Why no vehicle safety inspection in CA ?

[mclasser]

I was in Florida for an extended work project (they don't have any inspections/emissions). Man, I saw some of the most POS cars on the roads; those things were obvious safety hazards that had no business being on public roadways. Broken down cars during rush hour and barely visible cars at night due to busted head- and taillights were a common sight. Sure, state inspections are partly a way for repair shops to force unneeded repairs onto customers with the threat of a failure sticker on the windshield. But from what I saw in FL, an annual inspection will at least prompt people to change out busted lights and keep some jalopies off the road.

 

[spackard]

CA used to do a lot of vehicle inspections. Over time they stopped the regular ones (at least for regular passenger cars, not for commercial drivers), but they have no problems setting up full code violation stations in order to break up "cruise night" at the drive ins that you occasionally see in movies. Minimum height, maximum height, full lights (with DOT markings), wheels sticking out beyond fenders, the whole 9 yards.

They turned (for what reason I don't know) to emissions inspections. You probably know about these so I won't get into the bi-annual tests, or the higher cost test-only list you get put on after your car's over 10 years old. When your car fails emissions and can't be repaired for a reasonable amount of money they pay you $1,000 to junk a car that won't pass emissions, so that's what gets cars off of the street. It's a lot like rust.

 

[Doog]

Government intrusion into your vehicle habits are completely useless unless they ban the offending vehicles which they rarely do.

Millions of illegals are driving around and testing their vehicles requires documentation.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

Probably because they're not required to. Emissions inspection is actually required by the feds.

 

[splinter]

Microaggression against the poor, disenfranchised, uneducated, single fathers, minorities, recent arrivals, ESL caucasoids, conservatives, LDSs, urban drivers and soccer moms.

 

[user52165]

Originally Posted By: xfactor9


Meanwhile I know of a couple of people with old polluting clunkers, and they pay the mechanic $100 to pass their vehicle.




Those days are long gone in CA. Nearly impossible to beat the system by subbing another car or rigging the computer. And no mechanic with a brain would risk trying. The penalties are severe.

 

[bvance554]

I'm shocked CA has not tapped into this revenue stream.

Its not always about profit for the shops. I worked at a gas station/garage in WV 20 years ago, and we did inspections. An inspection then cost $7, and $1 of that went to the shop, the rest to the state. I doubt that model has changed much, or varies from state to state. I don't see much incentive in a shop conducting inspections unless they can sell some overpriced wiper blades to every third customer.

 

[01rangerxl]

I'm surprised CA doesn't do a safety inspection since they already have cars coming in for an emissions test anyway. I would bet it has something to do with the revenue from a safety inspection not being worth the cost of doing it.

I used to live in NC and they have an annual safety inspection for all vehicles 35 years old or newer. Emissions was done county by county, with only more populated counties having a test. Sometime in the early 2000s they dropped tailpipe tests for emissions and only tested OBDII and newer vehicles. The safety inspection does seem to keep a lot of junk off the road and alerts average car owners to issues they may have no clue about.

In AL, there is no testing of any kind in any county. And we have a pretty relaxed registration policy that allows people to drive with no tags for "30 days." Not surprisingly, you see some interesting and dangerous stuff on the roads here.

 

[The_Jeff]

Originally Posted By: spackard
CA used to do a lot of vehicle inspections. Over time they stopped the regular ones (at least for regular passenger cars, not for commercial drivers), but they have no problems setting up full code violation stations in order to break up "cruise night" at the drive ins that you occasionally see in movies. Minimum height, maximum height, full lights (with DOT markings), wheels sticking out beyond fenders, the whole 9 yards.



This. If your car isn't inspected by a mechanic of your choosing sometime in the month that you schedule, you get checked by the cops at roadside. And if your looks like a hooptie, even if it's solid underneath, you get profiled and inconvenienced more than the one time a year.

 

[KrisZ]

As proven by the recent VW emission scandal, emission testing is useless and its only purpose is to generate money.
The safety inspections would be no different.

 

[Andrew1972]

It gets a vehicle looked at once per year by a mechanic. Our state relates to dangerous rot and rotten exhausts. My guess certain owners who would otherwise ignore the stuff that can kill them or someone else.

My girlfriends $500 cars received once per year maintenance including oil change during this.

 

[Astro14]

Originally Posted By: slacktide_bitog
Probably because they're not required to. Emissions inspection is actually required by the feds.


No...not really...the Feds don't require any of those things.

