause if your brakes work, you pass!)
I moved to Virginia, had to get it re-inspected, and all kinds of things failed, kingpins, parking brake, tires, etc. spent like $400 to get it to pass.
only 8 months later, we moved to Pennsylvania, had to get it inspected again, and had a whole NEW list of things failing!
emissions, rust, etc. so I just cut my losses and sold it.
used to be also in PA in one zip code you needed an emissions sticker, and the next zip over you didn't (as if pollution doesn't travel...)
point being, why is something that's 'safe' in one area of the country 'not safe' somewhere else?

 

[DB_Cooper]

Local cops can enforce the state law (the laws are uniform across most states)..unsafe equipment, lights inoperative, visible smoke, seat-belts and the list goes on and on. I don't want the TSA or some new federal authority doing safety checks..the story never ends well for citizens. Look at the TSA

If the local cops will not enforce the law..and you are concerned about the [censored] cars in your neighborhood, call or write the local head of law enforcement and the county elected personalities..

We don't need new laws and enforcement..we need the local cops to do their job. Let the elected people know..

 

[grampi]

I wouldn't mind some sort of inspection as long as they don't go overboard with it...I don't remember which state it was, but one of them would not allow a vehicle on the road if it had ANY rust on any of the body panels...now that's going a lot overboard...how do rusty body panels create a safety hazard?

 

[SteveSRT8]

Originally Posted By: DB_Cooper
We don't need new laws and enforcement..we need the local cops to do their job. Let the elected people know..


This is undeniable. The LEO's are very selective in their enforcement.

 

[sciphi]

Originally Posted By: grampi
I wouldn't mind some sort of inspection as long as they don't go overboard with it...I don't remember which state it was, but one of them would not allow a vehicle on the road if it had ANY rust on any of the body panels...now that's going a lot overboard...how do rusty body panels create a safety hazard?


PA doesn't allow any holes in bodywork. So, a lot of cars that would fail PA inspection get sold in NY. NY's inspection doesn't care about body holes as long as it's not affecting any suspension or other components.

 

[Hokiefyd]

I'd like North Carolina to enforce its inspection criteria more, and spot-check their inspectors. Nobody takes their illegal HID conversion out of the car for inspection, or their junk Depo lights. They don't remove their illegal limo tint on the front windows. They simply bring a case of beer to their buddy who has an inspection license and they pass.

Law enforcement officers have a lot to do, and I'm sure writing citations for illegal HID conversions is pretty far down on their list. But the state is running an inspection program, and has licensed thousands of people to implement it. I'd like a little more light shined on those folks who are passing vehicles that shouldn't pass.

 

[NHHEMI]

Originally Posted By: skyship
Wow! I never knew that there were no compulsory inspections for cars in the US. Every EU country has them, but they vary in how long the period is and newish cars that are probably still under warrenty are exempt.
The UK has annual inspections and Germany has them every two years, although it is best to have an annual inspection system as a lot can go wrong in two years.
The inspection system is also used to confirm that the vehicle is correctly owned and insured, so it also helps reduce the number of unisured vehicles on the road.


Many states actually do require annual safety and/or emmissions inspections. Just not all of them. NH has had annual safety inspections for as long as I can remember and in the last decade or so added emmissions testing at the same time. If your car fails it doesn't get a sticker until you fix the problems. Get caught without an inspection sticker on your windshield and it is a big ticket.

If the car fails you have to get the items fixed that failed it then get re-tested for your sticker. I believe on the emissions testing if the car is older than a certain year you must spend up to a certain dollar figure to get it to pass before you get a waiver. Cars thhat are newer than that cut off date must get the car to pass emmissions testing period to get a sticker.