Emissions inspections are required by the state, in response to voter concerns over the environment. So, Denver six county metro area, for example has emissions inspections. Or Northern VA. But not outside those areas in that same state.

Safety inspections are a state matter as well. Not required in Colorado. Required everywhere in VA.

I'm a fan of the safety inspection. In VA, it's $16 by law. The shop makes zero on it, but it catches brakes, tires, lights and other safety related maintenance problems that clueless owners wouldn't catch until a breakdown or crash. I prefer to reduce the chances of both.

 

[supton]

It's nice in the salt states, keeps vehicles in (mostly) ok shape. But some of it kinda bugs me. Yes, I understand why all doors ought to be working. But on a hooptie I don't want to repair a broken passenger door that I don't use. Same for windows.

Inspection is a bit of an aggravation on new or nearly new cars. Small price to pay I guess. At least one dealership here offers free inspections for life, although I haven't taken them up on it in a while. Local garage has done me well on inspections, and I kinda feel bad that I have little work to give to them in return.

At least OBDII checks are easy and painless. As much as I dislike them, that check has kept me from disabling systems on my vehicles (as they have broken down). It may not prevent all pollution, but it likely has done quite a bit to keep "most" people from letting their new-ish cars go to pot.

 

[VNTS]

In some states the snobs only worried about emissions [censored], I used to live in the Peoples Republic of Massachusetts. their inspections were a joke, just worried about the emissions and neglect to jack the car up to check suspension or brakes or rot.


Now in Maine, they put on lift, any rot flunks you, check wheels/bearings, suspension,lights, brake lines etc and could give a [censored] about emissions LOL

 

[ddrumman2004]

The state of Mississippi just eliminated the annual safety inspection this year. At a cost of 5 dollars, it was said there was not enough revenue generated. It was also a corrupt system. For instance, some years back, I took a small truck I owned then in for inspection with a cracked windshield that did not break the arc of the windshield wiper.

This shop was a muffler/tire shop and the owner refused to pass my truck, even though the crack was on passenger side and did not pass the arc of the wiper. Not a reason for failure according to MS law. Anyway, I asked the guy if I were to purchase a muffler, would he pass me....and he said yes. Plus, if you were good friends with an owner of a shop that did inspections, you could just buy a sticker without the vehicle being looked at.

The drawback is the amount of unsafe vehicles that will no doubt turn up on our public roads. However, it's been said that if you are stopped by a LEO, he/she can and most likely will, write you up for safety violations.

 

[exranger06]

No safety inspections in CT, just an emissions test every 2 years.

There are some special circumstances where you might need a safety inspection. For example, if you rebuilt a salvage title vehicle, you need an inspection before you can put it back on the road. But even then, you get it inspected once and then you never have to do it again.

 

[TFB1]

Originally Posted By: slacktide_bitog
Probably because they're not required to. Emissions inspection is actually required by the feds.

Not in all states, many have no emissions inspection but do have a safety insp, VA is one and has had them since the '50s.... A few northern counties up around DC do have emissions testing, but none in remainder of state... Also VA requires a dealer to have vehicles reinspected before sale... Can have been inspected that morning but when a dealer takes possession, it has to be performed again... Not required on private sale...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle_inspection_in_the_United_States

 

[Hokiefyd]

Emissions testing is done at the state level, and is often in response to certain air quality non-attainment. For example, in NC, most counties that are in Federal air quality non-attainment have emissions testing, and counties that are not in Federal air quality non-attainment do not have emissions testing. 48 of NC's 100 counties currently require emissions testing, in addition to the state-wide safety inspection.

It's not true that Federal law requires emissions testing, but emissions testing programs, administered at the state level, are often in response to Federal air quality attainment requirements (or steps to show how you are working towards attainment in your non-attainment counties).

 

[Delta]

Originally Posted By: ddrumman2004
The drawback is the amount of unsafe vehicles that will no doubt turn up on our public roads. However, it's been said that if you are stopped by a LEO, he/she can and most likely will, write you up for safety violations.


I noticed it alot when I lived in Mississippi. Being from PA it totally shocked me at what was on the road. I still maintained my vehicles like they needed a yearly. No surprise when I moved back to PA this year I passed with flying colors.

 

[SeaJay]

I have one of my vehicles in for its annual safety inspection today in NY. They inspect to make sure the following is in working condition: brakes, lights, turn signals, horn, steering and sufficient tire tread at a minimum.

I can't imagine what the shape of some vehicles on the road around here would be without these mandatory inspections.